AARON BURR: 1789!
How does the bastard orphan Immigrant decorated war vet
Unite the colonies through more debt? Fight the other founding fathers til he has to forfeit?
Have it all, lose it all You ready for more yet?
Treasury Secretary. Washington’s the President Ev’ry American experiment sets a precedent
Not so fast. Someone came along to resist him Pissed him off until we had a two-party system
You haven’t met him yet, you haven’t had the chance ‘cause he’s been kickin’ ass as the ambassador to France
But someone’s gotta keep the American promise You simply must meet Thomas. Thomas!
JEFFERSON: France is following us to revolution
There is no more status quo But the sun comes up and the world still spins
I helped Lafayette draft a declaration Then I said, ‘I gotta go
I gotta be in Monticello.’ Now the work at Home begins…
So what’d I miss? What’d I miss?
Virginia, my home sweet home, I wanna give you a kiss
I’ve been in Paris meeting lots of different ladies... I guess I basic’lly missed the late eighties...
I traveled the wide, wide world and came back to this…
There’s a letter on my desk from the President Haven’t even put my bags down yet
Sally be a lamb, darlin’, won’tcha open it? It says the President’s assembling a cabinet
And that I am to be the Secretary of State, great! And that I’m already Senate-approved...
I just got home and now I’m headed up to New York
Lookin’ at the rolling fields I can’t believe that we are free
Ready to face Whatever’s awaiting me in NYC
But who’s waitin’ for me when I step in the place? My friend James Madison, red in the face
He grabs my arm and I respond “What’s goin’ on?”
MADISON: Thomas, we are engaged in a battle
For our nation’s very soul Can you get us out of the mess we’re in?
Hamilton’s new financial plan is nothing less Than government control
I’ve been fighting for the South alone Where have you been?
JEFFERSON: Uh...France.
MADISON: We have to win
JEFFERSON: What’d I miss?
Headfirst into a political abyss!
I have my first cabinet meeting today I guess I better think of something to say
I’m already on my way Let’s get to the bottom of this…
WASHINGTON: Mr. Jefferson, welcome home
HAMILTON: Mr. Jefferson? Alexander Hamilton
WASHINGTON AND ENSEMBLE: Mr. Jefferson, welcome home
Sir, you’ve been off in Paris for so long!
JEFFERSON: So what did I miss?
WASHINGTON: Ladies and gentlemen
You coulda been anywhere in the world tonight, but you’re here with us in New York City.
Are you ready for a cabinet meeting?
The issue on the table: Secretary Hamilton’s plan to assume state debt and establish a national bank.
Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor, sir
JEFFERSON: ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’
We fought for these ideals; we shouldn’t settle for less These are wise words, enterprising men quote ‘em
Don’t act surprised, you guys, cuz I wrote ‘em
But Hamilton forgets His plan would have the government assume state’s debts
Now, place your bets as to who that benefits: The very seat of government where Hamilton sits
HAMILTON: Not true!
JEFFERSON: Ooh, if the shoe fits, wear it
If New York’s in debt— Why should Virginia bear it? Uh!
Our debts are paid, I’m afraid Don’t tax the South cuz we got it made in the shade
In Virginia, we plant seeds in the ground We create. You just wanna move our money around
This financial plan is an outrageous demand And it’s too many damn pages for any man to understand
Stand with me in the land of the free And pray to God we never see Hamilton’s candidacy
Look, when Britain taxed our tea, we got frisky Imagine what gon’ happen when you try to tax our whisky
WASHINGTON: Thank you, Secretary Jefferson.
Secretary Hamilton, your response
HAMILTON: Thomas. That was a real nice declaration
Welcome to the present, we’re running a real nation Would you like to join us, or stay mellow
Doin’ whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello? If we assume the debts, the union gets
A new line of credit, a financial diuretic How do you not get it? If we’re aggressive and competitive
The union gets a boost. You’d rather give it a sedative? A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor
Your debts are paid cuz you don’t pay for labor “We plant seeds in the South. We create.”
Yeah, keep ranting We know who’s really doing the planting
And another thing, Mr. Age of Enlightenment Don’t lecture me about the war, you didn’t fight in it
You think I’m frightened of you, man? We almost died in a trench
While you were off getting high with the French Thomas Jefferson, always hesitant with the President
Reticent—there isn’t a plan he doesn’t jettison Madison, you’re mad as a hatter, son, take your medicine
Damn, you’re in worse shape than the national debt is in Sittin’ there useless as two shits
Hey, turn around, bend over, I’ll show you Where my shoe fits
WASHINGTON: Excuse me? Jefferson, Madison, take a walk!
Hamilton, take a walk! We’ll reconvene after a brief recess. Hamilton!
HAMILTON: Sir!
WASHINGTON: A word
MADISON: You don’t have the votes
JEFFERSON/MADISON: You don’t have the votes
You’re gonna need congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
JEFFERSON: Such a blunder sometimes it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder
WASHINGTON: You wanna pull yourself together?
HAMILTON: I’m sorry, these Virginians are birds of a feather
WASHINGTON: Young man, I’m from Virginia, so watch your mouth
HAMILTON: So we let Congress get held hostage by the South?
WASHINGTON: You need the votes
HAMILTON: No, we need bold strokes. We need this plan
WASHINGTON: No, you need to convince more folks
HAMILTON: James Madison won’t talk to me, that’s a nonstarter
WASHINGTON: Winning was easy, young man. Governing’s harder
HAMILTON: They’re being intransigent
WASHINGTON: You have to find a compromise
HAMILTON: But they don’t have a plan, they just hate mine!
WASHINGTON: Convince them otherwise
HAMILTON: What happens if I don’t get congressional approval?
WASHINGTON: I imagine they’ll call for your removal
HAMILTON: Sir—
WASHINGTON: Figure it out, Alexander.
That’s an order from your commander
ELIZA: Un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf
PHILIP: Un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf
ELIZA: Good! Un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf
PHILIP: Un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf
ELIZA: Sept huit neuf
PHILIP: Sept huit neuf
ELIZA: Sept huit neuf
PHILIP: Sept huit neuf
ELIZA AND PHILIP: One two three four five six seven eight nine!
HAMILTON: My dearest, Angelica
“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day”
I trust you’ll understand the reference to Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play
They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my folly I’m a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain
Madison is Banquo, Jefferson’s Macduff And Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinane
HAMILTON & ANGELICA: And there you are, an ocean away
Do you have to live an ocean away? Thoughts of you subside
Then I get another letter I cannot put the notion away…
ELIZA: Take a break
HAMILTON: I am on my way
ELIZA: There’s a little surprise before supper
And it cannot wait
HAMILTON: I’ll be there in just a minute, save my plate
ELIZA: Alexander
HAMILTON: Okay, okay
ELIZA: Your son is nine years old today
Has something he’d like to say He’s been practicing all day
Philip, take it away
PHILIP: Daddy, daddy, look
My name is Philip I am a poet
I wrote this poem just To show it
And I just turned nine
You can write rhymes But you can’t write mine
I practice French And play piano with my mother
I have a sister, but I want a little brother
My daddy’s trying to start America’s bank Un deux trois quatre cinq!
