Hamilton script

Hamilton script

Hamilton Script - Broadway musical

1
ACT 1
1. Alexander Hamilton
BURR
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a
forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence,
impoverished, in squalor,
grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
LAURENS
The ten-dollar founding father without a father
got a lot farther by working a lot harder,
by being a lot smarter,
by being a self-starter,
by fourteen, they placed him in charge of a
trading charter.
JEFFERSON
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up.
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of,
the brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow or barter.
MADISON
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned,
our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain,
put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain,
and he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain.
BURR
Well, the word got around, they said, “This kid is insane, man”
took up a collection just to send him to the mainland.
“Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came, and
the world is gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?”
HAMILTON
Alexander Hamilton.
My name is Alexander Hamilton.
And there’s a million things I haven’t done,
but just you wait, just you wait...
2
ELIZA
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden,
two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden,
half-dead sittin in their own sick, the scent thick,
COMPANY
And Alex got better but his mother went quick.
WASHINGTON
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide.
Left him with nothin’ but ruined pride, something new inside,
a voice saying,
WASHINGTON
“You gotta fend for yourself.”
COMPANY
“Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.”
WASHINGTON
he started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf.
BURR
There would have been nothin’ left to do
for someone less astute,
he woulda been dead or destitute
without a cent of restitution,
started workin’, clerkin’ for his late mother’s
landlord,
tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he
can’t afford
scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on,
plannin’ for the future see him now as he stands on
the bow of a ship headed for a new land,
In New York you can be a new man.
COMPANY
Scammin’
Plannin’
Oooh...
COMPANY
In New York you can
be a new man—
In New York you can
be a new man—
HAMILTON
Just you wait!
Just you wait!
COMPANY
In New York you can be a new man—
WOMEN
In New York—
3
MEN
New York—
HAMILTON
Just you wait!
COMPANY
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down,
you never learned to take your time!
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
When America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh.
COMPANY
Alexander Hamilton
Waiting in the wings for you
You never learned to take your time!
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton…
America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh.
BURR
The ship is in the harbor now,
see if you can spot him.
Another immigrant,
comin’ up from the bottom.
His enemies destroyed his rep,
America forgot him
MEN
Just you wait
COMPANY
Just you wait
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
We fought with him.
LAURENS
Me? I died for him.
WASHINGTON
Me? I trusted him.
ELIZA/ANGELICA/MARIA
Me? I loved him.
4
BURR
And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him.
COMPANY
There’s a million things I haven’t done,
but just you wait!
BURR
What’s your name, man?
COMPANY
Alexander Hamilton!
5
2. Aaron Burr, Sir
COMPANY
1776. New York City.
HAMILTON
Pardon me. Are you Aaron Burr, sir?
BURR
That depends. Who’s asking?
HAMILTON
Oh, well, sure, sir,
I’m Alexander Hamilton, I’m at your service, sir.
I have been looking for you.
BURR
I’m getting nervous.
HAMILTON
Sir…
I heard your name at Princeton. I was seeking an accelerated course of study when I got sort of out of
sorts with a buddy of yours. I may have punched him. It’s a blur, sir. He handles the financials?
BURR
You punched the bursar.
HAMILTON
Yes!
I wanted to do what you did. Graduate in two, then join the revolution. He looked at me like I was stupid,
I’m not stupid.
So how’d you do it? How’d you graduate so fast?
BURR
It was my parents’ dying wish before they passed.
HAMILTON
You’re an orphan. Of course! I’m an orphan.
God, I wish there was a war!
Then we could prove that we’re worth more
than anyone bargained for…
BURR
6
Can I buy you a drink?
HAMILTON
That would be nice.
BURR
While we’re talking, let me offer you some free advice.
Talk less.
HAMILTON
What?
BURR
Smile more.
HAMILTON
Ha.
BURR
Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.
HAMILTON
You can’t be serious.
BURR
You wanna get ahead?
HAMILTON
Yes.
BURR
Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead.
LAURENS
Yo yo yo yo yo!
What time is it?
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Show time!
BURR
…like I said…
LAURENS
7
Show time! Show time! Yo!
I’m John Laurens in the place to be!
Two pints o’ Sam Adams, but I’m workin’ on three, uh!
Those redcoats don’t want it with me!
Cuz I will pop chick-a pop these cops till I’m free!
LAFAYETTE
Oui oui, mon ami, je m’appelle Lafayette!
The Lancelot of the revolutionary set!
I came from afar just to say “Bonsoir!”
Tell the King “Casse toi!” Who’s the best?
C’est moi!
MULLIGAN
Brrrah brraaah! I am Hercules Mulligan,
Up in it, lovin’ it, yes I heard ya mother said “Come again?”
Lock up ya daughters and horses, of course
it’s hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets…
LAURENS
No more sex, pour me another brew, son!
Let’s raise a couple more…
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
To the revolution!
LAURENS
Well, if it ain’t the prodigy of Princeton college!
MULLIGAN
Aaron Burr!
LAURENS
Give us a verse, drop some knowledge!
BURR
Good luck with that: you’re takin’ a stand.
You spit. I’m ‘a sit. We’ll see where we land.
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Boooo!
LAURENS
Burr, the revolution’s imminent. What do you stall for? HAMILTON
If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?
8
3. My Shot
LAURENS
Ooh,
Who are you?
MULLIGAN
Ooh,
Who are you?
LAFAYETTE
Ooh,
Who are you?
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS
Ooh, who is this kid? What’s he gonna do?
HAMILTON
I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry,
and I’m not throwing away my shot!
I’m ‘a get a scholarship to King’s College.
I prob’ly shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish.
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish.
I gotta holler just to be heard.
With every word, I drop knowledge!
I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
tryin’ to reach my goal. My power of speech: unimpeachable.
Only nineteen but my mind is older.
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
ev’ry burden, ev’ry disadvantage
I have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandish,
I walk these streets famished.
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame.
But damn, it’s getting dark, so let me spell out the name,
I am the—
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
A-l-e-x-a-n-d
e-r—we are—meant to be…
HAMILTON
A colony that runs independently.
Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin’ on us endlessly.
Essentially, they tax us relentlessly,
then King George turns around, runs a spending spree.
He ain’t ever gonna set his descendants free,
so there will be a revolution in this century.
Enter me!
9
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
(He says in parentheses)
HAMILTON
Don’t be shocked when your hist’ry book mentions me.
I will lay down my life if it sets us free.
Eventually, you’ll see my ascendancy,
HAMILTON
And I am not throwing away my shot.
I am not throwing away my shot.
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwing away my shot.
LAURENS
My shot!
My shot!
And I’m not throwing away my shot.
HAMILTON/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
I am not throwing away my shot.
I am not throwing away my shot.
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwing away my shot.
It’s time to take a shot!
LAFAYETTE
I dream of life without a monarchy.
The unrest in France will lead to ‘onarchy?
‘Onarchy? How you say, how you say, ‘anarchy?’
When I fight, I make the other side panicky.
With my—
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Shot!
MULLIGAN
Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprentice,
and I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis.
I’m joining the rebellion cuz I know it’s my chance
to socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants!
I’m gonna take a—
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Shot!
10
LAURENS
But we’ll never be truly free
until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me,
you and I. Do or die. Wait till I sally in
on a stallion with the first black battalion
have another—
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Shot!
BURR
Geniuses, lower your voices.
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices.
I’m with you, but the situation is fraught.
You’ve got to be carefully taught:
If you talk, you’re gonna get shot!
HAMILTON
Burr, check what we got.
