CHICAGO (oh, + I saw Hamilton, too)

Dear Chicago, I. LOVE. YOU.

This is my official Chicago Love Declaration (& right in time for Valentine's Day too- how fitting. I'm a romantic like that.)

You host 1 of the greatest musicals to ever exist; Hamilton.

In a fairytale, TOTAL plot twist turn of events, I somehow got tickets to see Hamilton. I know this musical has quite literally turned the world upside down for many, but it's especially wonderful to me because A) I'm honestly the biggest sucker for musicals, I've been interested in theatre since age 10 B) I listen to the soundtrack RELIGIOUSLY C) I've been in love with the quirky/witty/sassy blend of history and drama since summer 2016. And let me tell you, the show is what DREAMS are made of.

I became instantly hooked when I heard the soundtrack, but actually seeing it is an entirely different sort of adrenaline rush. I cried. I laughed. I almost blacked out a couple of times (mostly when Lafayette made his debut in Guns & Ships or when Angelica began Satisifed) but honestly? It's all a heavenly blur. Or should I say, a heavenly BURR. Ha. Okay, someone needs to take the keyboard away from me before I dare to include anymore puns.

From a dancer/choreographer's perspective, the choreography was BRILLIANT, fast paced, & complimented the hip hop storyline perfectly. It was a perfect blend of old school jazz technique and urban hip hop, two styles which would traditionally contradict each other like oil & water but SOMEHOW? It totally worked. I was blown away by the amazing dancing.

& VOCALLY? Hooollllyyycrap. (!!!!!!!!!!) The original cast from New York, aka the cast that I've been listening to obsessively for months, is insanely talented, but the CHICAGO CAST surpassed all of my wildest dreams. In my humble opinion, I hugely preferred Chicago's Angelica, Hamilton, & Jefferson to the original New York Cast. They were that mind-blowing. However, Leslie Odom Jr. will forever reign as the most angelic Burr out of them all. Even though Wayne Brady (Chicago's Burr) was fabulous & has more talent than I'll have in a thousand lifetimes, I have to say I prefer Leslie as Burr. However, the Chicago cast was magnetic & had the voices of angels descending from Heaven.

Onstage, the energy was so wild it was tangible during all of the battle songs. Yorktown, Guns & Ships, Right Hand Man, & Non-Stop were all bursting with action. I felt breathless just watching. As exciting and bright as most of the show was, Dear Theodosia, Burn, and It's Quiet Uptown brought me to tears. Even my dad teared up during It's Quiet Uptown! Dear Theodosia was so angelic it almost hurt. You could actually feel Eliza's pain in Burn- it was chilling & raw & I felt as if I had been savagely cheated on, even though I'm 150% single.

Oh, and then there was the pure brilliance of the King George dynamic. I was rolling. He was absolutely mad in the best way. On top of that, the Reynold's Pamphlet, as dark & saddening as it is, had sort of a humorous spin as Jefferson took a savage joyride across the stage. Madison & Jefferson were twerking on Hamilton's grave and having the time of their lives watching his downfall. It was hilariously terrible.

My favorites walking into the show were Satisfied, Non-Stop, & Dear Theodosia. However, after actually watching the show and seeing the stage dynamics? The Room Where It Happens was by far my favorite. It was so incredibly suspenseful and the dancing was UNREAL. It was a turning point for Burr's complex character while simultaneously making everyone rethink government- how does the sausage get made? The art of the compromise is STILL in 2017 "hold your nose & close your eyes." Not much has changed since 1776, unfortunately.

Sigh. Why am I even attempting to water the show down into a single blog post? I could write a novel- scratch that, 100 novels- about how much I enjoyed the show. To sum up the phenomenon in a sentence, Hamilton is God's gift to musical theatre. I encourage all, even if you absolutely despise musicals -to sell your freaking house, car, daughter, inheritance, anything- TO SEE THE SHOW. Lin Manuel Miranda is our modern day Shakespeare & Hamilton is his gift to all of us. Go see it, everyone, I beg of you.

I love you guys.

Below are a couple of more pictures from the other (irrelevant, not as good) places I visited in Chicago.