HAMILTON: Bravo!
ELIZA: Take a break
HAMILTON: Hey, our kid is pretty great
ELIZA: Run away with us for the summer Let’s go upstate
HAMILTON: Eliza, I’ve got so much on my plate
ELIZA: We can all go stay with my father
There’s a lake I know…
HAMILTON: I know
ELIZA: In a nearby park
HAMILTON: I’d love to go
ELIZA: You and I can go when the night gets dark…
HAMILTON: I will try to get away
ANGELICA: My dearest Alexander
You must get through to Jefferson Sit down with him and compromise
Don’t stop ‘til you agree Your fav’rite older sister
Angelica, reminds you There’s someone in your corner all the way across the sea
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning. Did you intend this? One stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days
It says:
HAMILTON & ANGELICA: “My dearest Angelica”
ANGELICA: With a comma after “dearest.” You’ve written
HAMILTON AND ANGELICA: “My dearest, Angelica.”
ANGELICA: Anyway, all this to say
I’m coming home this summer At my sister’s invitation
I’ll be there with your fam’ly If you make your way upstate
I know you’re very busy I know your work’s important
But I’m crossing the ocean and I just can’t wait
HAMILTON AND ANGELICA: You won’t be an ocean away
You will only be a moment away…
ELIZA: Alexander, come downstairs.
Angelica’s arriving today!
Angelica!
ANGELICA: Eliza!
HAMILTON: The Schuyler sisters!
ANGELICA: Alexander
HAMILTON: Hi
ANGELICA: It’s good to see your face
ELIZA: Angelica, tell this man ...
John Adams spends the summer with his family
HAMILTON: Angelica, tell my wife ...
John Adams doesn’t have a real job anyway
ANGELICA: …you’re not joining us? Wait
HAMILTON: I’m afraid I cannot join you upstate
ANGELICA: Alexander, I came all this way
ELIZA: She came all this way
ANGELICA: All this way
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: Take a break
HAMILTON: You know I have to get my plan through Congress
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: Run away with us for the summer
Let’s go upstate
HAMILTON: I lose my job if I don’t get my plan through Congress
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: We can all go stay with our father
ELIZA: There’s a lake I know
ANGELICA: I know I’ll miss your face
ELIZA: In a nearby park
ANGELICA: Screw your courage to the sticking place
ELIZA: You and I can go
ANGELICA: Eliza’s right
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: Take a break and get away
ANGELICA: Run away with us for the summer
ELIZA: Let’s go upstate Where we can stay
ANGELICA: We can all go stay with our father If you take your time
ELIZA: Look around, look around At how lucky we are to be alive right now
ANGELICA: You will make your mark Close your eyes and dream
ELIZA: We can go
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: When the night gets dark Take a break.
HAMILTON: I have to get my plan through Congress
I can’t stop until I get this plan through Congress
BURR: There’s nothing like summer in the city
Someone under stress meets someone looking pretty
There’s trouble in the air, you can smell it And Alexander’s by himself. I’ll let him tell it
HAMILTON: I hadn’t slept in a week
I was weak, I was awake You never seen a bastard orphan
More in need of a break Longing for Angelica
Missing my wife That’s when Miss Maria Reynolds walked into my life, she said:
MARIA: I know you are a man of honor
I’m so sorry to bother you at home But I don’t know where to go, and I came here all alone…
HAMILTON: She said:
MARIA: My husband’s doin’ me wrong
Beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me... Suddenly he’s up and gone
I don’t have the means to go on
HAMILTON: So I offered her a loan, I offered to walk her home, she said
MARIA: You’re too kind, sir
HAMILTON: I gave her thirty bucks that I had socked away
She lived a block away, she said:
MARIA: This one’s mine, sir
HAMILTON: Then I said, “well, I should head back home,”
She turned red, she led me to her bed Let her legs spread and said:
MARIA: Stay?
HAMILTON: Hey…
MARIA: Hey…
HAMILTON: That’s when I began to pray:
Lord, show me how to Say no to this
I don’t know how to Say no to this
But my God, she looks so helpless And her body’s saying, “hell, yes”
MARIA: Whoa...
HAMILTON: Nooo, show me how to
Say no to this I don’t know how to
Say no to this In my mind, I’m tryin’ to go
Then her mouth is on mine, and I don’t say…
No! No! Say no to this!
I wish I could say that was the last time I said that last time. It became a pastime
A month into this endeavor I received a letter From a Mr. James Reynolds, even better, it said:
JAMES: Dear Sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health
And in a prosperous enough position to put wealth In the pockets of people like me: down on their luck
You see, that was my wife who you decided to
HAMILTON: Fuuuu
JAMES: Uh-oh! You made the wrong sucker a cuckold
So time to pay the piper for the pants you unbuckled And hey, you can keep seein’ my whore wife
If the price is right: if not I’m telling your wife
HAMILTON: I hid the letter and I raced to her place
Screamed “How could you?!” in her face She said:
MARIA: No, sir!
HAMILTON: Half dressed, apologetic.
A mess, she looked Pathetic, she cried:
MARIA: Please don’t go, sir!
HAMILTON: So was your whole story a setup?
MARIA: I don’t know about any letter!
HAMILTON: Stop crying Goddamnit, get up!
MARIA: I didn’t know any better
HAMILTON: I am ruined...
MARIA: Please don’t leave me with him helpless
HAMILTON: I am helpless—how could I do this?
MARIA: Just give him what he wants and you can have me
HAMILTON: I don’t want you
MARIA: Whatever you want
MARIA: If you pay You can stay
HAMILTON Lord, show me how to say no to this
I don’t know how to Say no to this
Cuz the situation’s helpless And her body’s screaming, “Hell, yes”
No, show me how to Say no to this
How can I Say no to this?
There is nowhere I can go
When her body’s on mine I do not say…
ENSEMBLE: No!
HAMILTON Yes!
ENSEMBLE: No!
HAMILTON Yes!
ENSEMBLE: No!
HAMILTON Yes!
ENSEMBLE: No!
HAMILTON Yes!
HAMILTON: Say no to this…
I don’t say no to this There is nowhere I can go.
JAMES: So?
HAMILTON: Nobody needs to know
BURR: Ah, Mister Secretary
HAMILTON: Mister Burr, sir
BURR: Didja hear the news about good old General Mercer?
