Wait for it: Recounting my Hamilton experience

It was a random morning: was chatting with Pam about our Hamilton obsession and suddenly this commercial showed in TV: Hamilton is now in San Francisco! And so, I tried my luck and after a day of being distracted and trying to catch a seat, I got a ticket. 🙂

Ever since it was confirmed that I am going to the US, it always made me feel giddy knowing the fact that I will be in the same place where this magnificent piece of art was born. And even when we went to New York, I made it a point to go to Broadway just to pass by the theater where Hamilton is currently playing (I know, it’s silly). I know tickets for this show are pretty in-demand so I did not really hope further than that – heck my ticket even got cancelled two days before the show, but I was able to re-book it the next day – so it really felt like a stroke of luck.

Well two years of obsessively streaming the original Broadway cast recording in Spotify and turning Youtube upside-down searching for just about any animatic I can find led me here – in these halls.

The place was really jam-packed! San Francisco is a pretty chill place so I did not have to worry about dressing fancy, which is a relief. And did I say it was my first theater experience, like, EVER?! Right.

Orpheum Theatre is an old theater. I haven’t been to many such establishments but the main hall was smaller and the roof lower than what I was expecting. Still it easily emanates a sort of grandeur – as if its walls have witnessed so much. I did a little digging and it turns out it’s in the Bay Area since 1926!

When I entered the place, I felt really giddy seeing that familiar set for the first time with my own two eyes. I was able to take a couple of pictures before the lights went out.

This is my seat. # 16, at the very back. It’s all I can afford, and at that rate, it still cost me a fortune. I remember I was sitting beside an old couple that looked like absolute fans. I remember hearing the wife humming along the songs as the show went on. And they keep on smiling at me as well, probably guessing I’m as much a fan as they are.

With the exception of the titular character, Alexander Hamilton, my favorites are Angelica Schuyler and Aaron Burr. Of course, no one could ever replace Leslie Odom, Jr. in my heart as Aaron Burr (that. smooth-as-butter. voice) but Donald Webber, Jr. – the Aaron Burr in the show that I attended – did a pretty amazing job. Julia K. Harriman, who played Eliza during the show, was a showstopper as well. Julia brought out a sort of exquisite cadence in the way she delivered her parts. Her voice was sooo clean I can’t even! I loved hearing every minute of it.

I honestly felt like I was more emotional than I should be in certain scenes – even the happy ones. I just can’t believe, in that moment, that I am finally witnessing it with my own two eyes – not in a blurry, illegal recording somewhere in YouTube. This musical is really special for me.

Along with a couple of others, we waited outside for the cast. I managed to get a glimpse of Donald and he was so sweet. I was able to get his autograph and managed to snap a selfie with him. This is about as shameless I could get, I guess. I was alone and there’s a lot of people so I’m really proud of myself.

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Honestly, this is one item I never would’ve thought I could cross off in my bucket list anytime soon but I did! So I am just really, really happy about this. #Hamiltrash all the way!

I think it’s not an understatement when I say that it was probably one of the best 3 hours of my life. So let me just lay in wait for the 2021 Hamilton film. (It’s a recording, but whatever.)