Mister Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot,
I think your pants look hot,
Laurens, I like you a lot.
Let’s hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin’ the pot...
What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot,
poppin’ a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not,
a bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists?
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!
Oh, am I talkin’ too loud?
Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth.
I never had a group of friends before,
I promise that I’ll make y’all proud.
LAURENS
Let’s get this guy in front of a crowd.
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/ENSEMBLE
I am not throwing away my shot.
I am not throwing away my shot.
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwing away my shot.
I am not throwing away my shot.
11
I am not throwing away my shot.
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwing away my shot.
LAURENS
Ev’rybody sing:
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Hey!
Whoa!
Wooh!!
Whoa!
Ay, let ‘em hear ya!
Let’s go!
I said shout it to the rooftops!
Said, to the rooftops!
Come on!
Come on, let’s go!
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!
Yea!
COMPANY
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!
Yea!
LAURENS
Rise up!
When you’re living on your knees, you rise up.
Tell your brother that he’s gotta rise up.
Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up.
LAURENS AND ENSEMBLE
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Rise up!
COMPANY
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!
Rise up!
HAMILTON
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
When’s it gonna get me?
In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?
If I see it comin’, do I run or do I let it be?
Is it like a beat without a melody?
12
See, I never thought I’d live past twenty.
Where I come from some get half as many.
Ask anybody why we livin’ fast and we laugh, reach for a flask,
we have to make this moment last, that’s plenty.

Scratch that,
this is not a moment, it’s the movement
where all the hungriest brothers with
something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand,
we roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land.
And? If we win our independence?
‘Zat a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin an endless
cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?
I know the action in the street is excitin’,
but Jesus, between all the bleedin’ ‘n fightin’
I’ve been readin’ ‘n writin’.
We need to handle our financial situation.
Are we a nation of states? What’s the state of our nation?
I’m past patiently waitin’. I’m passionately
smashin’ every expectation,
every action’s an act of creation!
I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow,
for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow,
HAMILTON AND COMPANY
And I am not throwing away my shot.
I am not throwing away my shot.
Hey yo, I’m just like my country,
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwing away my shot.
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/
MULLIGAN
We’re gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna
HAMILTON
Time to take a shot!
ENSEMBLE
Not throwing away my shot.
Not throwing away my shot.
We’re gonna
rise up!
Rise up!
13
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS/
MULLIGAN
Time to take a shot!
Take a shot!
Shot!
Shot!
A-yo it’s
time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am—
Rise up!
Rise up!
Rise up!
Rise up!
Ri— ri— ri—
Time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am—
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
Not throwin’ away my—
COMPANY
Not throwin’ away my shot!
14
4. The Story of Tonight
HAMILTON
I may not live to see our glory!
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
I may not live to see our glory!
HAMILTON
But I will gladly join the fight!
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
But I will gladly join the fight!
HAMILTON
And when our children tell our story…
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS
And when our children tell our story…
HAMILTON
They’ll tell the story of tonight.
MULLIGAN
Let’s have another round tonight.
LAFAYETTE
Let’s have another round tonight.
HAMILTON
Let’s have another round tonight.
LAURENS
Raise a glass to freedom,
Something they can never take away,
no matter what they tell you.
Raise a glass to the four of us.
LAURENS/MULLIGAN
Tomorrow there’ll be more of us.
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS
Telling the story of tonight.
15
HAMILTON
They’ll tell the story of tonight.
LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
Raise a glass to freedom,
something they can never take away.
HAMILTON
No matter what they tell you.
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
Let’s have another round tonight.
LAURENS
Raise a glass to the four of us.
HAMILTON/LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
Tomorrow there’ll be more of us.
HAMILTON/LAURENS
Telling the story of tonight
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
Let’s have another round tonight
HAMILTON/LAURENS/ENSEMBLE
They’ll tell the story of tonight
They’ll tell the story of tonight
They’ll tell the story of tonight
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/ENSEMBLE
Raise a glass to freedom
Raise a glass to freedom
They’ll tell the story of—
FULL ENSEMBLE
Tonight
16
5. The Schuyler Sisters
BURR
There’s nothing rich folks love more
than going downtown and slummin’ it with the poor.
They pull up in their carriages and gawk
at the students in the common
Just to watch them talk.
Take Philip Schuyler: the man is loaded.
Uh-oh, but little does he know that
his daughters, Peggy, Angelica, Eliza
sneak into the city just to watch all the guys at—
COMPANY
Work, work!
ANGELICA
Angelica!
COMPANY
Work, work!
ELIZA
Eliza!
PEGGY
And Peggy!
COMPANY
Work, work!
The Schuyler sisters!
ANGELICA
Angelica!
PEGGY
Peggy!
ELIZA
Eliza!
COMPANY
Work!
17
PEGGY
Daddy said to be home by sundown.
ANGELICA
Daddy doesn’t need to know.
PEGGY
Daddy said not to go downtown.
ELIZA
Like I said, you’re free to go.
ANGELICA
But—look around, look around, the
revolution’s happening in New York.
ELIZA/PEGGY
New York.
COMPANY
Angelica
SCHUYLER SISTERS AND COMPANY
Work!
PEGGY
It’s bad enough daddy wants to go to war.
ELIZA
People shouting in the square.
PEGGY
It’s bad enough there’ll be violence on our shore.
ANGELICA
New ideas in the air.
ANGELICA AND MALE ENSEMBLE
Look around, look around—
ELIZA
Angelica, remind me what we’re looking for…
ALL MEN
18
She’s lookin’ for me!
ANGELICA
Eliza, I’m lookin’ for a mind at work.
I’m lookin’ for a mind at work!
I’m lookin’ for a mind at work!
Whooaaaaa!
ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY
Whooaaaaa!
Work!
COMPANY
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work!
BURR
Wooh! There’s nothin’ like summer in the city.
Someone in a rush next to someone lookin’ pretty.
Excuse me, miss, I know it’s not funny
But your perfume smells like your daddy’s got money.
Why you slummin’ in the city in your fancy heels
You searchin for an urchin who can give you ideals?
ANGELICA
Burr, you disgust me.
BURR
Ah, so you’ve discussed me.
I’m a trust fund, baby, you can trust me!
ANGELICA
I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane.
You want a revolution? I want a revelation
So listen to my declaration:
ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY
“We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal”
ANGELICA
And when I meet Thomas Jefferson,
COMPANY
Unh!
ANGELICA
19
I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel!
WOMEN
Work!
ELIZA
Look around, look around at how
Lucky we are to be alive right now!
ELIZA/PEGGY
Look around, look around at how
Lucky we are to be alive right now!
ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY
History is happening in Manhattan and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world!
SCHUYLER SISTERS AND COMPANY
In the greatest city in the world!
ANGELICA
Cuz I’ve been reading Common
Sense by Thomas Paine.
So men say that I’m intense or I’m
insane.
ANGELICA
You want a revolution?
I want a revelation
So listen to my declaration:
ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY
We hold these truths to be self
evident that all men are created
equal
Whoo!
ELIZA/PEGGY
Look around, look around
The revolution’s happening in—
ELIZA/PEGGY
New York!
In New York!
FEMALE ENSEMBLE
Look around
Look around
At how lucky we are to be alive
right now
MEN
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
WOMEN
Look around, look around the
revolution’s happening
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey!
FULL COMPANY
Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!
History is happening in Manhattan and we just happen to be
20
ALL WOMEN
In the greatest city in the world
ALL MEN
In the greatest city—
COMPANY
In the greatest city in the world!
COMPANY
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
ANGELICA
Angelica!
ELIZA
Eliza!
PEGGY
And Peggy!
ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY
The Schuyler sisters!
We’re looking for a mind at work!
Hey!
Hey!
COMPANY
Work, work!
Work, work!
Work, work!
ANGELICA
Whoa!
In the greatest
city in the world
ELIZA/PEGGY
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
In the greatest
city in the world
COMPANY
In the greatest city in the world!
21
6. Farmer Refuted
SEABURY
Hear ye, hear ye! My name is Samuel Seabury,
and I present “Free Thoughts on the
Proceedings of the Continental Congress!”
Heed not the rabble who scream revolution,
they have not your interests at heart.
MULLIGAN
Oh my God. Tear this dude apart.
SEABURY
Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution.
Don’t let them lead you astray.
This Congress does not speak for me.
BURR
Let him be.
SEABURY
They’re playing a dangerous game.
I pray the king shows you his mercy.
For shame, for shame…
HAMILTON
Yo!
He’d have you all unravel at the
sound of screams but the
revolution is comin’.
The have-nots are gonna win this,
it’s hard to listen to you with a straight face.
Chaos and bloodshed already haunt us, honestly you
shouldn’t even talk. And what about Boston? Look
at the cost, n’ all that we’ve lost n’ you talk
about Congress?!
My dog speaks more eloquently than thee!
But strangely, your mange is the same.
Is he in Jersey?
For the revolution!
SEABURY
Heed not the rabble
Who scream
Revolution, they
Have not your interests at heart.
Chaos and bloodshed are not
A solution.
Don’t let them lead you
astray.
This Congress does not speak for me,
they’re playing a dangerous game.
I pray the king shows you his mercy.
For shame,
22
For shame,
COMPANY
For the revolution!
SEABURY
Heed—
HAMILTON
If you repeat yourself again I’m gonna—
SEABURY/HAMILTON
Scream—
HAMILTON
Honestly, look at me, please don’t read!
SEABURY
Not your interests—
HAMILTON
Don’t modulate the key then not debate with me!
Why should a tiny island across the sea regulate the price of tea?
BURR
Alexander, please!
HAMILTON
Burr, I’d rather be divisive than indecisive, drop the niceties.
ENSEMBLE
Silence! A message from the King!
A message from the King!
FULL COMPANY
A message from the King!
23
7. You’ll Be Back
KING GEORGE
You say
the price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay.
You cry
in your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by.
Why so sad?
Remember we made an arrangement when you went away,
now you’re making me mad.
Remember, despite our estrangement, I’m your man.
You’ll be back.
Soon you’ll see.
You’ll remember you belong to me.
You’ll be back.
Time will tell.
You’ll remember that I served you well.
Oceans rise,
empires fall,
we have seen each other through it all,
and when push
comes to shove,
I will send a fully armed battalion
to remind you of my love!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da,
Da da dat dat da…
You say our love is draining and you can’t go on.
You’ll be the one complaining when I am gone...
And no, don’t change the subject
cuz you’re my favorite subject.
My sweet, submissive subject,
my loyal, royal subject,
forever and ever and ever and ever and ever…
You’ll be back,
like before.
I will fight the fight and win the war
for your love,
for your praise,
and I’ll love you till my dying days.
24
When you’re gone
I’ll go mad,
so don’t throw away this thing we had.
Cuz when push comes to shove,
I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat—
Everybody!
ENSEMBLE
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da
Da da dat dat da ya da!
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da da da da
dat dat da ya da!
25
8. Right Hand Man
COMPANY
British Admiral Howe’s got troops on the water.
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor.
ENSEMBLE 1
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor.
When they surround our troops!
They surround our troops!
When they surround our troops!
ENSEMBLE 2
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor.
They surround our troops!
They surround our troops!
HAMILTON
As a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war.
I knew that I was poor,
I knew it was the only way to—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
Rise up!
HAMILTON
If they tell my story
I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
Rise up!
HAMILTON
We will fight for this land
but there’s only one man
who can give us a command so we can—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
Rise up!
HAMILTON
Understand? It’s the only way to—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
Rise up! Rise up!
HAMILTON
Here he comes!
26
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
BURR
Ladies and gentlemen!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
BURR
The moment you’ve been waiting for!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
BURR
The pride of Mount Vernon!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the general!
BURR
George Washington!
WASHINGTON
We are outgunned,
outmanned,
outnumbered,
outplanned.
We gotta make an all out stand
ayo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man.
ENSEMBLE
What?
What?
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!
WASHINGTON
Check it—
Can I be real a second?
For just a millisecond?
Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?
Now I’m the model of a modern major general,
the venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
27
lining up, to put me up on a pedestal,
writin’ letters to relatives
embellishin’ my elegance and eloquence,
but the elephant is in the room,
the truth is in ya face when ya hear the British cannons go…
ENSEMBLE
Boom!
WASHINGTON
Any hope of success is fleeting,
how can I keep leading when the people I’m
leading keep retreating?
We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn,
knight takes rook, but look,
WASHINGTON
We are outgunned,
outmanned,
outnumbered,
outplanned.
We gotta make an all out stand
ayo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man.
Incoming!
ENSEMBLE
What?
What?
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!
Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!
HAMILTON
They’re battering down the Battery check the damages.
MULLIGAN
Rah!
HAMILTON
We gotta stop ‘em and rob ‘em
of their advantages.
MULLIGAN
Rah!
HAMILTON
Let’s take a stand with the stamina God has granted us.
28
Hamilton won’t abandon ship,
Yo, let’s steal their cannons—
MULLIGAN
Shh-boom!
COMPANY
Boom!
WASHINGTON
Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray and…
COMPANY
Boom!
WASHINGTON
Goes the cannon, we’re abandonin’ Kips Bay and…
COMPANY
Boom!
WASHINGTON
There’s another ship and…
COMPANY
Boom!
WASHINGTON
We just lost the southern tip and…
COMPANY
Boom!
WASHINGTON
We gotta run to Harlem quick, we can’t afford another slip.
Guns and horses giddyup,
I decide to divvy up
my forces, they’re skittish as the British cut the city up.
This close to giving up, facing mad scrutiny,
I scream in the face of this mass mutiny:
are these the men with which I am to defend America?
We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance.
I cannot be everywhere at once, people.
I’m in dire need of assistance…
BURR
Your excellency, sir!
29
WASHINGTON
Who are you?
BURR
Aaron Burr, Sir?
Permission to state my case?
WASHINGTON
As you were.
BURR
Sir,
I was a captain under General Montgomery
until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec,
and well, in summary
I think that I could be of some assistance.
I admire how you keep firing on the British
from a distance.
WASHINGTON
Huh.
BURR
I have some questions, a couple of suggestions
on how to fight instead of fleeing west.
WASHINGTON
Yes?
BURR
Well—
HAMILTON
Your excellency, you wanted to see me?
WASHINGTON
Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?
HAMILTON
Yes, sir.
HAMILTON AND BURR
We keep meeting.
30
BURR
As I was saying, sir, I look forward to seeing
your strategy play out.
WASHINGTON
Burr?
BURR
Sir?
WASHINGTON
Close the door on your way out.
HAMILTON
Have I done something wrong, sir?
WASHINGTON
On the contrary.
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary.
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh.
HAMILTON
Sir?
WASHINGTON
Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
HAMILTON
Sir!
WASHINGTON
Don’t get me wrong, you’re a young man, of great renown.
I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown.
Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you…
HAMILTON
To be their Secretary? I don’t think so.
WASHINGTON
Why’re you upset?
HAMILTON
I’m not—
31
WASHINGTON
It’s alright, you want to fight, you’ve got a hunger.
