Call me a convert

Ever since Hamilton came out in 2016 I've resisted it and really had no interest in seeing it.  The hype was too much.  The prices for tickets were (and ARE) outrageous.  As I recall, I was disappointed with Lin-Manuel's first show, In the Heights, though I now realize from reading an old blog post about it that I didn't hate In the Heights at all, and in fact I wrote that I really liked it a lot.  Oops!  I've been misremembering the experience all this time!  My bad.  It's just that I LOVED Jersey Boys so much more on that trip.  A n y w a y, the point is that I've been actively trying not to see Hamilton.

When tickets went on sale for it at the Kennedy Center in DC, it was all over the news.  People stood in line at 6am, people online waited for hours.  I wanted nothing to do with it.

Then I got an email from a good friend of mine that she and her husband got tickets.  Did I want one?  I really hemmed and hawed over this.  I didn't want to disappoint my friend or end up in a place where I had to pretend I liked it to not hurt her feelings.  I finally agreed to go, figuring I'd go with an open mind, and it would be fun to spend time with her and her husband.  She offered a second ticket to my sister, so it was going to be a fun foursome.

Then!  One day, my friend and her husband got same-day $10 tickets to see the show!  They have a daily lottery and they won!  So, now they had an additional two tickets to sell, and my parents accepted them.  My dad said the price was substantially cheaper than what he'd been seeing on the site.  (My folks were looking for tickets as a way to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.)

A coworker recommended I listen to the soundtrack ahead of time, check out the lyrics, and maybe do a little reading on Alexander Hamilton for background.  I did that this week, and I have to admit--when I put on the soundtrack, I was hooked after the first two songs.

Last night, we saw the show.  It was more than I expected.  The cast was fantastic.  The staging is simple but there were a few scenes that really got to me...the way they used part of the stage that moved in a circle and the actors' slow motion actions were really affecting.  It was just beautiful.

I've definitely come around 180 degrees on this show and would like for everyone to see it.  Deb and I talked last night about ticket prices being so high and how prices are prohibitive for people who should see it, particularly immigrants and young kids of color who can see people that look like them playing such important roles, and get a history lesson to boot.  I hope eventually things will level out with the show and prices will drop.  It's a shame they're so high.

I had recorded a show on PBS, Hamilton's America, that I watched this morning.  It shows the evolution of the show from when Lin-Manuel picked up the biography by Ron Chernow and how he could see a hip hop scenario with the story, to when it went to Broadway, to when the cast performed at the White House.  When you see the process and get an understanding into how Lin-Manuel came up with the whole thing--it's really astounding.  What an immense talent he has.  Much respect.

Back into the swing of things?

I recently received a very cool compliment about my blog and it got me thinking about how rarely I post anything these days (except for book reviews, which I actually do over on Goodreads and then post here).  I was telling my friend Kerri about this. She hadn't been posting much either, and so now, we've vowed to get back to it on a more regular basis.

Kerri posted about the song, "If You Wanna Be Happy," earlier this week and the fun lyrics got me thinking about one of my favorites from Otis Redding: "Tramp."  Carla Thomas is featured on the song.  (When December comes around, someone please remind me to post about two of my favorite Christmas songs from her.)

Here are Otis and Carla with Tramp:




Here are the lyrics:

Tramp!
What you call me?
Tramp! (No you didn’t!)
You don't wear continental clothes, or Stetson hats
Well, I tell you one doggone thing,
It makes me feel good to know one thing, I know, I’m a lover
(Matter of opinion, baby)
That's all right, mama was, papa too
And I'm the only child, lovin' is all I know to do

You know what, Otis?
What?
You're country!
That's all right.
You straight from the Georgia woods
That's good!
You know what, you wear overalls, and big old brogan shoes, and you need a haircut, tramp!
Haircut?! Woman, you foolin', ooh, I'm a lover
Mama was, grandmama, papa too, boogaloo, all that stuff
And I'm the only son-of-a-gun this side of the sun

Tramp! (that’s right, that's what you are)

You know what Otis? I don’t care what you say. You still a tramp!
What?!
That's right, you haven't even got a fat bankroll in your pocket
You probably haven't even got twenty-five cents
I got six Cadillacs, five Lincolns, four Fords
Six Mercuries, three T-Birds, Mustangs, ooh, I'm a lover
(You can’t prove it by me)
My mama was, my papa too
I'm gonna tell you one thing (well, tell me)
I'm the only son-of-a-gun this side of the sun.

You a tramp Otis! (No I'm not.) I don’t care what you say. You still a tramp!
(Don’t call me that)
Lookee here, you ain't got no money
I got everything
You can't buy me all those minks and sables and all that stuff I want
I can buy you minks, rats, frogs, squirrels, rabbits, anything you want, woman!
Look, you can go out in the Georgia woods and catch them, baby
Oh, you goofy, now (no, you're still a tramp) that's all right
Tramp, Otis, you just a tramp! 
that's all right, that's all right
You wear overalls, you need a haircut, baby
Cut off some of that hair off your head
You think you a lover, huh?

I love the horns in this song.  Have I talked about how I'd like to have my own horn section that just follows me around and announces my entrance?  I got this idea after seeing Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings perform. 

I also love how Otis is going to buy her  minks...and rats, frogs, squirrels, rabbits!  I would've loved to have seen them perform this together live.  I haven't found anything like that on YouTube, though.