Friday, February 24, 2017
‘Hamilton’ educational program begins in Chicago this week
www.chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com: The innovative educational program that launched last year at HAMILTON on Broadway, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, will debut in Chicago on February 22 when 1,900 students and teachers from 30 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) attend the matinee performance of the musical at Broadway In Chicago’s The PrivateBank Theatre (18 W. Monroe Street).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I remember being excited when I originally heard of this educational tour of Hamilton, so reading about its success and expansion is even more thrilling. What makes Hamilton so incredible is that it has the ability to connect with new audiences. There are a lot of communities in and around us that aren't exposed to what theatre is or can be. When I started doing theatre it was a fairly foreign environment to both me and the rest of my family. I jumped in on a whim, and was lucky enough to discover something I'll forever be passionate about. Since then, I've thought a lot about the fact that there are so many potential theatre-lovers who have been lost in the tracks because they didn't have an opportunity to be exposed to it. This education program will help with some of that exposure. I can only imagine how rewarding and life changing it will be when a kid sees history told in a way they've never seen before: through the bodies and rhythms of people like and familiar to them. This is a very strong example of how theatre can and will effect our world. Hopefully we can see more efforts like this around the country.
Hamilton has been sweeping the nation with amazing music and teaching important history lessons in a single sitting. I myself have experienced young children who have despised history, be inspired by the musical to do additional research into characters featured in the Musical. Lin Manuel-Miranda makes historical figures lovable and relatable, a precious thing. Similarly, those with typically cold hearts melt into loving musical theatre, allowing a large community to come together. Collaboration between different types of people is vital in theatre and even more crucial in our everyday life. I am thrilled that Hamilton is doing so well, and is using that success as a platform to reach youth in the educational system. It is also lovely that all of the stars of Hamilton are positive role models who I feel will guide youth in a positive direction of guidance and strong morals. I hope that we see programs such as this spread beyond Chicago. To take it a step further, it would be brilliant if more shows got on board with supporting the educational system.
Hamilton is just on a constant winning streak it seems. This was such a smart idea to help bring Hamilton to more audiences, especially younger audiences. An educational tour of this show is amazing, because it has so much beneficial material for younger audiences. First of all, it teaches them a lot about American history in a fun and interesting way. Second, it allows the message of Hamilton to reach younger people. In its essence, Hamilton is about seizing opportunities, chasing their dreams, and never giving up. While Alexander Hamilton isn't always the best role model in the world, younger people can definitely learn a lot from his perseverance and endless diligence. Additionally, as we all know, Hamilton has a very diverse cast. This kind of diversity is excellent for younger children to see and draw inspiration from. There is a constant problem with under representation of people of color in the entertainment industry, which we again all know, so it is really important for younger audiences to finally see diversity in something that is so internationally renowned and successful.
I really think it’s wonderful that so many school kids are going to see Hamilton. However, I think it's important to note and to make sure theses kids know that Hamilton is a work of theater. It is based on history, but Lin Manuel Miranda took liberties with the historical events. For example, Angelica Schuyler has seven siblings, including a brother unlike in the show Hamilton. I really have no problem with the artistic liberties that Miranda took however when we start to change history to fit the story of a musical, this will become a problem. Especially in the age where we can google these facts on our smartphones and a president who gives alternative facts, we should not be okay with having incorrect history. Also, this is one perspective of Alexander Hamilton’s life based on a broadway playwrights’ perspective. There are countless different views created by historians, so accepting that Hamilton’s framing on situations as a fact is a dangerous proposition. Seeing Hamilton definitely can be a reward for studying American History, but it should not be considered a documentary musical but rather a fun musical that happens to use historical facts and people.
I am a huge proponent of educational theater, and alway have been so when I heard that the Hamilton franchise (although this was before it was a franchise) was going to be doing workshops with young kids I fell a little more in love with Lin Manuel Miranda than I even thought was possible. Lin also took almost all of the money that he earned from the genius grant and bought out a whole bunch of Hamilton tickets so that kids from New York Public schools could attend the show for only 10 dollars. Hamilton in particular is important for children from cities or primarily non-white areas because it creates representation where it was lacking before the show came out. In my experience with children I have found that they enjoy art if they are exposed to it, but many lack the expose that could spark a passion. This is why what Hamilton does is so important. There will be a whole new generation of children who have a passion for the arts because they were exposed it, or saw themselves in it, and that is a really big step in the right direction for diversity in the arts.
While i agree with rebecca that hamilton should not be taken as the exact truth, it really is not a documentary and therefore there really was no changing of history, and while it is based on Ron Chernow's research about Hamilton, the historical accuracy was for sure not the intent of the show. the show itself does not claim to be the single true account of Hamilton's history and i have a feeling most people dont get their history lessons in a theater either. I think what is really important in this situation is recognizing that these children will have an incredible work of Art, not history, brought into their lives. This especially at a time where the president is cutting funding for the national endowment for the arts. If the kids are going to get a history lesson it will be in their classrooms, but for now i think its important that they are exposed to as much art as possible.
Like my classmate, I agree what hamilton is doing is not only fantastic but is unprecedented (to my knowledge). I truly believe this type of initiative that Hamilton is taking is something that every broadway show should do. Each show has underlying themes that we as artists need tho capitalize and expose/educate to younger audience members. At first when I saw pictures/videos of this event on the Hamilton Instagram i thought this was more of a glorified talk back rather than an entire education initiative. I think its wonderful that young members of the community are able to write and express their own stories and share them with a packed broadway house. Also, its super cool that the cast comes in and does a special performance of the show for these kids. When I saw the postings online I realized that every swing was performing that day (even for some lead roles) I wonder if that had to do with the time of the special performance?
The success of Hamilton is truly unprecedented so it's great to hear that they're paying it forward to students in Chicago. It's cool that they spend some time learning about the founding fathers before attending the show, as it gives them a lot of context of its time period. Although Hamilton isn't completely historically accurate it can still be a great way to supplement their education on this topic. The only thing that seems a little off about this to me is that they're still charging students $10 each to see to show. I do understand that they still need to make some money and this is a bargain for Hamilton tickets. However, it almost seems to me that if they're going to subsidize the cost that much they might as well just make them free. Even though there still is a small just involved this is a great opportunity for Chicago students to integrate their studies with an amazing show.
Post a Comment