I was just like you when I was younger.
Head full of fantasies of dyin’ like a martyr?
HAMILTON
Yes.
WASHINGTON
Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.
HAMILTON
Why are you telling me this?
WASHINGTON
I’m being honest.
I’m working with a third of what our Congress
has promised.
We are a powder keg about to explode,
I need someone like you to lighten the load. So?
COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
Ayo, I’m just like my country, I’m young,
scrappy and hungry!
HAMILTON
I am not throwing away my shot!
WASHINGTON
Son,
WASHINGON AND COMPANY
We are outgunned, outmanned!
HAMILTON
You need all the help you can get.
I have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan,
Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Outnumbered, outplanned!
32
HAMILTON
We’ll need some spies on the inside,
Some King’s men who might let some things slide.
HAMILTON
I’ll write to Congress and tell ‘em
we need supplies, you rally the
guys, master the element of
surprise.
I’ll rise above my station, organize
your information, ‘til we rise to the
occasion of our new nation. Sir!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
HAMILTON
Rise up!
HAMILTON
Rise up!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
HAMILTON
Rise up!
COMPANY
Boom!
Chicka-boom!
ENSEMBLE
Here comes the General!
SCHUYLER SISTERS
Rise up!
SCHUYLER SISTERS AND
WOMEN
Rise up!
ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY
Whoa, whoa, whoa...
Whoa, whoa, whoa...
ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY
AND WOMEN
Whoa, whoa, whoa…
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/
MULLIGAN
What?
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/
MULLIGAN
What?
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/
MULLIGAN
What?
FULL COMPANY
Here comes the General!
HAMILTON
What?
WASHINGTON
And his right hand man!
FULL COMPANY
Boom!
33
9. A Winter’s Ball
BURR
How does the bastard, orphan, son of a whore,
go on and on,
grow into more of a phenomenon?
Watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother
be seated at the right hand of the father.
Washington hires Hamilton right on sight,
But Hamilton still wants to fight, not write.
Now Hamilton’s skill with a quill is undeniable
But what do we have in common? We’re
reliable with the
ALL MEN
Ladies!
BURR
There are so many to deflower.
ALL MEN
Ladies!
BURR
Looks! Proximity to power.
ALL MEN
Ladies!
BURR
They delighted and distracted him.
Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him!
HAMILTON
That’s true.
FULL COMPANY
1780.
BURR
A winter’s ball
and the Schuyler sisters are the envy of all.
Yo, if you can marry a sister, you’re rich, son.
HAMILTON
Is it a question of if, Burr, or which one?
34
10. Helpless
HAMILTON/BURR/LAURENS
Hey
Hey
Hey hey
HAMILTON/BURR/LAURENS/ALL WOMEN (EXCEPT ELIZA)
Hey hey hey hey
ELIZA
Ohh, I do I do I do I
Dooo! Hey!
Ohh, I do I do I do I
Dooo! Boy you got me
ALL WOMEN
Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
ELIZA AND WOMEN
Helpless!
Look into your eyes, and the sky’s the limit I’m helpless!
Down for the count, and I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
ELIZA
I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight.
We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night,
laughin’ at my sister as she’s dazzling the room
then you walked in and my heart went “Boom!”
Tryin’ to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom,
everybody’s dancin’ and the band’s top volume.
ELIZA AND WOMEN
Grind to the rhythm as we wine and dine.
ELIZA
Grab my sister, and
whisper, “Yo, this
one’s mine.”
My sister made her way across the room to you
and I got nervous, thinking “What’s she gonna do?”
She grabbed you by the arm, I’m thinkin’ “I’m
through”
Then you look back at me and suddenly I’m
Helpless!
ALL WOMEN
Oooh
Oooh
Oooh
Oooh
35
Oh, look at those eyes,
Oh!
Yeah, I’m
helpless, I know
I’m so into you,
I am so into you.
I know I’m down for the count
And I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
Helpless!
Look into your eyes,
And the sky’s the limit
I’m
Helpless!
Down for the count,
And I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
I’m helpless!
Look into your eyes,
And the sky’s the limit I’m helpless!
Down for the count,
And I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
HAMILTON
Where are you taking me?
ANGELICA
I’m about to change your life.
HAMILTON
Then by all means, lead the way.
ELIZA
Elizabeth Schuyler. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
HAMILTON
Schuyler?
ANGELICA
My sister.
ELIZA
Thank you for all your service.
HAMILTON
If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it.
ANGELICA
I’ll leave you to it.
36
ELIZA AND WOMEN
One week later
ELIZA
I’m writin’ a letter nightly.
Now my life gets better, every letter that you write me.
Laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem.
ANGELICA
I’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him.
ELIZA
Ha!
Two weeks later,
In the living room stressin’
My father’s stone-faced
while you’re asking for his blessin’.
I’m dying inside, as
you wine
and dine
and I’m tryin’ not to cry,
‘cause there’s nothing that your mind can’t do.
My father makes his way across the room
to you.
I panic for a second, thinking,
“we’re through”
But then he shakes your hand and says,
“Be true”
And you turn back to me, smiling, and I’m
Helpless!
Helpless!
Hoo!
That boy is mine,
that boy is mine!
Helpless! Helpless!
ALL WOMEN
stressin’
blessin’.
Oooh
Oooh
Oooh
Oooh
Helpless!
Look into your eyes,
and the sky’s the
limit I’m
Helpless!
Down for the count,
and I’m drownin’ in
‘em I’m
helpless!
Look into your eyes,
And the sky’s the
limit I’m
37
Down for the count,
And I’m drownin’ in em
helpless!
Down for the count,
And I’m drownin’ in em
HAMILTON
Eliza, I don’t have a dollar to my name,
an acre of land, a troop to command, a dollop of fame.
All I have’s my honor, a tolerance for pain,
a couple of college credits and my top-notch brain.
Insane, your family brings out a different side of me,
Peggy confides in me, Angelica tried to take a bite of me,
no stress, my love for you is never in doubt.
We’ll get a little place in Harlem and we’ll figure it out.
I’ve been livin’ without a family since I was a child.
My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild.
But I’ll never forget my mother’s face, that was real,
and long as I’m alive, Eliza, swear to God,
you’ll never feel so…
HAMILTON
Eliza…
I’ve never felt so—
My life is gon’ be fine cuz Eliza’s
in it.
ELIZA
I do I do I do I do!
I do I do I do I do!
Hey, yeah, yeah!
I’m down for the count,
I’m—
I look into your eyes, and the sky’s
the limit
I’m
…drownin’ in ‘em.
ALL WOMEN
Helpless!
Helpless!
Helpless!
Down for the count
and I’m drownin’ in ‘em
Helpless!
Helpless!
Helpless!
Down for the count,
and I’m drownin’ in ‘em.
ALL WOMEN
In New York, you can be a new man…
in New York, you can be a new man…
In New York, you can be a new man… ELIZA
Helpless.
38
11. Satisfied
LAURENS
Alright, alright. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Now everyone give it up for the maid of honor,
Angelica Schuyler!
ANGELICA
A toast to the groom!
To the bride!
From your sister,
who is always by your side.
To your union,
and the hope that you provide.
May you always…
be satisfied.
ALL MEN
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
Angelica!
Angelica!
Angelica!
By your side!
To the union!
To the revolution!
You provide!
You provide!
HAMILTON AND MEN
Always—
Rewind—
ALL WOMEN
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
ELIZA AND WOMEN
Angelica!
By your side!
To the union!
To the revolution!
You provide!
Always—
Rewind—
ANGELICA
I remember that night, I just might
regret that night for the rest of my days.
