SZ @ New York

“Hey, Yo, I’m just like my country. I’m young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot.” (quote from Hamilton)

By 6:30pm in front of the Richard Rodgers theatre, there were already two lines: one for ticket holders, the other for hopeful Hamilton goers waiting for last-minute tickets. At the end of the lines, two tickets brokers, male, middle-aged, whispered to everyone passing by the crowded narrow sidewalk,

“Extra tickets for sale?”

I was waiting for my friend M with a long skinny box covered with Chinese embroider, a gift from a Chinese school visiting New York the very afternoon. Long skinny boxes are probably not a very good idea for Hamilton: the doorman was suspicious, taking extra time for examination.

The show started.

Here was Hamilton. Played by Lin-Manuel Marianda, the creator of the entire show himself, Hamilton stood right there, singing and dancing with his historical friends and enemies (not too many, mostly just a jealous Aaron Burr, who took Hamilton’s life in a duel).

A genius with plural talents! As a recipient of the 2015 MacArthur “Genius” Award (still can’t wrap my mind around the name of this award, prestigious as it is, apparently!), Marianda certainly is forever labeled as a Genius. Indeed, the feeling in the theatre was real. The audience started applauding enthusiastically when Hamilton first appeared on the stage.

The stage was turning swiftly; the hip-hop music was vibrant; the dancing was energetic and naturally embedded with the story (like, dancing and getting dressed on the stage). And you have a black Marquis de Lafayette played by Daveed Diggs (also played Thomas Jefferson) rapping 6.3 words per second (the fastest in the history of the genre); you got a George Washington played by Christopher Jackson who looks nothing like the white guy with a fake wig in history books; you got Schuyler sisters played by Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Alysha Deslorieus, an apparent ethnically mixed group, so natural together and no one was asking for a fact check: WAIT, how come they were all in different colors, back in 18th century? King George III remained to be white, though an absolutely refreshed image with his ridiculously funny Britpop. After the first act, he would actually trigger laughter just by appearing on the stage, before he even uttered a word.

Creativity can’t be forced. It just flows, with the pace of the heartbeat of the audience.

So you laughed, giggled, sighed, and perhaps, like me, teared up when the Hamilton’s lost their only son.

Our seats were in the front, on the side, but good enough to see the entire stage close up. The theatre was fully packed, giving absolutely no hope for anyone waiting outside in the last-minute ticket line. Miraculously, two more-centered seats next to us were empty. There was some happy seat-swift in the end.

Drinks were expensive at the bar, $11 for a red wine. The perk was you also got a spilt - proof cup with a Hamilton logo so you could take it inside. It’s presumably attractive if you plan to drink through the show. Also you could get asked about Hamilton the next day when you used it for water, or coffee.

OH, YES, it’s THAT good.

January 31, 2016

New York