Alexander Hamilton
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Cast List:
Burr | Laurens | Jefferson | Madison | Hamilton |
Eliza | Company | Washington | Men | Mulligan |
Lafayette | Philip H | Angelica | Maria
(Lights up on Aaron Burr and the Company.)
BURR
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in
squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
LAURENS
The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
JEFFERSON
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
MADISON
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
BURR
Well, the word got around, they said, “This kid is insane, man”
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
“Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came, and
The world's gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?”
HAMILTON
Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait...
ELIZA
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother
bed-ridden
Half-dead sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick
COMPANY
(Except Hamilton)
(whispering)
And Alex got better but his mother went
quick
WASHINGTON
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin’ but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying
COMPANY
“Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.”
WASHINGTON
He started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf
BURR
There would have been nothin’ left to do
For someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin’, clerkin’ for his late mother’s landlord
Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford
COMPANY
Scammin’
BURR
Scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on
COMPANY
Plannin’
BURR
Plannin’ for the future see him now as he stands on
COMPANY
Oooh...
BURR
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
COMPANY
In New York you can
Be a new man—
HAMILTON
Just you wait!
COMPANY
In New York you can
Be a new man—
HAMILTON
Just you wait!
COMPANY
In New York you can be a new man—
WOMEN
In New York—
MEN
New York—
HAMILTON
Just you wait!
COMPANY
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
Waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time!
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton…
When America sings for you
America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh
BURR
The ship is in the harbor now
See if you can spot him
MEN
Just you wait
BURR
Another immigrant
Comin’ up from the bottom
COMPANY
Just you wait
BURR
His enemies destroyed his rep
America forgot him
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
We fought with him
PHILIP
Me? I died for him
WASHINGTON
Me? I trusted him
ANGELICA/ELIZA/MARIA
Me? I loved him
BURR
And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him
COMPANY
There’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait!
BURR
What’s your name, man?
COMPANY
Alexander Hamilton!