HAMILTON: No
BURR: You know Clermont Street?
HAMILTON: Yeah
BURR: They renamed it after him. The Mercer legacy is secure
HAMILTON: Sure
BURR: And all he had to do was die
HAMILTON: That’s a lot less work
BURR: We oughta give it a try
Now how’re you gonna get your debt plan through?
HAMILTON: I guess I’m gonna fin’ly have to listen to you
BURR: Really?
HAMILTON: “Talk less. Smile more.”
Do whatever it takes to get my plan on the Congress floor
BURR: Now, Madison and Jefferson are merciless.
HAMILTON: Well, hate the sin, love the sinner
MADISON: Hamilton!
HAMILTON: I’m sorry Burr, I’ve gotta go
BURR: But—
HAMILTON: Decisions are happening over dinner
BURR: Two Virginians and an immigrant walk into a room
Diametric’ly opposed, foes They emerge with a compromise
Having opened doors that were Previously closed (Bros!)
The immigrant emerges with unprecedented financial power A system he can shape however he wants
The Virginians emerge with the nation’s capital And here’s the pièce de résistance:
No one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one really knows how the game is played The art of the trade
How the sausage gets made We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in The room where it happens.
Thomas claims
JEFFERSON: Alexander was on Washington’s doorstep one day
In distress ‘n disarray
BURR AND COMPANY: Thomas claims
JEFFERSON: Alexander said
HAMILTON: I’ve nowhere else to turn!
JEFFERSON: And basic’ly begged me to join the fray
BURR AND COMPANY: Thomas claims
JEFFERSON: I approached Madison and said
“I know you hate ‘im, but let’s hear what he has to say.”
BURR AND COMPANY: Thomas claims
JEFFERSON: Well, I arranged the meeting
I arranged the menu, the venue, the seating
BURR: But! No one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one really knows how the Parties get to yesssss
The pieces that are sacrificed in Ev’ry game of chesssss
We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in The room where it happens.
Meanwhile Madison is grappling with the fact
that not ev’ry issue can be settled by committee
Meanwhile Congress is fighting over where to put the capital—
It isn’t pretty Then Jefferson approaches with a dinner and invite
And Madison responds with Virginian insight:
MADISON: Maybe we can solve one problem with another
and win a victory for the Southerners, in other words
JEFFERSON: Oh-ho!
MADISON: A quid pro quo
JEFFERSON: I suppose
MADISON: Wouldn’t you like to work a little closer to home?
JEFFERSON: Actually, I would
MADISON: Well, I propose the Potomac
JEFFERSON: And you’ll provide him his votes?
MADISON: Well, we’ll see how it goes
JEFFERSON: Let’s go
BURR: No!
-one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one else was in The room where it happened
The room where it happened
My God! In God we trust
But we’ll never really know what got discussed Click-boom then it happened
And no one else was in the room where it happened
Alexander Hamilton!
What did they say to you to get you to sell New York City down the river?
Alexander Hamilton!
Did Washington know about the dinner? Was there Presidential pressure to deliver?
Alexander Hamilton!
Or did you know, even then, it doesn’t matter Where you put the U.S. Capital?
HAMILTON: Cuz we’ll have the banks, we’re in the same spot
BURR: You got more than you gave
HAMILTON: And I wanted what I got
When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game
Oh, you get love for it. You get hate for it You get nothing if you…
Wait for it, wait for it, wait!
God help and forgive me I wanna build
Something that’s gonna Outlive me
What do you want, Burr? What do you want, Burr?
If you stand for nothing Burr, then what do you fall for?
I - I wanna be in
The room where it happens The room where it happens
I wanna be in The room where it happens
I - I wanna be in
The room where it happens
I - I wanna be in
The room - oh!
I wanna be, I wanna be, I've gotta be, I've gotta be
In that room That big ol' room
The art of the compromise—
Hold your nose and close your eyes
We want our leaders to save the day—
But we don’t get a say in what they trade away
We dream of a brand new start—
But we dream in the dark for the most part
Dark as a tomb where it happens
I’ve got to be in The room…
I’ve got to be... I’ve got to be...
Oh, I’ve got to be in The room where it happens…
I’ve got to be, I’ve gotta be, I’ve gotta be…
In the room!
Click-boom!
PHILLIP: Look!
Grandpa’s in the paper!
“War hero Philip Schuyler loses senate seat to young upstart Aaron Burr”
Grandpa just lost his seat in the senate
ELIZA: Sometimes that’s how it goes
PHILLIP: Daddy’s gonna find out any minute
ELIZA: I’m sure he already knows
PHILLIP: Further down
PHILLIP & ELIZA: Further down
PHILLIP: Let’s meet the newest senator from New York
ELIZA: New York
PHILLIP & ELIZA: Our senator
HAMILTON: Burr?
Since when are you a Democratic-Republican?
BURR: Since being one put me on the up and up again
HAMILTON: No one knows who you are or what you do
BURR: They don’t need to know me
They don’t like you
HAMILTON: Excuse me?
BURR: Oh, Wall Street thinks you’re great
You’ll always be adored by the things you create But upstate—
HAMILTON: Wait
BURR: —people think you’re crooked Schuyler’s seat was up for grabs so I took it
HAMILTON: I’ve always considered you a friend
BURR: I don’t see why that has to end
HAMILTON: You changed parties to run against my father-in-law
BURR: I changed parties to seize the opportunity I saw
I swear your pride will be the death of us all Beware, it goeth before the fall
WASHINGTON: The issue on the table:
France is on the verge of war with England,
and do we provide aid and our troops to our French allies or do we stay out of it?
Remember, my decision on this matter is not subject to congressional approval.
The only person you have to convince is me. Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor, sir.
JEFFERSON: When we were on death’s door
When we were needy We made a promise
We signed a treaty We need money and guns and half a chance
Uh, who provided those funds?
MADISON: France.
JEFFERSON: In return, they didn’t ask for land,
Only a promise that we’d lend a hand And stand with them
If they fought against oppressors And revolution is messy
But now is the time to stand! Stand with our brothers
As they fight against tyranny. I know that Alexander Hamilton is here and he
Would rather not have this debate; I’ll remind you that he is not Secretary of State!
He knows nothing of loyalty Smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty
Desperate to rise above his station, Everything he does betrays the ideals of our nation.
Hey, and if you don’t know, now you know, Mr. President.
WASHINGTON Thank you, Secretary Jefferson.
Secretary Hamilton, your response?
HAMILTON: You must be out of your goddamn mind
If you think The President is going to bring the nation to the brink
Of meddling in the middle of a military mess, A game of chess,
Where France is Queen and King-less. We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket,
Would you like to take it out and ask it? Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’s head?
“Uh, do whatever you want I’m super dead!”
WASHINGTON: Enough enough, Hamilton is right.
