Elders React to Hamilton (Bonus #77)

♪ (ragtime music) ♪

- (Jefferson) ♪ Now, place your bets
as to who that benefits ♪

♪ The very seat of government
where Hamilton sits ♪

- (Hamilton) ♪ Not true! ♪

♪ If we assume the debts, the union gets ♪
- That's so great.

- (Hamilton) ♪ A new line
of credit, a financial diuretic ♪

- Oh! What a way
to teach American history!

- (Burr) ♪ He would've
been dead or destitute ♪

♪ Without a cent of restitution ♪
- This guy's good.

He's very good. Well, they're all good.

- I'm looking at, you know,
good dancers with good costumes.

- (Burr) ♪ What's your name, man? ♪

- (company) ♪ Alexander Hamilton ♪

(audience whoops and applauds)
- That's amazing.

- Oh, wow. I absolutely would go see that.

(movie reel clicks)

- (Finebros) So had you ever heard
of this Broadway musical,

Hamilton, before today?
- Oh, yes.

- Of course.

- Oh, absolutely.

- I heard it was basically, I presume,

the true story of Alexander Hamilton.

He was brilliant. He was
a founder of our country.

And we were gonna, from what I understand,

take his image off the $10 bill
until this play came out.

(chuckles)

And people are going, "Well,
maybe we should reconsider."

- (Finebros) What did you think about

the performances that you saw?
- Very interesting.

- Made me want to go
to New York and see it.

- I like the music.
The dancers were great.

- I think they were electric.
I think they were fabulous.

I'd love to see the whole thing.

- (Finebros) What do you think
about a Broadway musical

that integrates rap
and hip hop into the show?

- It just makes it more interesting.

- They were revolutionaries, right?

It's great music for that.

- One of the things about theater

is that it can integrate everything.

- I like art forms that break boundaries.

Life is a state of continuing
ebb and flow of changes.

And when somebody can bring something

extraordinarily unique to the table,

they really have an advantage.

They're pioneers.

- (Finebros) So this play
is about the life

of Alexander Hamilton, cast
almost entirely with people of color

playing the founding fathers
of the United States.

The creator of the play in the interview

said that he did this because
he wanted to tell the story

of our country that was a reflection

of what our country looks like today.

- I love it. I think it's great.

- I think it's pretty
original, very creative.

- I love that. Yeah, because our
country looks very different now

than it did 1776.

- I think these people today see-- yeah.

They're taking contemporary people

and projecting history.

Boy, oh, boy, what an idea.

- (Finebros) Why do you think
there's so much hype

surrounding this musical?

- Well, I think partly
because of the hip hop

and also because
it's a historical musical.

- Hamilton is an interesting story anyway.

The way they put it together

so that everyone can see
how interesting his life really was

is very creative and very interesting.

- This is a story that
we've all benefited from.

All of our lives were
affected by this man.

So it's always interesting,
because it impacts

every single person, every
single citizen of the United States.

- (Finebros) Does it surprise
you that a musical

that features rap and hip hop

has this much of a widespread appeal?
- No.

- No, it doesn't.

- No, not at all.

The country's changed in 50 years.

And this musical has changed with it,

and it's reflecting those changes.

- In this country, we can do that.
We can stretch things.

We can make it work, you know?
And I think it's just a beautiful

aspect of our freedom
of expression in this country.

♪ (upbeat theme music) ♪