Chanelle Cotton, Broadway Inbound’s Marketing Communications Manager, speaks to the cast of Hamilton, including Jennifer Geller (the Bullet) and Kyle Scatliffe, who plays both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. They discuss the phenomenon of the show, the accurate historical details in the plot, and their experiences on stage.
Hamilton is a hip-hop Broadway retelling of the life of the American Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. The show has been praised for its innovative use of music and its diverse cast. It has become an instant classic and is a must-see for everyone. Broadway Inbound offers discounts for group tickets for Hamilton, making it a perfect choice for a night out with friends or family.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Hi everyone! Thank you for joining us again today for this incredible history lesson session.
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
Hi there, I'm Jennifer Geller. I'm in the ensemble of Hamilton.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Hello, my name is Kyle Scatliffe, and I play Lafayette and Jefferson in Hamilton.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And next up, we're bringing in our guests from Hamilton, but check out this short video first.
Cast Singing
I'm past patiently waitin'. I'm passionately smashin' every expectation. Every action's an act of creation. I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow. For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow. And I am not throwing away my shot.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And so please welcome Jennifer and Kyle from Hamilton. I don't think I really need to give an introduction on what Hamilton is. What do y'all think?
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Not, I think we’re good.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
I think we’re good here, cool. So part of the mega phenomenon, Hamilton - who knew a musical about Alexander Hamilton would blow up into what it is today. Now, the story takes place at the very birth of America. Do you think it is still culturally and politically relevant today, and if so, how? Hitting you with the deep question first.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
You wanna go first, Geller, or me?
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
Sure. Absolutely. I mean, I think not only is the story relevant, but the way that it is told is very necessary. In the way that it's not told by people who look like the people that were doing these things and making these changes back then. So it's really a modern version of what happened back then. But anytime something happens in the news… It's really crazy how hard these lyrics hit us on stage, knowing that we are still going through the same things that they were going through back then. And the things that Hamilton wanted to change. And in “My Shot”, that song at the beginning of the show, so many amazing lyrics. And when he's saying “rise up”, and he's like, “These are the things that need to change in the country. These are the things that are wrong politically, in the military, economically. Who's with me?” And you see people throughout that song - two of the girls literally walk in and they go like this. And it happens in two seconds. And it's just one of those physicalized ways, which is why being a dancer in the show is so incredible. Because there are so many things that you don't have to say, you can just do it with your body, and the audience knows what's happening. And so in that way, back then Hamilton's trying to promote this change, and some people are like this and some people are like, “Yeah, I'm with you. Let me help you. I got your back.” So it is a testament to how far we've come in a lot of ways, but it's also a testament that we are all the way back there still, in so many ways. So it's totally relevant. If you were to just sit down with the score and read some of the lyrics you could be like, “Wow. This brings me back to 2020.”
So I think it becomes increasingly more important as we get further away from it. I don't think it's something that's in the past at all, in any way.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Yeah, I absolutely agree. Love it. It's a rather amazing thing because, as people say, history repeats. And it's not even that the specific of the history repeats, but the emotion of the history does repeat constantly. Because people tend to be having discussions or fighting about the exact same manner of things. Where are we going as a country? What are we? Who are we as people? Who are we going to help? All of those things are in the show, and it's a really pretty amazing thing to see. To be part of a show that is so constantly politically relevant all the time. To the point where you come to watch it, and you think you're escaping, but you're actually falling deeper into the hole. And there's a certain amount of determination shown in Hamilton himself about how much determination it does take to change something. Anything. A system. A person. And I've always felt like we're in a place of empathy where so much has happened. Where we can come see a show like that, and just his determination alone, the way it's written, the way that they've used rap music in order to even boot that determination even more, gives you determination just watching him do it. And I always hope that that's what will happen. I keep thinking, “Oh, the next president from 20 years from now could be watching this show. 30 years from now. They could be here. Finding their determination to help change the world”.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And I mean, it's a very American-focused show because obviously, it is about the birth of America, but why should our international friends come see the show?
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
The thing that's so beautiful about it is that every country has gone through what we went through, to an extent. We've all had to find ourselves in a moment where you want your country to succeed or you want your country to be better, or you want to make something of yourself. Because it's always interesting to me that we call the making-yourself-something-out-of-nothing the American dream. But at the same time, that's just a dream of life for most people. That's what they want. If you come from anything, you just want to be what you felt like you were born to be. Hamilton felt like he was born to be a change of the world, and, at least for myself, what is so important about the show every single day is who are you, and what will you do to get to yourself?
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
I think if you take out the historical elements of the show - how could you, of course - but if you do, you’re left with a story about friendship, about jealousy, about someone who is unfaithful to his wife, a love triangle or kind of square. But if you do take away those elements - like sure, this is about America. This is about this and that, and if you were to ignore those, this is a story about human beings.
And you'll laugh because things are hilarious. You'll cry because people pass away in the show. People are in love. In the end, the gut-wrenching parts are the human parts, not even necessarily the bars that are being spit about history and things like that. So I think, in the end, it's about love, friendship, jealousy, marriage, family.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Now, there's a live capture film of Hamilton, which was great during the pandemic. And I will go out of my way and say an official version, okay? And for those who might have seen the film, what is it that they can't get from the film? That they should come and see it in person.
