Junior Katie Sabel never knew she would become so obsessed by the musical “Hamilton.” She remembers being enticed when she first listened to “You’ll Be Back,” a song from the musical, in the drama department’s green room while preparing for the “Pride and Prejudice” production last year.
The hip-hop musical “Hamilton,” created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has been the most talked about Broadway show in years. It portrays how one of the Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, endured various conflicts to become one of the most influential figures in American history.
The “Hamilton fever” has swept the country, including the school’s drama department. Almost every drama student shares the same obsession with the musical’s remarkable performances and soundtracks.
“I’m not a person that’s like, ‘Oh yes, rap, Eminem is my jam,’ but [the musical’s raps are] still enticing because the characters are so genuine,” Sabel said. “Even though it’s a story about our Founding Fathers, there are many traits about them that we can see through the musical.”
Sabel listened to the whole soundtrack for a couple days following her discovery of “Hamilton,” trying to analyze the lyrics and understand their meaning.
Soon after finding “Hamilton,” Sabel came to the realization that she knew all of the words to the songs. At this point, the cast recordings of “Hamilton” had already become Sabel’s “go-to-album.” Whenever her “Hamilton” playlist is on shuffle, she knows the exact moments in each song when actors perform the heart-wrenching melodies, such as for Alexander Hamilton’s death.
Not only does Sabel pour over the musical’s script and melodies, but she also follows the cast members just as obsessively, keeping tabs on all their YouTube, Instagram and Twitter activity. She often spends hours online stalking the lead actors, and in true fangirl fashion, she views these pursuits as simply “trying to get involved as much as [she] possibly can.”
Despite all her obsession over “Hamilton,” Sabel has still not seen the musical in person, owing to the musical’s average ticket price of $500-600. However, knowing that “Hamilton” is coming to San Francisco for a traveling tour next year on March 17, Sabel is hoping for a miracle in the form of two tickets to see her favorite musical.
Sabel said she has drawn inspiration from the musical’s creator, Miranda. His determination in making the unlikely musical into a runaway success has inspired Sabel to conquer her own doubts in real life.
“It motivates me to try exploring new ideas no matter how idiotic they appear to when people put it on paper and try to explain it,” she said.