JEFFERSON: Mr. President!
WASHINGTON: We’re too fragile to start another fight.
JEFFERSON: But sir, do we not fight for freedom?
WASHINGTON: Sure, when the French figure out who’s gonna lead ‘em.
JEFFERSON: The people are leading!
WASHINGTON: The people are rioting! There’s a difference!
Frankly it’s a little disquieting You would let your ideals blind you to reality!
Hamilton?
HAMILTON: Sir!
WASHINGTON: Draft the statement of neutrality.
JEFFERSON: Did you forget Lafayette?
HAMILTON: What?
JEFFERSON: Have you an ounce of regret?
You accumulate debt, you accumulate power. Yet in their hour of need, you forget.
HAMILTON: Lafayette’s a smart man, he’ll be fine.
And before he was your friend, he was mine. If we try to fight in every revolution in the world,
We never stop. Where do we draw the line?
JEFFERSON: So quick witted.
HAMILTON: Alas, I admit it.
JEFFERSON: I bet you were quite a lawyer.
HAMILTON: My defendants got acquitted
JEFFERSON: Yeah, well someone ought to remind you
HAMILTON: What?
JEFFERSON: You’re nothing without Washington behind you.
WASHINGTON: Hamilton!
JEFFERSON: Daddy’s calling!
BURR: It must be nice, it must be nice
To have Washington on your side It must be nice, it must be nice
To have Washington on your side
JEFFERSON: Ev'ry action has its equal, opposite reactions.
Thanks to Hamilton, our cabinet’s fractured into factions.
Try not to crack under the stress, we’re breaking down like fractions.
We smack each other in the press, and we don’t print retractions.
I get no satisfaction witnessing his fits of passion The way he primps and preens and dresses like the pits of fashion
Our poorest citizens, our farmers, live ration to ration As Wall Street robs ‘em blind in search of chips to cash in
This prick is asking for someone to bring him to task
Somebody give me some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him
I’ll pull the trigger on him, someone load the gun and cock it
While we were all watching, he got Washington in his pocket
It must be nice, it must be nice To have Washington on your side
Look back at the Bill of Rights
MADISON: Which I wrote!
BURR & JEFFERSON: The ink hasn't dried
It must be nice, it must be nice To have Washington on your side
MADISON: So he’s doubled the size of the government
Wasn't the trouble with much of our previous government size?
BURR: Look in his eyes
JEFFERSON: See how he lies
MADISON: Follow the scent of his enterprise
JEFFERSON: Centralizing national credit and making American credit competitive
MADISON: If we don’t stop it, we aid and abet it.
JEFFERSON: I have to resign!
MADISON: Somebody has to stand up for the South!
BURR: Well, somebody has to stand up to his mouth!
JEFFERSON: If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse
You can’t put it out from inside the house!
I’m in the cabinet, I am complicit In watching him grabbin' at power and kiss it.
If Washington isn’t gon’ listen to disciplined dissidents, This is the difference, this kid is OUT!
ALL: OH! This immigrant isn’t somebody we chose!
OH! This immigrant’s keeping us all on our toes!
OH! Let’s show these Federalists what they’re up against!
OH! Southern motherfucking Democratic-Republicans!
OH! Let’s follow the money and see where it goes!
OH! Because every second, the treasury grows!
OH! If we follow the money and see where it leads
Get in the weeds, look for the seeds of Hamilton’s misdeeds!
It must be nice, it must be nice…
MADISON: Follow the money and see where it goes!
ALL: It must be nice, it must be nice…
JEFFERSON: The emperor has no clothes
ALL: We won’t be invisible
We won’t be denied!
Still…
It must be nice, it must be nice To have Washington on your side
HAMILTON: Mr. President, you asked to see me?
WASHINGTON: I know you’re busy
HAMILTON: What do you need, sir?
Sir?
WASHINGTON: I wanna give you a word of warning
HAMILTON: Sir, I don’t know what you heard
But whatever it is, Jefferson started it
WASHINGTON: Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning
HAMILTON: You’re kidding
WASHINGTON: I need a favor
HAMILTON: Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for his behavior!
WASHINGTON: Shh. Talk less
HAMILTON: I’ll use the press
I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him
WASHINGTON: I need you to draft an address
HAMILTON: Yes! He resigned.
You can finally speak your mind
WASHINGTON: No ...
He’s stepping down so he can run for President
HAMILTON: Ha! Good luck defeating you, sir.
WASHINGTON: I’m stepping down.
I’m not running for President
HAMILTON: I’m sorry, what?
WASHINGTON: One last time
Relax, have a drink with me One last time
Let’s take a break tonight And then we’ll teach them how to say goodbye
To say goodbye You and I
HAMILTON: No, sir, why?
WASHINGTON: I wanna talk about neutrality
HAMILTON: Sir
With Britain and France on the verge of war, is this the best time ...
WASHINGTON: I want to warn against partisan fighting
HAMILTON: But—
WASHINGTON: Pick up a pen, start writing
I wanna talk about what I have learned The hard-won wisdom I have earned
HAMILTON: As far as the people are concerned
You have to serve, you could continue to serve
WASHINGTON: No!
One last time The people will hear from me
One last time And if we get this right
We’re gonna teach ‘em how to say Goodbye
You and I
HAMILTON: Mr. President, they will say you’re weak
WASHINGTON: No, they will see we’re strong
HAMILTON: Your position is so unique
WASHINGTON: So I’ll use it to move them along
HAMILTON: Why do you have to say goodbye?
WASHINGTON: If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on
It outlives me when I’m gone
Like the scripture says:
“Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree And no one shall make them afraid.”
They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made
I wanna sit under my own vine and fig tree A moment alone in the shade
At home in this nation we’ve made One last time
HAMILTON: One last time
Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error
I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects Not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors.
I shall also carry with me The hope
That my country will View them with indulgence
And that after forty-five years of my life Dedicated to its service with an upright zeal
The faults of incompetent abilities will be Consigned to oblivion, as I myself must soon be to the mansions of rest
I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize the sweet enjoyment of partaking
In the midst of my fellow-citizens, The benign influence of good laws under a free government The ever-favorite object of my heart
And the happy reward, as I trust Of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.
One last time
COMPANY: George Washington’s going home!
HAMILTON: Teach ‘em how to say goodbye
COMPANY: George Washington’s going home
WASHINGTON: You and I
COMPANY: George Washington’s going home
WASHINGTON: Going home
COMPANY: George Washington’s going home
WASHINGTON: History has its eyes on you
COMPANY: George Washington’s going home
WASHINGTON: We’re gonna teach ‘em how to Say goodbye!
Teach ‘em how to Say goodbye!
To say goodbye! Say goodbye!
One last time!