I remember those soldier boys
tripping over themselves to win our praise.
I remember that dreamlike candlelight
39
like a dream that you can’t quite place,
but Alexander, I’ll never forget the first
time I saw your face.
I have never been the same,
Intelligent eyes in a hunger-pang frame,
And when you said “Hi,” I forgot my dang name,
set my heart aflame, ev’ry part aflame,
FULL COMPANY
This is not a game…
HAMILTON
You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.
ANGELICA
I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself.
HAMILTON
You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.
ANGELICA
Is that right?
HAMILTON
I have never been satisfied.
ANGELICA
My name is Angelica Schuyler.
HAMILTON
Alexander Hamilton.
ANGELICA
Where’s your fam’ly from?
HAMILTON
Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but
just you wait, just you wait…
ANGELICA
So so so—
so this is what it feels like to match wits
40
with someone at your level! What the hell is the catch? It’s
the feeling of freedom, of seein’ the light,
it’s Ben Franklin with a key and a kite! You see it, right?
The conversation lasted two minutes, maybe three minutes,
ev’rything we said in total agreement, it’s
a dream and it’s a bit of a dance,
a bit of a posture, it’s a bit of a stance. He’s a
bit of a flirt, but I’m ‘a give it a chance.
I asked about his fam’ly, did you see his answer?
His hands started fidgeting, he looked askance?
He’s penniless, he’s flying by the seat of his pants.
Handsome, boy, does he know it!
Peach fuzz, and he can’t even grow it!
I wanna take him far away from this place,
then I turn and see my sister’s face and she is…
ELIZA
Helpless…
ANGELICA
And I know she is…
ELIZA
Helpless…
ANGELICA
And her eyes are just…
ELIZA
Helpless…
ANGELICA
And I realize
ANGELICA AND COMPANY
Three fundamental truths at the exact same time…
HAMILTON
Where are you taking me?
ANGELICA
I’m about to change your life.
41
HAMILTON
Then by all means, lead the way.
COMPANY (EXCEPT ANGELICA)
Number one!
ANGELICA
I’m a girl in a world in which
my only job is to marry rich.
My father has no sons so I’m the one
who has to social climb for one,
so I’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in
New York City is insidious,
And Alexander is penniless,
Ha! That doesn’t mean I want him any less.
ELIZA
Elizabeth Schuyler. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
HAMILTON
Schuyler?
ANGELICA
My sister.
COMPANY
Number two!
ANGELICA
He’s after me cuz I’m a Schuyler sister.
That elevates his status, I’d
have to be naïve to set that aside,
maybe that is why I introduce him to Eliza,
now that’s his bride.
Nice going, Angelica, he was right,
You will never be satisfied.
ELIZA
Thank you for all your service.
HAMILTON
If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it.
ANGELICA
42
I’ll leave you to it.
COMPANY
Number three!
ANGELICA
I know my sister like I know my own mind,
you will never find anyone as trusting or as kind.
If I tell her that I love him she’d be silently resigned,
he’d be mine.
She would say, “I’m fine”
ANGELICA AND COMPANY
She’d be lying.
ANGELICA
But when I fantasize at night
it’s Alexander’s eyes,
as I romanticize what might
have been if I hadn’t sized him
up so quickly.
At least my dear Eliza’s his wife;
at least I keep his eyes in my life…
ANGELICA
To the groom!
To the bride!
From your sister,
who is always by your side.
To your union,
and the hope that you provide.
ALL MEN (EXCEPT
HAMILTON)
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
Angelica!
Angelica!
By your side.
To the union!
To the revolution!
ALL WOMEN (EXCEPT ELIZA)
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
ELIZA AND WOMEN
Angelica!
By your side.
To the union!
To the revolution!
43
May you always
be satisfied.
And I know
She’ll be happy as
his bride.
And I know
You provide!
You provide!
HAMILTON AND MEN
Always—
Be satisfied,
be satisfied,
MEN
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
You provide!
Always—
be satisfied.
WOMEN
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
Be satisfied.
ANGELICA
He will never be satisfied.
I will never be satisfied.
44
12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)
LAURENS
I may not live to see our glory!
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
I may not live to see our glory!
LAURENS
But I’ve seen wonders great and small.
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
I’ve seen wonders great and small.
LAURENS
Cuz if the tomcat can get married,
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
If Alexander can get married—
LAURENS
There’s hope for our ass, after all!
LAFAYETTE
Raise a glass to freedom.
LAURENS/MULLIGAN
Hey!
Something you will never see again!
MULLIGAN
No matter what she tells you.
LAFAYETTE
Let’s have another round tonight!
LAURENS
Raise a glass to the four of us!
LAFAYETTE/HAMILTON
Ho!
MULLIGAN
To the newly not poor of us!
45
LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/HAMILTON
Woo!
LAFAYETTE
We’ll tell the story of tonight.
LAURENS
Let’s have another round—
HAMILTON
Well, if it isn’t Aaron Burr.
BURR
Sir!
HAMILTON
I didn’t think that you would make it.
BURR
To be sure.
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE
Burr!
BURR
I came to say congratulations.
MULLIGAN
Spit a verse, Burr!
BURR
I see the whole gang is here.
LAFAYETTE
You are the worst, Burr!
HAMILTON
Ignore them. Congrats to you, Lieutenant Colonel.
I wish I had your command instead of manning George’s journal.
BURR
No, you don’t.
46
HAMILTON
Yes, I do.
BURR
Now, be sensible.
From what I hear, you’ve made yourself indispensable.
LAURENS
Well, well, I heard
you’ve got a special someone on the side, Burr.
HAMILTON
Is that so?
LAURENS
What are you tryin’ to hide, Burr?
BURR
I should go.
HAMILTON
No, these guys should go.
LAFAYETTE
What?
LAURENS
No!
HAMILTON
Leave us alone.
MULLIGAN
Man…
HAMILTON
It’s alright, Burr. I wish you’d brought this girl with you tonight, Burr.
BURR
You’re very kind, but I’m afraid it’s unlawful, sir.
HAMILTON
What do you mean?
47
BURR
She’s married.
HAMILTON
I see.
BURR
She’s married to a British officer.
HAMILTON
Oh shit…
BURR
Congrats again, Alexander. Smile more.
I’ll see you on the other side of the war.
HAMILTON
I will never understand you.
If you love this woman, go get her! What are you waiting for?
BURR
I’ll see you on the other side of the war.
HAMILTON
I’ll see you on the other side of the war.
48
13. Wait For It
BURR
Theodosia writes me a letter ev’ry day.
I’m keeping her bed warm while her husband is away.
He’s on the British side in Georgia.
He’s tryin’ to keep the colonies in line.
He can keep all of Georgia.
Theodosia, she’s mine.
Love doesn’t discriminate
between the sinners
and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
and we keep loving anyway.
We laugh and we cry
and we break
and we make our mistakes.
And if there’s a reason I’m by her side
when so many have tried
then I’m willing to wait for it.
I’m willing to wait for it.
BURR
My grandfather was a fire and
brimstone preacher
But there are things that the
homilies and hymns won’t teach
ya
My mother was a genius
My father commanded respect
When they died they left no
instructions.
Just a legacy to protect.
MEN
Preacher,
preacher,
preacher
Teach ya,
teach ya,
teach ya
Respect,
respect
WOMEN
Genius
49
BURR/ENSEMBLE
Death doesn’t discriminate
between the sinners
and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
and we keep living anyway.
We rise and we fall
and we break
and we make our mistakes.
And if there’s a reason I’m still alive
when everyone who loves me has died
I’m willing to wait for it.
