We both have had the soundtrack completely memorized for years, and still it was hugely entertaining to see the play. There were visual effects and jokes that we loved, like the little move Mulligan does when Hamilton compliments his pants, and the fact that during the whole scene with the Adams administration, King George is onstage laughing his head off. There were also aspects that deepened the meaning. For example, Lafayette only appears in the first half and Jefferson only appears in the second half, so those two characters are played by the same actor -- meaning that when Jefferson asks Hamilton, "Did you forget Lafayette?", it is also Lafayette asking him that question. Wow.
Aaron was overjoyed with the experience of seeing this play in real life. He compared it to going to Tanzania - one of his life's other really extraordinary experiences. He is studying Colonial Boston in school right now, and he really noticed how much more meaningful the story is when you know more of the history; for example, he had not known about the Boston Tea Party before, so he had been missing those references. He has been listening to the soundtrack again, trying to connect what he's hearing to the history he's learning in school. He also explained that the play has a personal message for him:
Aaron: Part of why I enjoy this play so much is that I am like Hamilton.
Rachel: You feel that you are like him?
Aaron: Yes, because a lot of how he made a difference was by being a writer. He wrote about the hurricane when he was a kid, and he wrote political speeches, and he wrote most of the Federalist papers. And I am a writer. I want to make a difference in the world by my writing.
I love this connection. I think that middle school will greatly increase both Aaron's writing power and his opportunities to use writing for social justice, and I'm looking forward to what's next for him.
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