KING GEORGE III: They say
George Washington's yielding his power and stepping away
Is that true? I wasn't aware that was something a person could do
I'm perplexed. Are they going to keep on replacing whoever's in charge?
If so who's next? There's nobody else in their country who looms quite as large
What?
John Adams?
I know him That can't be
That's that little guy who spoke to me All those years ago
What was it, '85? That poor man they're going to eat him alive!
Ocean's rise, empires fall Next to Washington they all look small
All alone, watch them run
They will tear each other in to pieces Jesus Christ this will be fun!
President John Adams
Good luck!
BURR: How does Hamilton
the short-tempered, protean creator of the coast guard,
founder of the New York Post ardently abuse his cabinet post
destroy his reputation? Welcome folks, to the Adam’s Administration.
Jefferson’s the runner-up which makes him the vice-president
MADISON: Washington can’t help you now
No more Mr. Nice President
BURR: Adams fires Hamilton
Privately calls him creole bastard in his toss
Hamilton publishes his response.
HAMILTON: Sit down John
You fat mother-fucker!
JEFFERSON: Hamilton’s out of control,
MADISON: This is great:
He’s out of power, he holds no office
and he just destroyed president John Adams the only other significant member of his party
JEFFERSON: Hamilton is a host unto himself
As long as he can hold a pen, he’s a threat.
Let’s let him know what we know.
HAMILTON: Mr. Vice President
Mr. Madison
Senator Burr
What is this?
JEFFERSON: We have the check stubs. From separate accounts…
MADISON: Almost a thousand dollars, paid in different amounts…
BURR: To a Mr. James Reynolds
Way back in Seventeen ninety-one
HAMILTON: Is that what you have? Are you done?
MADISON: You are uniquely situated by virtue of your position
JEFFERSON: Though ‘virtue’ is not a word I’d apply to this situation
MADISON: To seek financial gain, to stray from your sacred mission
JEFFERSON: And the evidence suggests you’ve engaged in speculation
BURR: An immigrant embezzling our government funds
JEFFERSON/MADISON: I can almost see the headline, your career is done
BURR: I hope you saved some money for your daughter and sons
BURR/JEFFERSON/MADISON: Ya best g'wan run back where ya come from!
HAMILTON: Ha!
You don’t even know what you’re asking me to confess
JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR: Confess
HAMILTON: You have nothing.
I don’t have to tell you anything at all Unless
JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR: Unless
HAMILTON: If I can prove that I never broke the law
Do you promise not to tell another soul what you saw?
BURR: No one else was in the room where it happened
HAMILTON: Is that a yes?
JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR: Um, yes
BURR: “Dear Sir,
I hope this letter finds you in good health And in a prosperous enough position to put wealth
In the pockets of people like me: down on their luck You see, it was my wife who you decided to”
JEFFERSON: Whaaaat—
HAMILTON: She courted me
Escorted me to bed and when she had me in a corner That’s when Reynolds extorted me
For a sordid fee I paid him quarterly
I may have mortally wounded my prospects But my papers are orderly!
As you can see I kept a record Of every check in my checkered history
Check it again against your list n’ see consistency I never spent a cent that wasn’t mine
You sent the dogs after my scent, that’s fine Yes, I have reasons for shame
But I have not committed treason and sullied my good name As you can see I have done nothing to provoke legal action
Are my answers to your satisfaction?
JEFFERSON: My God
MADISON: Gentlemen, let’s go
HAMILTON: So?
JEFFERSON AND MADISON: The people won't know what we know
HAMILTON: Burr!
How do I know you won’t use this against me The next time we go toe to toe?
BURR: Alexander, rumors only grow.
And we both Know what we know
HAMILTON: In the eye of a hurricane There is quiet
For just a moment A yellow sky
When I was seventeen a hurricane Destroyed my town
I didn’t drown I couldn’t seem to die
I wrote my way out Wrote everything down far as I could see
I wrote my way out I looked up and the town had its eyes on me
They passed a plate around Total strangers
Moved to kindness by my story
Raised enough for me to book passage on a Ship that was New York bound…
I wrote my way out of hell I wrote my way to revolution
I was louder than the crack in the bell I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell
I wrote about The Constitution and defended it well
And in the face of ignorance and resistance I wrote financial systems into existence
And when my prayers to God were met with indifference I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance
In the eye of a hurricane There is quiet
For just a moment A yellow sky
I was twelve when my mother died She was holding me
We were sick and she was holding me I couldn’t seem to die
BURR: Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…
HAMILTON: I’ll write my way out…
BURR AND ENSEMBLE: Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…
HAMILTON: Write ev’rything down, far as I can see…
BURR AND ENSEMBLE: Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait…
HAMILTON: I’ll write my way out… Overwhelm them with honesty.
This is the eye of the hurricane, this is the only Way I can protect my legacy…
COMPANY: Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait…
HAMILTON: The Reynolds Pamphlet
COMPANY: The Reynolds Pamphlet
JEFFERSON/MADISON/ANGELICA: Have you read this?
BURR/JEFFERSON/MADISON: Alexander Hamilton had a torrid affair
And he wrote it down right there
MADISON: Highlights!
HAMILTON/JEFFERSON: “The charge against me
Is a connection with one James Reynolds!
For purposes of Improper speculation
My real crime is an Amorous connection with his wife
For a considerable time With his knowing consent
MADISON/BURR/JEFFERSON: Damn!
HAMILTON/JEFFERSON/MADISON: “I had frequent meetings with her Most of them at my own house.”
BURR: At his own house!
MADISON: At his own house!
DEEP VOICE: Damn!
HAMILTON/JEFFERSON: “Mrs. Hamilton with our children being absent On a visit to her father.”
MADISON/BURR: No…
COMPANY: Boooo!
MADISON/BURR: Have you read this?
JEFFERSON: Well, he’s never gon’ be President now
MADISON/BURR: Never gon’ be President now
JEFFERSON: Well, he’s never gon’ be President now
MADISON/BURR: Never gon’ be President now
JEFFERSON: He’s never gon’ be President now
MADISON/BURR: Never gon’ be President now
JEFFERSON: That’s one less thing to worry about
JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR: That’s one less thing to worry about!
ANGELICA: I came as soon as I heard
JEFFERSON: What?!
HAMILTON: Angelica
COMPANY: All the way from London?!
Damn
HAMILTON: Angelica, thank God
Someone who understands what I’m Struggling here to do
ANGELICA: I’m not here for you
COMPANY: Oooooh!
ANGELICA: I know my sister like I know my own mind
You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind I love my sister more than anything in this life
I will choose her happiness over mine every time
Put what we had aside I’m standing at her side
You could never be satisfied God, I hope you’re satisfied
JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR: Well, he’s never gon’ be President now
That’s one less thing to worry about.
