Hamilton's America Page #11

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I have the honor to be, sir,

your obedient A. Burr."

Wow.

-That's great.

-That's fantastic.

-Lawyered.

It's Burr lookin

at his life and saying,

"Wow, at every point along

the way, my barrier was you.

What do you have to say

for yourself?"

Hamilton, smart-ass

as he is, is saying,

"You're gonna have to be

more specific than that.

I say a lot of... about you."

-These are 18th-century

dueling pistols.

The first thing to do is,

you would pick up your weapon

and keep it vertical,

and you would put

some powder in.

And then you would

take out the rammer.

You invert it

and ram the powder down.

-Okay, and you would --

-There's so much time

to apologize.

[ Laughter ]

-At dawn on a July morning

in 1804,

traveling in separate boats,

Hamilton and Burr travel

up the Hudson River

to Weehawken,

across the Hudson River

from where West 42nd Street

in Manhattan is.

-Hamilton had a lot of

insecurities and vulnerabilities

about his reputation

because of his origins.

Over the course of his life,

10 times he almost got

involved in a duel.

All of those times,

he negotiated his way out.

And in most affairs of honor,

that's what happened.

Unfortunately,

with Burr in 1804,

they don't manage to do that.

- 1, 2, 3, 4,

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Number 10 paces,

fire

[ Gunshot ]

-And we get

to his final moments.

There's just him,

this bullet coming at him,

and all the thoughts

that can ping through his brain

between that bullet

leaving the gun and hitting him.

-I imagine death so much,

it feels more like a memory.

Is this where it gets me --

on my feet,

several 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.

He does a tally sheet.

This is -- This is Hamilton.

He thinks about the things

he's done in his life.

He thinks about

the country he's leaving behind

that didn't exist

when he got there.

He thinks about the people he's

gonna see on 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

-And in the last moment,

the snag that keeps him

from going there is Eliza,

because he leaves her behind

with a lot.

And then he does it anyway.

He points his gun up at the sky

in that final moment.

-My love, take your time.

[ Sobs ]

I'll see you on the other side.

[ Sobs ]

Raise a glass to freedom

- He aims his pistol

at the sky

-Wait!

[ Gunshot ]

[ Mid-tempo

dramatic music plays ]

-There's a lot more

he could have done.

The fact that it went down

the way that it did is a tragedy

for both of them

and for all of us.

You know, he was a fighter

and a survivor for a long time.

He had risen

to a certain station in life

by the time him

and Hamilton ended up

on the grounds in Weehawken.

He wasn't friendless.

He wasn't jobless.

I mean, he had risen to that

station based on relationships

and based on accomplishments.

I think that our show

is doing a really good job

of reminding us

that all of us

are more than one thing.

- 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

-If that's all

you're looking at,

is our worst act

on our worst day,

any one of us could be

painted as a villain.

It's really about

the totality of someone.

-How much time do we get

on this Earth?

We don't know.

They don't tell us at the outset

how much time we get.

It's something I've been

sort of grappling with

and terrified with.

I think we all grapple with it.

I think we all grapple

with the paradox of knowing

tomorrow's not promised,

but making plans anyway.

You know?

Hamilton

walked into that duel.

He had a lunch date

with a client

on the books that same day.

You don't plan

for your life to end.

- 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

-President Jefferson.

-I give him this --

his financial system

was a work of genius.

I couldn't undo it if I tried.

And I tried.

-Hamilton built

our modern economy.

And once we built it here

in the United States,

the rest of the world

looked around and said,

"Pretty good idea."

-Alexander Hamilton, I think,

is one of the more

uniquely American founders

because this man

came from nothing

and rose to the highest levels

of serving this country.

He proved, the condition

of your birth

should not determine

the outcome of your life.

-Alexander Hamilton is

somewhere going, "Thank you.

Finally, someone

has given me the respect.

I created this whole fin--

I created what money is

and the bank systems.

I created all of that.

I got no thanks for that?"

-It wasn't easy to get

to where we are today.

But it was dictated by

and led by a vision.

We're a blessed nation

to have had our founders --

such remarkable men.

-I think when faced

with the incredible

three lifetimes Hamilton lived

while he was on this Earth,

it forces you to reckon with,

"Well, what am I doing

with my life?"

That's the thing

you're always up against

when you're writing

something that's big.

It's, "God, can I be proud

of this at the end of the day?

If this show opens

and closes in a day,

will I regret

the six years I put into it?"

-The Tony goes to "Hamilton."

[ Cheers and applause ]

-I'm well aware that

the outside part of my life,

the whole zeitgeist-y moment

that is happening --

if this were a movie,

there would be newspapers

spinning and flash bulbs.

That's what this section

of the movie would be.

-And the Tony goes to...

-And the Tony goes to...

-And the Tony goes to...

-Hamilton."

-Hamilton."

-Hamilton."

-Hamilton."

-Hamilton."

-Hamilton."

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Alexander Hamilton

was a dreamer.

I stand on this stage tonight

surrounded by dreamers.

[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Birds chirping ]

-I keep waiting for life

to go back to normal.

We've finished unpacking

our apartment.

My piano's still out of tune.

I haven't gotten around

to that yet.

I knew that "Hamilton"

was gonna change my life.

But I didn't anticipate

how much we'd help

Hamilton's legacy in turn.

Not just Hamilton

but also Eliza,

for whom Hamilton's legacy

was so important.

[ Soft music plays ]

- Eliza

- I put myself

back in the narrative

- Eliza

- I stop wasting time

on tears

I live another 50 years

It's not enough

- Eliza

-"Hamilton" captures the spirit

of American entrepreneurship

and making it and hustle.

I think if Hamilton

were alive today,

he would look back and say

America succeeded

beyond his wildest dreams.

- 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 your story?

-I feel like Hamilton chose me.

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