I became a fan when most of the country did, if not a little later, after reading the buzz online, seeing the TV segments, and hearing about the Tony nominations. I remember when Lin Manuel Miranda hosted SNL and did a riff on My Shot and I was like, "Who is this guy?" My how times have changed. ;)
I was gifted the soundtrack by a family friend and started listening to it in the car on the way to work. Listening to the songs in the car quickly wasn't enough, so I bought the digital soundtrack so I could listen to the songs everywhere I went. Then the Hamilton Mix Tape came out and I had to buy that too. I remember packing headphones in my suitecase for our Christmas cruise with the sole intention of listening to Hamilton as I walked around the ship deck.
So needless to say, getting to see Hamilton live on stage was a pretty big deal for me. Hamilton is playing in the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.
I bought tickets direct from the Orpheum a few weeks before my trip. One of the nice things about being a party of one is I could buy the totally random leftover seats. I scored a partial view loge seat for a total steal at $197 (insert sarcasm here). The really good orchestra seats were $800+. (And this was not on a ticket resale site, this was the face value!) It was definitely the most I ever paid to not have a 100% full view of the stage, but you only live once, and when you get the opportunity to see Hamilton, you see Hamilton.
You may be wondering why this picture looks like it was taken from the floor. It's because it was.
The traffic from Napa to San Francisco was pretty bad that day, so I arrived to the city later than originally expected. I had to push back my Soul Cycle class as a result, and while I totally thought I would have plenty of time, I didn't. So straight from Soul Cycle I had to hoof it to the theatre. That means no dinner, no shower, and no change of clothes.
The walk to the theatre was about a mile, which didn't sound bad, until I started to go through some sketch areas. I quickly decided that as a solo female traveler I would need to Uber back to my hotel after the show that night, which was fine, until I looked down at my phone and realized my battery was at 10%.
Thankfully I packed my charger, but the only place to charge it was on the floor in the Orpheum lobby. So I did just that in the ten minutes I had before the show started. I was laughing to myself at how everyone was so dressed up and there I was sitting on the floor in sweats. I'm sure they must have been wondering who gave a ticket to a bum.
While I had invisioned dressing up and having a nice meal out before the show, frantically racing there hungry, sweaty, and more than a little frazzled was worth it. Once I sat down in my seat, saw the stage, and started drinking my overpriced but absolutely delicious wine, I was lost to the Hamilton magic.
The atmosphere of the crowd was amazing. I loved how this show brought the soundtrack to life for me. While idealy I would have been a little closer to the stage with a more central view, it was an incredible experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.
If you get the chance to see Hamilton I highly recommend it. Hearing the songs and seeing the story unfold is truly a life-changing experience.
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Questions of the Day: Are you a Hamilton fan? Have you seen Hamilton? What's your favorite song? (Mine is Wait for It!)
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