JEFFERSON/MADISON/HAMILTON: Hey!
At least he was honest with our money!
Well he’s never gon’ be President now
Hey!
At least he was honest with our money!
That’s one less thing to worry about.
The Reynolds Pamphlet
Have you read this?
You ever see somebody ruin their own life?
His poor wife
ELIZA HAMILTON I saved every letter you wrote me
From the moment I read them I knew you were mine
You said you were mine I thought you were mine
Do you know what Angelica said When we saw your first letter arrive?
She said: "Be careful with that one, love he will do what it takes to survive."
You and your words flooded my senses Your sentences left me defenseless
You built me palaces out of paragraphs You built cathedrals
I'm re-reading the letters you wrote me I'm searching and scanning for answers
In every line For some kind of sign
And when you were mine The world seemed to burn
Burn
You published the letters she wrote you You told the whole world how you brought this girl
Into our bed
In clearing your name You have ruined our lives
Do you know what Angelica said When she read what you'd done?
She said: "You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun."
You and your words obsessed with your legacy Your sentences border on senseless
And you are paranoid in every paragraph How they perceive you-
You, you, you
I'm erasing myself from the narrative Let future historians wonder
How Eliza reacted When you broke her heart
You have torn it all apart I'm watching it burn
Watching it burn
The world has no right to my heart The world has no place in our bed
They don't get to know what I said I'm burning the memories
Burning the letters that might have redeemed you
You forfeit all rights to my heart You forfeit the place in our bed
You'll sleep in your office instead
With only the memories of when you were mine
I hope that you burn
PHILIP: Meet the latest graduate of King’s College!
I prob’ly shouldn’t brag, but, dag, I amaze and astonish! The scholars say I got the same virtuosity and brains as my pops!
The ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops! I’m only nineteen but my mind is older
Gotta be my own man, like my father, but bolder I shoulder his legacy with pride
I used to hear him say That someday I would—
ENSEMBLE: Blow us all away!
PHILIP: Ladies, I’m lookin for a Mr. George Eacker
Made a speech last week, our Fourth of July speaker He disparaged my father’s legacy in front of a crowd
I can’t have that, I’m making my father proud
MARTHA: I saw him just up Broadway a couple of blocks
He was goin’ to see a play
PHILIP: Well, I’ll go visit his box
DOLLY: God, you’re a fox
PHILIP: And y’all look pretty good in ya’ frocks
How ‘bout when I get back, we all strip down to our socks?
BOTH: Ok!
COMPANY: Blow us all away!
PHILIP: George!
GEORGE: Shh
PHILIP: George!
GEORGE: Shh! I’m tryin’ to watch the show!
PHILIP: Ya’ shoulda watched your mouth before you Talked about my father though!
GEORGE: I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true
You father’s a scoundrel, and so, it seems, are you
ENSEMBLE: Ooooooooooh!
PHILIP: It’s like that?
GEORGE: Yeah, I don’t fool around I’m not your little schoolboy friends
PHILIP: See you on the dueling ground
That is, unless you wanna step outside and go now
GEORGE: I know where to find you, piss off I’m watchin’ this show now
PHILIP: Pops, if you had only heard
The shit he said about you I doubt you would have let it slide and I was not about to—
HAMILTON: Slow down
PHILIP: I came to ask you for advice.
This is my very first duel They don’t exactly cover this subject in boarding school
HAMILTON: Did your friends attempt to negotiate a peace?
PHILIP: He refused to apologize, we had to let the peace talks cease
HAMILTON: Where is this happening?
PHILIP: Across the river, in Jersey
HAMILTON/PHILIP: Everything is legal in New Jersey…
HAMILTON Alright.
So this is what you’re gonna do: Stand there like a man until Eacker is in front of you
When the time comes, fire your weapon in the air This will put an end to the whole affair
PHILIP: But what if he decides to shoot? Then I’m a goner
HAMILTON: No. He’ll follow suit if he’s truly a man of honor
To take someone’s life, that is something you can’t shake Philip, your mother can’t take another heartbreak
PHILIP: Father—
HAMILTON: Promise me. You don’t want this Young man’s blood on your conscience
PHILIP: Okay, I promise
HAMILTON: Come back home when you’re done
Take my guns. Be smart. Make me proud, son
PHILIP: My name is Philip
I am a poet I’m a little nervous, but I can’t show it
I’m sorry, I’m a Hamilton with pride You talk about my father, I cannot let it slide
Mister Eacker! How was the rest of your show?
GEORGE: I’d rather skip the pleasantries
Let’s go Grab your pistol
PHILIP: Confer with your men
The duel will commence after we count to ten
ENSEMBLE: Count to ten!
PHILIP: Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require Then slowly and clearly aim your gun towards the sky—
MALE ENSEMBLE: One two three four
FULL ENSEMBLE: Five six seven
ENSEMBLE WOMEN: Stay alive…
HAMILTON: Where’s my son?
DOCTOR: Mr. Hamilton, come in.
They brought him in a half an hour ago. He lost a lot of blood on the way over.
HAMILTON: Is he alive?
DOCTOR: Yes. But you have to understand
The bullet entered just above his hip and Lodged in his right arm
HAMILTON: Can I see him please?
DOCTOR: I’m doing ev’rything I can
But the wound was Already infected when he arrived—
HAMILTON: Philip
PHILIP: Pa
I did exactly as you said, Pa I held my head up high
HAMILTON: I know, I know. Shh, I know, I know
Shh. I know you did Ev’rything just right
PHILIP: Even before we got to ten
I was aiming for the sky
HAMILTON: I know, I know
PHILIP: I was aiming for the sky
HAMILTON: Shh, I know, I know I know
Save your strength and Stay alive…
ELIZA: No!
HAMILTON: Eliza
ELIZA: Is he breathing? Is he going to survive this?
Who did this, Alexander, did you know?
PHILIP: Mom, I’m so sorry for forgetting what you taught me
ELIZA: My son
PHILIP: We played piano
ELIZA: I taught you piano
PHILIP: You would put your hands on mine
ELIZA: You changed the melody every time
PHILIP: Ha. I would always change the line
ELIZA: Shh. I know, I know
PHILIP: I would always change the line
ELIZA: I know, I know
ELIZA: Un deux trois quatre Cinq six sept huit neuf
PHILIP: Un deux trois quatre Cinq six sept huit neuf
ELIZA: Good
Un deux trois quatre
PHILIP: Un deux trois…
ELIZA: Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit…
ANGELICA: There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name
You hold your child as tight as you can And push away the unimaginable
The moments when you’re in so deep It feels easier to just swim down
The Hamiltons move uptown And learn to live with the unimaginable
HAMILTON: I spend hours in the garden
I walk alone to the store And it’s quiet uptown
I never liked the quiet before
I take the children to church on Sunday A sign of the cross at the door
And I pray
That never used to happen before
WOMEN: If you see him in the street
Walking by himself, talking to himself Have pity
HAMILTON: Philip, you would like it uptown
It’s quiet uptown
WOMEN: He is working through the unimaginable
MEN: His hair has gone grey.