I’m willing to wait for it.
Wait for it
ENSEMBLE
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
BURR
I am the one thing in life I can control
ENSEMBLE
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
BURR
I am inimitable
I am an original
ENSEMBLE
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
BURR
I’m not falling behind or running late
ENSEMBLE
50
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it
BURR
I’m not standing still,
I am lying in wait
ENSEMBLE
Wait
Wait
Wait
BURR
Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb
ENSEMBLE
Climb
Climb
Climb
BURR
He has something to prove
he has nothing to lose
ENSEMBLE
Lose
Lose
Lose
Lose
BURR
Hamilton’s pace is relentless,
he wastes no time
ENSEMBLE
Time
Time
Time
BURR
What is it like in his shoes?
51
Hamilton doesn’t hesitate.
He exhibits no restraint.
He takes and he takes and he takes
and he keeps winning anyway.
He changes the game.
He plays and he raises the stakes.
And if there’s a reason
he seems to thrive when so few survive, then Goddamnit—
BURR
I'm willing to wait for it.
I'm willing to wait for it…
Life doesn’t discriminate
between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes.
We rise
We fall
and if there’s a reason I’m still alive when so many
have died,
then I’m willin’ to—
COMPANY
I'm willing to wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for…
I'm willing to—
Life doesn’t discriminate
between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
and we keep living anyway,
we rise and we fall and we break and we make our
mistakes.
and if there’s a reason I’m still alive when so many
have died,
then I’m willin’ to—
BURR
Wait for it…
Wait for it...
WOMEN
Wait for it...
Wait for it…
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
MEN
Wait for it…
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Wait...
52
14. Stay Alive
ELIZA
Stay alive…
ELIZA/ANGELICA/ENSEMBLE WOMEN
Stay alive…
HAMILTON
I have never seen the General so despondent.
I have taken over writing all his correspondence.
Congress writes, “George, attack the British forces.”
I shoot back, we have resorted to eating our horses.
Local merchants deny us equipment, assistance,
they only take British money, so sing a song of sixpence.
WASHINGTON
The cavalry’s not coming.
HAMILTON
Sir!
WASHINGTON
Alex, listen. There’s only one way for us to win this.
Provoke outrage, outright.
HAMILTON
That’s right.
WASHINGTON
Don’t engage, strike by night.
Remain relentless ‘til their troops take flight.
HAMILTON
Make it impossible to justify the cost of the fight.
WASHINGTON
Outrun.
HAMILTON
Outrun.
WASHINGTON
Outlast.
53
HAMILTON
Outlast.
WASHINGTON
Hit ‘em quick, get out fast.
HAMILTON
Chick-a-plao!
WASHINGTON
Stay alive ‘til this horror show is past.
We’re gonna fly a lot of flags half-mast.
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
Raise a glass!
MULLIGAN
I go back to New York and my apprenticeship.
LAFAYETTE
I ask for French aid, I pray that France has sent a ship.
LAURENS
I stay at work with Hamilton,
we write essays against slavery,
and every day’s a test of our camaraderie
and bravery.
HAMILTON
We cut supply lines, we steal contraband,
we pick and choose our battles and places to take a stand.
And ev’ry day,
“Sir, entrust me with a command,”
and ev’ry day,
WASHINGTON
No.
HAMILTON
He dismisses me out of hand.
HAMILTON
Instead of me,
ELIZA/ANGELICA
Stay alive...
54
he promotes
Charles Lee.
Makes him second-in-command:
LEE
Charles Lee.
LEE
I’m a General. Whee!!!!
HAMILTON
Yeah. He’s not the choice I would have gone with.
HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE
He shits the bed at the Battle of Monmouth.
WASHINGTON
Ev’ryone attack!
LEE
Retreat!
WASHINGTON
Attack!
LEE
Retreat!
WASHINGTON
What are you doing, Lee? Get back on your feet!
LEE
But there’s so many of them!
WASHINGTON
I’m sorry, is this not your speed?!
Hamilton!
HAMILTON
Ready, sir!
WASHINGTON
Have Lafayette take the lead!
HAMILTON
Yes, sir!
55
LAURENS
A thousand soldiers die in a hundred degree heat.
LAFAYETTE
As we snatch a stalemate from the jaws of defeat.
HAMILTON
Charles Lee was left behind
without a pot to piss in.
He started sayin’ this to anybody who would listen:
LEE
Washington cannot be left alone to his devices
indecisive, from crisis to crisis.
The best thing he can do for the revolution
is turn n’ go back to plantin’ tobacco in Mount Vernon.
COMPANY
Oo!!
WASHINGTON
Don’t do a thing. History will prove him wrong.
HAMILTON
But, sir!
WASHINGTON
We have a war to fight, let’s move along.
LAURENS
Strong words from Lee, someone oughta hold him to it.
HAMILTON
I can’t disobey direct orders.
LAURENS
Then I’ll do it.
Alexander, you’re the closest friend I’ve got.
HAMILTON
Laurens, do not throw away your shot.
56
15. Ten Duel Commandments
MEN
One, two, three, four
FULL COMPANY
Five, six, seven, eight, nine…
BURR/HAMILTON/LAURENS/LEE
It’s the Ten Duel Commandments.
FULL COMPANY
It’s the Ten Duel Commandments.
Number one!
LAURENS
The challenge: demand satisfaction.
If they apologize, no need for further action.
COMPANY
Number two!
LAURENS
If they don’t, grab a friend, that’s your second.
HAMILTON
Your lieutenant when there’s reckoning to be reckoned.
COMPANY
Number three!
LEE
Have your seconds meet face to face.
BURR
Negotiate a peace…
HAMILTON
Or negotiate a time and place.
BURR
This is commonplace, ‘specially ‘tween recruits.
COMPANY
57
Most disputes die, and no one shoots.
Number four!
LAURENS
If they don’t reach a peace, that’s alright.
Time to get some pistols and a doctor on site.
HAMILTON
You pay him in advance, you treat him with civility.
BURR
You have him turn around so he can have deniability.
COMPANY
Five!
LEE
Duel before the sun is in the sky.
COMPANY
Pick a place to die where it’s high and dry,
number six!
HAMILTON
Leave a note for your next of kin.
Tell ‘em where you been. Pray that hell or heaven lets you in.
COMPANY
Seven!
LEE
Confess your sins, ready for the moment of adrenaline when you finally face your opponent.
COMPANY
Number eight!
LAURENS/LEE/HAMILTON/BURR
Your last chance to negotiate.
Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight…
BURR
Alexander.
HAMILTON
58
Aaron Burr, sir.
BURR
Can we agree that duels are dumb and immature?
HAMILTON
Sure.
But your man has to answer for his words, Burr.
BURR
With his life? We both know that’s absurd, sir.
HAMILTON
Hang on, how many men died because Lee was inexperienced and ruinous?
BURR
Okay, so we’re doin’ this.
COMPANY
Number nine!
HAMILTON
Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher.
Summon all the courage you require.
Then count
MEN
One two three four
FULL COMPANY
Five six seven eight nine
HAMILTON/BURR
Number
COMPANY
Ten paces!
HAMILTON/BURR
Fire!
59
16. Meet Me Inside
HAMILTON
Lee, do you yield?
BURR
You shot him in the side!
Yes, he yields!
LAURENS
I’m satisfied.
BURR
Yo, we gotta clear the field!
HAMILTON
Go! We won.
COMPANY
Here comes the General!
BURR
This should be fun.
WASHINGTON
What is the meaning of this? Mr. Burr, get a medic for the General.
BURR
Yes, sir.