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
I will say if you did see the Disney Plus, you missed 75% of the show at least.
It is so amazing because as I was watching it... When I saw the show for the first time, I was way in the back of the mezzanine. So when I saw the Disney Plus I got to see the close-ups, and that's amazing. That's something that you don't get in a Broadway Theater no matter - maybe if you're in the first 10 rows - but you don't get to see the veins and people's eyes. That was really cool, but then, having done the show for three years before the Disney Plus came out, knowing how much is going on while you get that close-up of the principal roles, is so crazy. So last Friday, we filmed two numbers for Good Morning America, and a couple days before they were adding things to the number just as space fillers because we weren't on our stage. We were not able to exit. And then we watched Good Morning America, or at least I watched The Good Morning America, what we shot. And all of that was gone. I was like, “Why did we even add any?” You didn't see it because of the way that they were filming. So I think that it's incredibly similar. It's the same thing as the Disney Plus. Whatever you are focusing on, you have to know that there are a million other incredibly fascinating things happening on all parts of the stage. Actually, a little while ago I was - I can't remember if I watched this or if I read it… But it was an interview with our choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and he was saying that he choreographs in a way so that no one in the audience can ever look two inches to the right, and their mind can drift. If you look two inches to the right, you are seeing a story. There's always something happening. There are things happening where we, as the dancers, sometimes don't think that we're seen because we're in the shadows under a staircase, and we have choreography to do, or we're doing something. So I think that the things that you miss on the Disney Plus are so breathtakingly beautiful and honestly necessary for the story. Aside from the point that live theater is totally different than film. It's a different experience regardless, but you do miss a lot of what's happening around the one shot that you're getting.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Yeah. It's pretty amazing how many audience members - when you go to the stage door - will say, “Oh my God, awesome, Disney Plus, but I came, and I was just like, wow”. Their minds are blown because it is true. It's true what Geller is saying. Everything is so close on Disney Plus. And I remember asking Andy this in rehearsal about the choreography because I was like, “How in the world did you even think of this?” I remember when I first saw it, I was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening that it didn't allow you to to feel like you could sit still. Your mind was constantly jumping from thing to thing, and then by the end, you were so overwhelmed you were crying and you just didn't know what was happening. And I always thought it was an incredible thing. There are things in the show that I didn't even see until even last week. And I've been in the show for four years. When you're like, “Oh wait, you're doing what there? I didn't even know what's happening.”
It's so deeply layered that there's no room to escape the story as it's happening. Um, yeah.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
So what you're saying is people should come see it multiple times.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Yes. I actually saw it twice. I saw it two times within two weeks and… The second time I saw way more things I didn't even see the first time, and still cried at the end because it's that deep. Yeah.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
So I'm a product - no tea, no shade, and I'm repping it strong - I'm a product of New York City public school education. And I will admit, beyond knowing Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton had a duel, and Alexander Hamerton died. Alexander Hamerton. That's his new name. I didn't know anything else. That really wasn't taught. So my final question is, was there something you learned in this process that also surprised you?
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
For me, when I first saw the show, it was all of this stuff that happened to Hamilton in Act 2.
Especially “Say No To This.” That is one of the most… you just don't expect it. You don't see it coming. And then, when it happened, it was the first thing I looked up when I left the theater. I was like, “I'm sorry. He did what?” Because a lot of things go missing.
Most people probably had that question of why weren't all of the founding fathers eventually president. What pushed them off the track? And if you don't know the story of what happened, of course, you would never know that that was the reason he couldn't be president. You would never know. And that was probably the biggest shocker to me when I first saw it.
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
I have two fun facts that I love. I, as well, did not learn really anything about Hamilton in school. One thing that surprised me that's just like a little fun fact is that Peggy's name - do you know that her name actually was Margarita?
Her name is not… So Peggy was not Peggy. That was a nickname for her. And something else that I learned in the process that you would not know from the show is that - a lot of people assume this, because having one child was not very customary during that time - but Hamilton and Elisa did have eight kids. They didn’t have one son named Philip. Many of them did pass away when they were younger, but it's interesting that Philip is the only child that they even mentioned.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
I was like, “Why don't they talk about any of his other kids?”
Jennifer Geller (Dancer, Hamilton)
There’s that part when Burr says something about, “I hope he saved some money for your daughters and sons.”
Yeah, so I guess he mentions it. And the first time I heard that, I actually was like, “He only has one son. What do you mean, kids?”
So, especially if you read the massive book that inspired the musical, there are a lot of things in there that are kind of surprising. That you're like, “Oh, I didn't know that.” And a lot of people didn't necessarily learn about this in school. And so what we know as history, many people currently know because of the show, but there is definitely a lot of information in that book that just didn't make it to the musical because it's already three hours long, and I don't think we need any more of it.
Kyle Scatliffe (Lafayette/Jefferson, Hamilton)
Yeah, that's long enough.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Well, thank you both so much for joining us today.