She gets us seats, third row, right next to the seats that cost almost $400.
The play premiered at The Public Theater in February 2015. M, who hates theater, had heard about it and asked if we should go. But when she described it —a musical about America's founding fathers —she didn't have to add that it was three hours long. I didn't want to go even if it were a 90-minute single act. One, I generally don't like musicals, and two, a mostly-male cast about Alexander Hamilton and his friends? The guy on the ten dollar bill? No thank you.
That was then.
Today I meet Susan. The long lines to get in, and the enthusiastic theater-goers in that line, make it feel like Hamilton is opening today.
Our seats are a little close, but that's fine.
What isn't fine is the guy with the gigantic head who is sitting directly in front of me.
The musical opens and before a word is sung, the packed house is already cheering. It's as if everyone knows that this is going to be an extraordinary three hours of entertainment.
And they are right.
The play lives up to its hype and the three hours fly by. It's an ingenious concept, powerfully delivered, and exceptionally performed. I loved every single second.
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