He passes every day They say he walks the length of the city
HAMILTON: You knock me out, I fall apart
COMPANY: Can you imagine?
HAMILTON: Look at where we are
Look at where we started
I know I don’t deserve you, Eliza But hear me out
That would be enough
If I could spare his life If I could trade his life for mine
He’d be standing here right now And you would smile
And that would be enough
I don’t pretend to know The challenges we’re facing
I know there’s no replacing what we’ve lost And you need time
But I’m not afraid
I know who I married
Just let me stay here by your side
That would be enough
COMPANY: If you see him in the street
Walking by her side, talking by her side Have pity
HAMILTON: Eliza, do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown
COMPANY: He is trying to do the unimaginable
See them walking in the park, long after dark Taking in the sights of the city
HAMILTON: Look around, look around, Eliza
COMPANY: They are trying to do the unimaginable
ANGELICA: There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is a grace too powerful to name We push away what we can never understand
We push away the unimaginable
They are standing in the garden Alexander by Eliza’s side
She takes his hand
ELIZA: It’s quiet uptown
COMPANY: Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
If you see him in the street, walking by her Side, talking by her side, have pity
They are going through the unimaginable
ENSEMBLE: The Election of 1800!
JEFFERSON: Can we get back to politics?
MADISON: Please?
JEFFERSON: Yo, every action has its equal opposite reaction
John Adams shat the bed I love the guy, but he’s in traction
Poor Alexander Hamilton, he is missing in action So now I’m facing Aaron Burr with his own faction
MADISON: He’s very attractive in the North New Yorkers like his chances
JEFFERSON: He’s not very forthcoming on any particular stances
MADISON: Ask him a question, it glances off He obfuscates, he dances
JEFFERSON: And they say I’m a Francophile At least they know I know where France is
MADISON: Thomas, that’s the problem See, they see Burr as a less extreme you
You need to change course A key endorsement might redeem you
JEFFERSON: Who did you have in mind?
MADISON: Don’t laugh
JEFFERSON: Who is it?
MADISON: You used to work on the same staff.
JEFFERSON: Whaaaat?
MADISON: It might be nice, it might be nice To get Hamilton on your side
JEFFERSON AND MADISON: It might be nice, it might be nice To get Hamilton on your side
AARON BURR: Talk less!
Smile more!
Don't let them know what you're against Or what you're for!
Shake hands with him!
Charm her!
It’s 1800 Ladies, tell your husbands, vote for Burr!
VARIOUS ENSEMBLE: I don’t like Adams!
Well, he’s gonna lose, that’s just defeatist.
And Jefferson? In love with France!
Yeah, he’s so elitist!
I like that Aaron Burr! I can’t believe we’re here with him!
He seems approachable? Like you could grab a beer with him
ENSEMBLE: Dear Mr. Hamilton
Your fellow Federalists Would like to know how you’ll be voting
HAMILTON: It’s quiet uptown…
ENSEMBLE: Dear Mr. Hamilton
John Adams doesn’t stand a chance, So who you are you promoting?
HAMILTON: It’s quiet uptown…
ENSEMBLE: Jefferson or Burr? Jefferson or Burr? We know, it’s lose/lose
Jefferson or Burr? Jefferson or Burr? But if you had to choose…
Dear Mr. Hamilton
John Adams doesn’t stand a chance So who you are you promoting?
But if you had to choose!
HAMILTON: Well, if isn’t Aaron Burr, sir.
BURR: Alexander!
HAMILTON: You’ve created quite a stir, sir.
BURR: I’m going door to door!
HAMILTON: You’re openly campaigning?
BURR: Sure!
HAMILTON: That’s new.
BURR: Honestly, it’s kind of draining
HAMILTON: Burr?
BURR: Sir?
HAMILTON: Is there anything you wouldn’t do?
BURR: No, I’m chasing what I want, and you know what?
HAMILTON: What?
BURR: I learned that from you
ENSEMBLE: If you had to choose, if you had to choose…
MADISON: It’s a tie
ENSEMBLE: If you had to choose, if you had to choose…
JEFFERSON: It’s up to the delegates
ENSEMBLE: If you had to choose, if you had to choose…
JEFFERSON AND MADISON: It’s up to Hamilton!
ENSEMBLE: If you had to choose, if you had to choose…
Jefferson or Burr? Jefferson or Burr?
Choose, choose, choose!
HAMILTON: Yo
The people are asking to hear my voice
But the country is facing a difficult choice
And you were to ask me who I’d promote…
…Jefferson has my vote
I have never agreed with Jefferson once…
We have fought on like 75 different fronts
But when all said and all is done…
Jefferson has beliefs; Burr has none
ENSEMBLE: Ooooh!
JEFFERSON AND MADISON: Well, I’ll be damned! Well, I’ll be damned!
MADISON: Hamilton’s on your side
ENSEMBLE: Well, I’ll be damned! Well, I’ll be damned!
MADISON: And… you won in a landslide
BURR: Congrats on a race well won
I did give you a fight.
JEFFERSON: Uh-huh…
BURR: I look forward to our partnership.
JEFFERSON: Our partnership?
BURR: As your vice president!
JEFFERSON: Yeah, right!
You hear this guy?
Man openly campaigns against me Talking ‘bout “I look forward to our partnership!”
MADISON: It is crazy that the guy who comes in second gets to be vice president
JEFFERSON: Ooh! Y’know what, we can change that! Y’know why?
MADISON: Why?
JEFFERSON: ‘Cause I’m the president!
Burr, uh…
When you see Hamilton, thank him for the endorsement.
BURR: How does Hamilton
An arrogant Immigrant, orphan
Bastard, whoreson
Somehow endorse Thomas Jefferson, his enemy
A man he’s despised since the beginning Just to keep me from winning?
