Finally, St. Louis presented the Broadway show my 9-year-old grandson saw last year in San Francisco—and many St. Louisans traveled to NYC and Chicago to see two or three years ago. But better late than never, I say. And if opening night was any indication, Hamilton completely filled The Fabulous Fox every night of its three-week run here.
That’s because even people who have seen it before often return like moths to a flame. While in the restroom line during intermission (there were lines for everything), I overheard no fewer than three conversations about where else other theatergoers had seen the show. The woman in front of me from Michigan was going to Chicago soon for her third pass at Hamilton. (The person in front of her had already seen it there and elsewhere.) I’m ecstatic that the show came to St. Louis (maybe I’ll regain some street cred with my grandson)—but I’m not sure how to explain the phenomenon.
Yes, it is a marvelous production: the lyrics, music and dancing were all thoroughly engaging. Not since Cats have all the elements of a show aligned so beautifully, in my not-particularly-expert opinion. Like Cats, Hamilton took Broadway by storm, giving audiences something completely different. Who would have thought early American history would make for a riveting musical? (Probably the same folks who thought singing felines by T.S. Eliot would.) But, of course, Hamilton re-imagines history in rap and breakdancing, and with black founding fathers. It’s revolutionary (pun intended) and underscores the underlying principles of our nation, not to mention a few shortcomings that still exist nearly 250 years later. There are jabs at congressional in-fighting, immigrant-bashing (AlexanderHamilton was from the British West Indies), political dirty tricks, hypocrisy and more.
It’s a cultural phenomenon not to be missed—despite the stresses of finding tickets, inching into a parking lot and entering the theater at a crawl. But once I was inside and seated, I got to sit back and enjoy the show. As the young man next to me in line for 20 minutes said when I complained: Just think of all the people at home who would be glad to trade spots with you.