WASHINGTON
Lee, you will never agree with me,
but believe me, these young men don’t speak for me.
Thank you for your service.
BURR
Let’s ride!
WASHINGTON
Hamilton!
HAMILTON
Sir!
60
WASHINGTON
Meet me inside.
COMPANY
Meet him inside! Meet him inside!
Meet him inside, meet him, meet him inside!
WASHINGTON
Son—
HAMILTON
Don’t call me son.
WASHINGTON
This war is hard enough
without infighting—
HAMILTON
Lee called you out. We called his bluff.
WASHINGTON
You solve nothing, you aggravate our allies to the south.
HAMILTON
You’re absolutely right. John should have shot him in the mouth.
That would’ve shut him up.
WASHINGTON
Son—
HAMILTON
I’m notcha son—
WASHINGTON
Watch your tone.
I am not a maiden in need of defending, I am grown.
HAMILTON (OVERLAPPING)
Charles Lee, Thomas Conway,
these men take your name and they rake it
through the mud.
WASHINGTON
My name’s been through a lot, I can take it.
61
HAMILTON
Well, I don’t have your name. I don’t have your titles.
I don’t have your land.
But, if you—
WASHINGTON
No—
HAMILTON
If you gave me command of a battalion, a group of men to lead, I could fly above my station after the
war.
WASHINGTON
Or you could die and we need you alive.
HAMILTON
I’m more than willing to die—
WASHINGTON
Your wife needs you alive, son, I need you alive—
HAMILTON
Call me son one more time—
WASHINGTON
Go home, Alexander.
That’s an order from your commander.
HAMILTON
Sir—
WASHINGTON
Go home.
62
17. That Would Be Enough
ELIZA
Look around, look around at how lucky we are
to be alive right now.
Look around, look around…
HAMILTON
How long have you known?
ELIZA
A month or so.
HAMILTON
Eliza, you should have told me.
ELIZA
I wrote to the General a month ago.
HAMILTON
No.
ELIZA
I begged him to send you home.
HAMILTON
You should have told me.
ELIZA
I’m not sorry.
ELIZA
I knew you’d fight
until the war was won
But you deserve a
chance to meet your son.
Look around, look around
at how lucky we are
to be alive right now.
HAMILTON
The war’s not
done.
HAMILTON
Will you relish being a poor man’s wife,
unable to provide for your life?
63
ELIZA
I relish being your wife.
Look around, look around…
Look at where you are.
Look at where you started.
The fact that you’re alive is a miracle.
Just stay alive, that would be enough.
And if this child
Shares a fraction of your smile
or a fragment of your mind, look out world!
That would be enough.
I don’t pretend to know
the challenges you’re facing.
The worlds you keep erasing and creating in your mind.
But I’m not afraid.
I know who I married.
So long as you come home at the end of the day
that would be enough.
We don’t need a legacy.
We don’t need money.
If I could grant you peace of mind,
If you could let me inside your heart…
Oh, let me be a part of the narrative
in the story they will write someday.
Let this moment be the first chapter:
where you decide to stay
and I could be enough
and we could be enough
that would be enough.
64
18. Guns and Ships
BURR
How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower
somehow defeat a global superpower?
How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire?
Leave the battlefield waving Betsy Ross’ flag higher?
Yo. Turns out we have a secret weapon!
An immigrant you know and love who’s unafraid to step in!
He’s constantly confusin’, confoundin’ the British henchmen.
Ev’ryone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman!
COMPANY
Lafayette!
LAFAYETTE
I’m takin this horse by the reins makin’
redcoats redder with bloodstains.
COMPANY
Lafayette!
LAFAYETTE
And I’m never gonna stop until I make ‘em
drop and burn ‘em up and scatter their remains, I’m
COMPANY
Lafayette!
LAFAYETTE
Watch me engagin’ em! Escapin’ em!
Enragin’ em! I’m—
COMPANY
Lafayette!
LAFAYETTE
I go to France for more funds.
COMPANY
Lafayette!
LAFAYETTE
I come back with more
65
LAFAYETTE AND ENSEMBLE
Guns
And ships
And so the balance shifts.
WASHINGTON
We rendezvous with Rochambeau, consolidate their gifts.
LAFAYETTE
We can end this war at Yorktown, cut them off at sea, but
for this to succeed, there’s someone else we need:
WASHINGTON
I know.
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Hamilton!
LAFAYETTE
Sir, he knows what to do in a trench.
ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean—
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Hamilton!
LAFAYETTE
Sir, you’re gonna have to use him eventually,
what’s he gonna do on the bench? I mean—
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Hamilton!
LAFAYETTE
No one has more resilience
or matches my practical tactical brilliance—
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Hamilton!
LAFAYETTE
You wanna fight for your land
back? COMPANY
Hamilton!
66
WASHINGTON
I need my right hand man back!
LAFAYETTE
Ah! Uh, get ya right hand
man back
you know you gotta get ya right
hand man back
I mean you gotta put some thought
into the letter but the sooner the
better
to get your right hand man back!
WOMEN
Hamilton!
Hamilton!
Hamilton, Hamilton!
Ha— ha—!
MEN
Get your right hand man back!
Your right hand man back!
Hamilton!
Ha—
Ha—
Hamilton, Hamilton!
Ha— ha—!
WASHINGTON
Alexander Hamilton,
troops are waiting in the field for you.
If you join us right now, together we can turn the tide.
Oh, Alexander Hamilton,
I have soldiers who will yield for you.
If we manage to get this right,
they’ll surrender by early light.
The world will never be the same, Alexander…
67
19. History Has Its Eyes On You
WASHINGTON
I was younger then you are now
when I was given my first command.
I led my men straight into a massacre.
I witnessed their deaths firsthand.
I made every mistake,
I felt the shame rise in me,
And even now I lie awake,
WASHINGTON
Knowing history has its eyes on me.
HAMILTON/WASHINGTON
History has its eyes on me.
LAURENS/MULLIGAN
Whoa…
Whoa…
Whoa…
Yeah
COMPANY
Whoa…
Whoa…
Whoa…
Yeah
WASHINGTON
Let me tell you what I wish I’d known
when I was young and dreamed of glory:
You have no control:
WASHINGTON AND COMPANY
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.
WASHINGTON
I know that we can win.
I know that greatness lies in you.
But remember from here on in,
WASHINGTON/HAMILTON AND MEN
History has its
Eyes on you.
ENSEMBLE
Whoa…
Whoa…
Whoa…
FULL COMPANY
History has its eyes on you.
68
20. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)
COMPANY
The battle of Yorktown. 1781.
LAFAYETTE
Monsieur Hamilton.
HAMILTON
Monsieur Lafayette.
LAFAYETTE
In command where you belong.
HAMILTON
How you say, no sweat.
We’re finally on the field. We’ve had quite a run.
LAFAYETTE
Immigrants:
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE
We get the job done.
HAMILTON
So what happens if we win?
LAFAYETTE
I go back to France,
I bring freedom to my people if I’m given the chance.
HAMILTON
We’ll be with you when you do.
LAFAYETTE
Go lead your men.
HAMILTON
See you on the other side.
LAFAYETTE
‘Til we meet again, let’s go!
ENSEMBLE
69
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
Hey yo, I’m just like my country, I’m young,
scrappy and hungry
and I’m not throwin’ away my shot!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
HAMILTON
‘Til the world turns upside down…
ENSEMBLE
‘Til the world turns upside down!
HAMILTON
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.
This is where it gets me: on my feet,
the enemy ahead of me.
If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me,
weapon in my hand, a command, and my men with me.
Then I remember my Eliza’s expecting me...
not only that, my Eliza’s expecting.
