I AM NOT THROWING AWAY MY SHOT (to convert Leafy into a Hamilton fan). 

(I'm sorry guys but I mean did you really expect me not to throw in a reference xD)

How I got into Hamilton was really just listening to the soundtrack. I got Hamilton tickets for my birthday (I was supposed to go in late March or early April but I didn't get to because of covid DX *sobs*) and I had never listened to Hamilton before or even been that into it, but I had been wanting to go see it. I was debating whether or not I should listen to the soundtrack beforehand to get aquainted with it or if I should go in completely blind and have it all be new and fresh, but after some research I decided to listen to some of the main songs to be prepared. Mainly because, as I found out, there are 46 songs in Hamilton and a lot of the dialogue is just through rap, so most of what I read suggested listening to few so that you wouldn't be confused if you missed some of the faster lines. Anyway, I ended up listening to most of the Act 1 soundtrack (I made myself hold off on the second half so I wouldn't spoil everything) and after that I really started getting into Hamilton and I now consider myself a Hamilfan even though I haven't seen the show or listened to the entire soundtrack. So yeah, if you want to get into Hamilton, I would say just find the soundtrack on YouTube or Spotify or wherever and just start listening! The thing is, since there are so many songs and so much of the plot/dialogue is in them, it's really easy to follow the basic story and know what's going on/what it's about even not having watched it. I mean, even having listened to less than half the songs I feel like I have a good grip on the story. And besides that, the music itself is just so good it's pretty hard not to fall in love with it. So yeah. I would say just jump into the soundtrack and getting into it is fairly easy after that. :D The best songs to start with (and the ones I started with) are probably Alexander Hamilton, My Shot, Aaron Burr Sir, The Schuyler Sisters, Guns and Ships, and You'll Be Back. My personal favorite at the moment is probably Non-Stop. But you can always just go listen to the whole thing start to finish too.

I actually have somewhat of a Hamilton dilemma myself. So originally, like I said, I was only going to listen to part of the soundtrack so I would be familiar with the story but not spoil too much of the show and still get the full experience and such. But because of corona the tour was cancelled and I couldn't go. We're still planning to go eventually once all this blows over, but I don't know when that will be. So my question for any other Hamilfans on here is: should I listen to the rest of the soundtrack now to ease the pain of quarantine/not getting to go to the show, or should I stay strong and hold off until I can have the full experience? And if anyone here has gone to Hamilton, how much does having listened to the whole soundtrack or not listened to it matter when seeing the show?

Listening to the whole soundtrack is great, and didn't hurt seeing the show for me! --admin

I've never actually seen Hamilton, but I love it! I've listened to the soundtrack a couple of times. The first time I listened, I did get a bit confused because not all of the story is explained within the music, but I looked up the story online and it made more sense. I think it's fine to just listen to it, and look up the story if you get confused.

I listened to all of the soundtrack before I saw Hamilton, and it didn’t ruin it at all- in fact, I’m glad I listened to it, since that made it way easier to understand!

I considered myself a Hamilfan before I actually saw it, just by listening to the soundtrack, and I think many other people have done the same. I would definitely recommend doing that if you’re interested in Hamilton. I’ve also heard that they might be making a Hamilton movie, I think using footage from the original Broadway cast. I don’t have details on that, but I’m sure you could look it up.

Hope I helped!  

A while ago I heard that a filmed version of a live stage performance of Hamilton was/is scheduled to be released in late 2020. I don't know if that's still true or not, but I hope so. I'm looking forward to seeing it!

Admin

Hi Leafy, I'll admit, I originally had a hard time getting into Hamilton as well. I've never seen the musical, but I love it all the same. I'd definitely recommend listening to the soundtrack many, many times. I really got into it by listening to my favorite songs first, then I started listening to it in order. Eventually, you'll be able to discern the lyrics, and the story, in my opinion, will fall into place. Hope this helps! 

You really don't have to have seen the show in person, and I would say most Hamilton fans probably haven't actually seen it. By the time I saw the show I was already madly in love with it and knew nearly all of the lyrics. The show is completely sung through, which means that there's no dialogue outside the songs and you can get everything just from the soundtrack. It's a two and a half hour show with 46 songs, so it may seem pretty overwhelming at first, but the story starts to sort itself out once you've listened to it a few times. People really get to know the music through listening to it, not seeing it live. Anyways, hope this helps, even though everyone else has already explained it too.

Don't mind me as I join the crowd of Hamilfans trying to get you into it.

I do think the way you get into Hamilton is through listening to the soundtrack, a few years back I essesntially had the whole thing memorized, and I hadn't even seen it! Especially because Hamilton is entirely sung through, which means there aren't any scenes in between the songs. Essentially, it's like seeing the play (with the OBC) with your eyes closed. And id you're still confused as to the plot, many other people have also been confused before you, and therefore the internet has all kinds of helpful summaries. My personal go-to when getting into a new musical soundtrack is the Wikipedia plot synopsis, but I know others exist for Hamilton.

I first got into Hamilton like four years ago and I'm sure I was very cringey about it, but I think that if you needed to have seen the show to be a fan, there wouldn't be nearly as many of them. Like, obviously it's always up to you, so enjoy in whatever ways you want to. Another personal thing I do is look up footage or animatics of the songs on YouTube, you get to see incredibly talented performers and artists, and it can help you get an idea for what's going on in any given song.

So...I started listening to the soundtrack! AAAAAAAh I'm in love. So far I've heard Alexander Hamilton, The Room Where it Happened, Dear Theodosia, Yorktown, Satisfied, and a couple others. I LOVE it. I don't think I'm much of a musicals person but these songs are reaaaallllyyyyyy good. 

A new Hamilton fan has joined the ranks *salutes*  

OH MY GOSH HAMILTON AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I love Hamilton so much. I haven't watched it, ever. I really want to but tickets are expensive and stuff. I will someday though because it's so good. I have listened to the soundtrack a million times and know most of the words to the first half. I don't listen to the second half as much, so I don't know as many of the words. 

Some of my favorite songs are Dear Theodosia, I Know Him, um... there must be others. *thinks hard* Well, I love them all. But I guess those are my absolute favorites.

Also, does anyone else have the book Hamilton: The Revolution? I bought it and it's great. It's super cool to like be able to see the "insides" of the show. 

Ok I'll stop ranting now. Wait, one other thing. Hamilton also got me into Broadway in general. One of my teachers started a Musicals online "club" thing and I went to one of the online Meets and it's cool. Broadway's cool. Mamma Mia has really good songs.

I will actually stop now, I promise. 

Hey! Also, you don't have to pay a bajillion dollars or risk COVID exposure to see it now, because a movie version is coming out on June 3rd! Yay!