Teens tell America’s story with help from ‘Hamilton’ (Idaho Statesman) [x]:
Kaycee Hailey got hooked on "Hamilton" when she watched the 2016 Tony awards with a friend. Not only did Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical sweep the theater awards, but the African American teen from Charlotte saw a parade of performers who looked like her.
Fast forward two years. "Hamilton" had come to Charlotte, where some tickets sold for more than $400.
Hailey, now a senior at West Charlotte High, had fallen hard for Miranda's catchy tunes, witty lyrics and fresh telling of America's story through the eyes of Alexander Hamilton. She had listened to "Satisfied," her favorite song, maybe 100 times.
On Nov. 1, Hailey and two friends, Kaliyah Landrum and Shazaria Hoover, walked into the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center — not through the lobby but through the stage door. They passed dressing rooms where costumes were laid out for the upcoming matinee.
Violin case in hand, Hailey looked out at the towering brick backdrop where she would soon see "Hamilton" come to life.
But first, the trio of 17-year-olds would have to deliver their own performance, an original poem about Sally Hemings' life set to music. And they'd have to do it in a theater packed four layers deep with teens.
Despite her nerves, Hailey says, she felt a surge of power. In their telling, Hemings wouldn't just be the slave and mistress of President Thomas Jefferson. She would be a black woman whose pain, sacrifice and courage are the story of America.
Hailey struck up an original tune in a minor key. By the time Hoover and Landrum recited their final lines — "For Lady Liberty to stand tall / So many black women had to fall" — the audience was applauding wildly.
During a class in early October, [history teacher Ayanna] Perry had students listen to "Helpless" and "Satisfied," songs about the complex relationship between Hamilton and sisters Eliza and Angelica Schuyler. In the musical, the sisters are both single and smitten, with Angelica yielding to let her sister become Hamilton's bride.
In reality, Perry told the class, Angelica was already married by the time the sisters met Hamilton.
The students talked about how the scenes remind them of relationship drama in their own lives. A female student mentioned "the girl code" against moving on someone else's boyfriend. A male classmate responded that "Hamilton started it."
"Everybody's a gossip," another student said. "How do you know what was true?"
If EduHam could be boiled down to one question, that would be it. The goal is to teach students how to find and interpret original documents and understand how history is filtered through the voice of the teller.
In order to attend the show, each EduHam student has to create a two-minute presentation based on a figure or episode from the period of history encompassed in "Hamilton."
For some, it was little more than a traditional oral report. Others turned to music, poetry, rap and drama.
The West Charlotte trio brought a mix of skills to their project. Landrum and Hoover are both visual artists. Hoover also likes to write.
Hailey is a violinist and writer whose opinion pieces about education have been published in the Observer and EdNC, an online education newsletter. And she had been fascinated by Annette Gordon-Reed's book "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family." The three decided to tackle Hemings' story, relying partly on an 1873 account written by Madison Hemings about his parents, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
At first they just worked on a poem. But when Hailey attended an event that included a spoken word performance set to music they expanded their vision.
The result was a poem that opens with Landrum and Hoover, dressed in black, reciting in the voice of Madison Hemings, "If my mother's life were a song I'd play it in a minor key / With accidental majors thrown in she / Kept singing along for dear life / Her time and her skin only brought her strife." Hailey accompanies with a haunting violin melody.
As the young performers arrived they were greeted by "Hamilton" ensemble cast member Tyler McKenzie, who graduated from Central Academy of Technology & Arts in Union County.
Backstage, McKenzie led the students in breathing exercises and gave them a pep talk, Hailey recalls. McKenzie also served as emcee for the student performances, urging the audience to be "mindfully lit" and making sure every act got an enthusiastic welcome.
Donovan Moonie from Hunter Huss High in Gastonia delivered a powerful rap on the slave experience.
Dorrian Perkins and Mason Gumbs from North Forsyth High used a ukulele to accompany their song about the Boston Tea Party. Students were dancing in their seats and cheering as the duo chanted their chorus of "Dump the tea, dump the tea, dump the tea — Dump it!"
There was a pair wearing colonial garb above the waist and jeans and sneakers below, acting out the duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr. There were historic lyrics set to tunes ranging from Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" to Nicki Minaj's "Chun-Li."
Finally it was time for West Charlotte. As they took the stage Hailey thought she was calm, though she saw her fingers shaking as she placed them on her violin. Then she played a few notes and "it felt like it was me and my friends.” [. . .]