We gotta go, gotta get the job done,
gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son!
Take the bullets out your gun!
ENSEMBLE
What?
HAMILTON
The bullets out your gun!
ENSEMBLE
What?
HAMILTON
We move under cover and we move as one
through the night, we have one shot to live another day.
We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away.
We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it.
It’s either that or meet the business end of a bayonet.
The code word is ‘Rochambeau,’ dig me?
ENSEMBLE
Rochambeau!
70
HAMILTON
You have your orders now, go, man, go!
And so the American experiment begins
with my friends all scattered to the winds.
Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining brav’ry.
HAMILTON/LAURENS
We’ll never be free until we end slavery!
HAMILTON
When we finally drive the British away,
Lafayette is there waiting—
HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE
In Chesapeake Bay!
HAMILTON
How did we know that this plan would work?
We had a spy on the inside. That’s right,
HAMILTON/COMPANY
Hercules Mulligan!
MULLIGAN
A tailor spyin’ on the British government!
I take their measurements, information and then I smuggle it!
COMPANY
Up
MULLIGAN
To my brother’s revolutionary covenant
I’m runnin’ with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin’ it!
See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians.
We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it!
Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction,
when you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!
COMPANY
Left! Right! Hold!
Go!
What! What! What!
HAMILTON
71
After a week of fighting, a young man in a red coat stands on a parapet.
LAFAYETTE
We lower our guns as he frantically waves a white handkerchief.
MULLIGAN
And just like that, it’s over. We tend to our wounded, we count our dead.
LAURENS
Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom.
WASHINGTON
Not. Yet.
HAMILTON
We negotiate the terms of surrender.
I see George Washington smile.
We escort their men out of Yorktown.
They stagger home single file.
Tens of thousands of people flood the streets.
There are screams and church bells ringing.
And as our fallen foes retreat,
I hear the drinking song they’re singing…
ALL MEN
The world turned upside down.
FULL COMPANY
The world turned upside down,
the world turned upside down,
the world turned upside down,
down,
down, down, down.
LAFAYETTE
Freedom for America, freedom for France!
COMPANY
Down, down, down.
HAMILTON
Gotta start a new nation,
gotta meet my son.
72
COMPANY
Down, down, down.
MULLIGAN
We won!
LAFAYETTE
We won!
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS
We won!
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS/HAMILTON/WASHINGTON
We won!
COMPANY
The world turned upside down!
73
21. What Comes Next?
KING GEORGE
They say
the price of my war’s not a price that they’re willing to pay.
Insane.
You cheat with the French, now I’m fighting with France and with Spain.
I’m so blue.
I thought that we’d made an arrangement
when you went away,
You were mine to subdue.
Well, even despite our estrangement, I’ve got
a small query for you:
What comes next?
You’ve been freed.
Do you know how hard it is to lead?
You’re on your own.
Awesome. Wow.
Do you have a clue what happens now?
Oceans rise.
Empires fall.
It’s much harder when it’s all your call.
All alone, across the sea.
When your people say they hate you, don’t
come crawling back to me.
Da da da dat da dat da da da
Da ya da
Da da dat
Da da ya da...
You’re on your own…
74
22. Dear Theodosia
BURR
Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?
You have my eyes. You have your mother’s name.
When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart.
I’m dedicating every day to you.
Domestic life was never quite my style.
When you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart.
And I thought I was so smart.
You will come of age with our young nation.
We’ll bleed and fight for you, we’ll make it right for you.
If we lay a strong enough foundation
we’ll pass it on to you, we’ll give the world to you,
and you’ll blow us all away…
someday, someday.
Yeah, you’ll blow us all away,
someday, someday.
HAMILTON
Oh Philip, when you smile I am undone.
My son.
Look at my son. Pride is not the word I’m looking for.
There is so much more inside me now.
Oh Philip, you outshine the morning sun.
My son.
When you smile, I fall apart.
And I thought I was so smart.
My father wasn’t around.
BURR
My father wasn’t around.
HAMILTON
I swear that
I’ll be around for you.
BURR
I’ll be around for you.
HAMILTON
I’ll do whatever it takes.
75
BURR
I’ll make a million mistakes.
BURR/HAMILTON
I’ll make the world safe and sound for you…
…will come of age with our young nation.
We’ll bleed and fight for you, we’ll make it right for you.
If we lay a strong enough foundation
we’ll pass it on to you, we’ll give the world to you,
and you’ll blow us all away...
someday, someday.
Yeah, you’ll blow us all away,
someday, someday.
76
23. Non-Stop
BURR
After the war I went back to New York.
HAMILTON
A-after the war I went back to New York.
BURR
I finished up my studies and I practiced law.
HAMILTON
I practiced law, Burr worked next door.
BURR
Even though we started at the very same time,
Alexander Hamilton began to climb.
How to account for his rise to the top?
Maaaaan, the man is
non-stop! ENSEMBLE
Non-stop!
HAMILTON
Gentlemen of the jury, I’m curious, bear with me.
Are you aware that we’re making hist’ry?
This is the first murder trial of our brand-new nation.
HAMILTON
The liberty behind deliberation— ENSEMBLE
Non-stop!
HAMILTON
I intend to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt
with my assistant counsel—
BURR
Co-counsel.
Hamilton, sit down.
Our client Levi Weeks is innocent. Call your first witness.
That’s all you had to say!
HAMILTON
Okay!
One more thing—
77
BURR
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Soon that attitude may be your doom!
ENSEMBLE
Awwww!
BURR
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re running out of time?
Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time.
Keep on fighting. In the meantime—
ENSEMBLE
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time.
Non-stop!
HAMILTON
Corruption’s such an old song that we can sing along in harmony
and nowhere is it stronger than in Albany.
This colony’s economy’s increasingly stalling and
HAMILTON
Honestly, that’s why public service
seems to be calling me.
BURR AND ENSEMBLE
He’s just
Non-stop!
HAMILTON
I practiced the law, I practic’ly perfected it.
I’ve seen injustice in the world and I’ve corrected it.
Now for a strong central democracy,
If not, then I’ll be Socrates
HAMILTON
Throwing verbal rocks
at these mediocrities. ENSEMBLE
Awww!
BURR
Hamilton, at the Constitutional Convention:
HAMILTON
78
I was chosen for the Constitutional Convention.
BURR
There as a New York junior delegate:
HAMILTON
Now what I’m going to say may sound indelicate…
BURR
Goes and proposes his own form of government!
His own plan for a new form of government!
COMPANY
Awwww!
What?
What?
BURR
Talks for six hours! The convention is listless!
ENSEMBLE MAN
Bright young man…
ANOTHER ENSEMBLE MAN
Yo, who the f is this?
BURR
Why do you always say what you believe?
Why do you always say what you believe?
Ev’ry proclamation guarantees free ammunition for
your enemies!
BURR AND MEN
Why do you write like it’s
going out of style?
Write day and night like it’s
going out of style?
COMPANY
Why do you always say what you believe?
Awww!
ALL WOMEN
Going out of style, hey!
Going out of style, hey!
BURR AND COMPANY
Ev’ry day you fight like it’s
going out of style.
Do what you do.
BURR
Alexander?
79
HAMILTON
Aaron Burr, sir.
BURR
It’s the middle of the night.
HAMILTON
Can we confer, sir?
BURR
Is this a legal matter?
HAMILTON
Yes, and it’s important to me.
BURR
What do you need?
HAMILTON
Burr, you’re a better lawyer than me.
BURR
Okay.
HAMILTON
I know I talk too much, I’m a
Last Update:April, 04th 2019

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