I wanna be in the room where it happens
The room where it happens The room where it happens
You’ve kept me from The room where it happens
For the last time
Dear Alexander:
I am slow to anger But I toe the line
As I reckon with the effects Of your life on mine
I look back on where I failed And in every place I checked
The only common thread has been your disrespect
Now you call me “amoral,” A “dangerous disgrace,”
If you’ve got something to say
Name a time and place Face to face
I have the honor to be Your Obedient Servant
A dot Burr
HAMILTON: Mr. Vice President:
I am not the reason no one trusts you No one knows what you believe
I will not equivocate on my opinion I have always worn it on my sleeve
Even if I said what you think I said You would need to cite a more specific grievance
Here’s an itemized list of thirty years of disagreements
BURR: Sweet Jesus
HAMILTON: Hey, I have not been shy
I am just a guy in the public eye Tryin’ to do my best for our republic
I don’t wanna fight But I won’t apologize for doing what’s right
I have the honor to be Your Obedient Servant
A dot Ham
BURR: Careful how you proceed, good man Intemperate indeed, good man
Answer for the accusations I lay at your feet or Prepare to bleed, good man
HAMILTON: Burr, your grievance is legitimate
I stand by what I said, every bit of it You stand only for yourself
It’s what you do I can’t apologize because it’s true
BURR: Then stand, Alexander
Weehawken. Dawn Guns. Drawn
HAMILTON: You’re on
BURR AND HAMILTON: I have the honor to be Your Obedient Servant
HAMILTON: A dot Ham
BURR: A dot Burr
ELIZA: Alexander, come back to sleep
HAMILTON: I have an early meeting out of town
ELIZA: It's still dark outside
HAMILTON: I know, I just need to write something down
ELIZA: Why do you write like you're running out of time?
HAMILTON: Shh
ELIZA: Come back to bed, that would be enough
HAMILTON: I'll be back before you know I'm gone
ELIZA: Come back to sleep
HAMILTON: This meeting's at dawn
ELIZA: Well I'm going back to sleep
HAMILTON: Hey
Best of wives and best of women
MALE COMPANY: One two three four
FULL COMPANY: Five six seven eight nine—
BURR: There are ten things you need to know
COMPANY: Number one!
BURR: We rowed across the Hudson at dawn
My friend, William P. Van Ness signed on as my—
BURR AND COMPANY: Number two!
BURR: Hamilton arrived with his crew:
Nathaniel Pendleton and a doctor that he knew
COMPANY: Number three!
BURR: I watched Hamilton examine the terrain
I wish I could tell you what was happ’ning in his brain This man has poisoned my political pursuits!
COMPANY: Most disputes die and no one shoots!
Number four!
BURR: Hamilton drew first position
Looking, to the world, like a man on a mission This is a soldier with a marksman’s ability
The doctor turned around so he could have deniability
COMPANY: Five!
BURR: Now I didn’t know this at the time But we were—
BURR, PHILIP AND HAMILTON: Near the same spot Your/My son died, is that why -
COMPANY: Six!
BURR: He examined his gun with such rigor?
I watched as he methodically fiddled with the trigger
COMPANY: Seven!
BURR: Confession time? Here’s what I got:
My fellow soldiers’ll tell you I’m a terrible shot
COMPANY: Number eight!
MEN: Your last chance to negotiate
Send in your seconds See if they can set the record straight
BURR: They won’t teach you this in your classes
But look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glasses
Why? If not to take deadly aim? It’s him or me, the world will never be the same
I had only one thought before the slaughter: This man will not make an orphan of my daughter
COMPANY: Number nine!
BURR: Look him in the eye, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require Then count:
COMPANY: One two three four five six seven eight nine
Number ten paces! Fire!—
HAMILTON: I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
Is this where it gets me On my feet, sev’ral feet ahead of me?
I see it coming Do I run or fire my gun or let it be?
There is no beat, no melody
Burr, my first friend, my enemy Maybe the last face I ever see
If I throw away my shot Is this how you’ll remember me?
What if this bullet is my legacy?
Legacy.
What is a legacy?
It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
I wrote some notes At the beginning of a song someone will sing for me
America, you great unfinished symphony You sent for me, you let me make a difference
A place where even orphan immigrants Can leave their fingerprints and rise up
I’m running out of time. I’m running, and my time’s up
Wise up! Eyes up!
I catch a glimpse of the other side Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side
My son is on the other side He’s with my mother on the other side
Washington is watching from the other side Teach me how to say goodbye
Rise up, rise up, rise up!
Eliza
My love, take your time
I’ll see you on the other side
Raise a glass to freedom...
BURR AND COMPANY: He aims his pistol at the sky—
BURR: Wait!
I strike him right between his ribs
I walk towards him, but I am ushered away
They row him back across the Hudson
I get a drink
I hear wailing in the streets
Somebody tells me, “You’d better hide.”
They say
BURR AND ANGELICA: Angelica and Eliza—
BURR: Were both at his side when he died
Death doesn’t discriminate Between the sinners and the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes
History obliterates In every picture it paints
It paints me and all my mistakes
When Alexander aimed at the sky He may have been the first one to die
But I’m the one who paid for it
I survived, but I paid for it
Now I’m the villain in your history
I was too young and blind to see...
I should’ve known I should’ve known
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me
WASHINGTON: Let me tell you what I wish I’d known
When I was young and dreamed of glory You have no control
Who lives, who dies Who tells your story?
BURR: President Jefferson:
JEFFERSON: I’ll give him this
His financial system is a work of genius. I couldn’t undo it if I tried
And I tried
COMPANY: Who lives, who dies Who tells your story?
BURR: President Madison:
MADISON: He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity
I hate to admit it, but he doesn’t get enough credit For all the credit he gave us
COMPANY: Who lives, who dies Who tells your story?
ANGELICA: Every other founding father's story gets told
Every other founding father gets to grow old
BURR: But when you’re gone, who remembers your name?
Who keeps your flame?
ENSEMBLE: Who tells your story?
WOMEN: Eliza
ELIZA: I put myself back in the narrative
WOMEN: Eliza
ELIZA: I stop wasting time on tears
I live another fifty years It’s not enough
COMPANY: Eliza
ELIZA: I interview every soldier who fought by your side
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS: She tells our story
ELIZA: I try to make sense Of your thousands of pages of writings
You really do write like you’re running out of time
I rely on—
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: Angelica
ELIZA: While she’s alive—
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: We tell your story
ELIZA: She is buried in Trinity Church
ELIZA AND ANGELICA: Near you
ELIZA: When I needed her most, she was right on time
ELIZA: And I’m still not through
I ask myself “What would you do if you had more time”
The Lord, in his kindness He gives me what you always wanted, he gives me more time
I raise funds in D.C. for the Washington Monument
WASHINGTON: She tells my story
ELIZA: I speak out against slavery
You could have done so much more If you only had time
And when my time is up, have I done enough?
Will they tell our story?
Oh. Can I show you what I’m proudest of?
COMPANY: The orphanage
ELIZA: I established the first private orphanage in New York City
COMPANY: The orphanage
ELIZA: I help to raise hundreds of children I get to see them growing up
COMPANY: The orphanage
ELIZA: In their eyes I see you, Alexander
I see you every time
And when my time is up Have I done enough?
Will they tell my story?
Oh, I can’t wait to see you again
It’s only a matter of time
COMPANY: Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies— Who tells your story?