This past weekend I celebrated the Fourth of July like so many Americans. It’s the date where we remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence. If you were like me though, it was a great opportunity to take in the movie version of the musical Hamilton.
I have written about Hamilton before, although at the time I wouldn’t describe it as my favorite, having had the opportunity to see it two different times in Chicago. But I would say after watching it this past weekend it has moved toward the top of musical theater shows I have seen.
When watching the movie version, you have to keep in mind that these performers are doing this live, there are not multiple takes of this. They are guided by their pure talent and professionalism and the ability to capture emotion that is part of the moment. Not to be gross, but you can actually see the spit that flows from their mouths when they are in dialogue of conflict and anger. It is a fascinating study of what acting truly is and can be. The final thought is to remind yourself that when someone is involved in a Broadway show, they are doing this eight times (twice a day on Wednesday and either Saturday or Sunday) per week. That should escalate your appreciation for the art of live theater acting even more.
The story is one of our history. Some may argue its accuracy, but in terms of entertainment it tells a story worth listening to, even so many years later. The story’s main character is Alexander Hamilton, one of our nation’s founding fathers. But did you know that Hamilton was an immigrant, from the West Indies? That is what makes, in my opinion, the story so compelling. Here is someone not even from one of the key nations of the World: England, France or Spain, wanting to make not only a name for himself, but more importantly wanting to make our country, or soon-to-be country a better place. His passion and drive is “non-stop” and the musical follows his goal toward a legacy. He even highlights what he has to offer both our new nation and his new wife, Eliza: “All I have is my honor, a tolerance for pain, a couple of college credits and my top-notch brain.” Wouldn’t our world be a better place if we could look at the gifts we have (instead of focusing on what we don’t have) and see what we could do with those gifts to change our world for the better?
As I watched (and to be honest re-watched the movie) I wanted to highlight what I believe are some of the most important lyrics and how pertinent they are to our life and world now. When we are introduced to the Schuyler sisters (Angelica, Eliza and Peggy) they are out seeing what life is like in New York City. They also sing what is my favorite line in the whole show: “Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” For most of us this probably isn’t what we are feeling right now when we look out the window or turn on the news. Life can be for many, pretty miserable, frustrating and very uncertain. But this is the key, we are alive. We have been gifted with so many amazing opportunities, right outside our doors. Look around, look around, what are you going to do to show how lucky you are to be alive right now?
The next line is really from two separate songs sung by my favorite character, Eliza Hamilton. The Hamiltons go through marital problems, and she believes that it is time “to erase herself from the narrative.” How many of us feel that right now? We are so tired of the pain and fighting in our country. That we just don’t want to be “part of it all” but guess what, we all are part of the narrative of our country and our world. Toward the end of the musical, Eliza states she has “put herself back in the narrative.” We must be like Eliza, it is time to put yourself back in the narrative for our community, for our neighbors, for our country and our world. It begins with compassion, empathy, understanding, listening, kindness, love and forgiveness. These are the traits that make our nation special, and if we don’t choose to live those traits on a daily basis, our nation’s narrative won’t be worth writing.
This amazing show ends with the final key lyric (in my opinion) “you have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” Such a powerful way to end a show about one of our founding fathers. In the end you have no control what people will say about you, but the one thing you do have control over is the actions that will lead to those people “telling your story.” What we do each and every day tells our story. The way we treat others, the way we work to solve problems together, the way we agree to disagree, the way we continue to show kindness toward our fellow human beings. That is a story worth telling.
If I could “mash up” the lyrics that the uber talented Lin Manuel Miranda has put together in the musical Hamilton, it is time to put ourselves back in the narrative, because we are in control of the story that others will tell of our lives, and we need to look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now. Life is a gift, don’t forget it. It is time to make your own personal story worth telling.
— Joe Peters is the principal at St. Victor School in Monroe. He can be reached at joepeters@stvictormonroe.org.
