So I saw Hamilton live twice.

Listen: I was a huge Hamilton fan shortly after it hit broadway. This was one of the first (maybe the only) interest I'd had that my mother could also get into-she isn't much of a musical person, but she got a kick out of Hamilton. My dad built sets and hung out with theatre people in high school, so he was happy to see me into theatre too.

The first time was a birthday gift from my parents. Me and my mother went... some time around my birthday, I believe in 2017. It was my first broadway show, and first large-scale live performance in general. I had seen and been in community theatre shows, I had my respect for the art, but I hadn't been to anything super large like that yet.

I remember distinctly that the big moment for me, the moment I realized where I was and how cool it was--at some point, I believe during Washington's introduction, maybe Battle of Yorktown, they had these super loud canon sound effects that shook the building. It was killer.

The second time was actually because of an online lottery. The venue we were going to had a lottery for the shows they put on, where you just kind of put in 5$ and you might win tickets. Shockingly, we did-so we got to see it a second time. I'm fairly sure I had to miss school for the second one.

Both times, me and my mom went to the stagedoor afterwards. We got a bunch of stuff signed, and I got photos with a few of the cast members-though the photos are hard to look at now, because I look horrible in them. I'm fairly sure I saw the actress that plays Allison in The Umbrella Academy in one of the shows, which is the coolest.

Nowadays I have shows I prefer over Hamilton, but Hamilton was a very cool one. The set is incredible, with the rotating platform and the staircases they have on wheels. Plus the blocking. Throw those chairs around. I'd totally see it live again, if there was a revival or something-and if I could fucking afford it.