July 2018: I WON THE LOTTERY!
We made a pact, my cousin and I — daily, to enter the lottery for Hamilton tickets, and if we won, we would go together…I WON! There was no guarantee on the location of the seats nor if they would even be near each other and might have an obstructed view, but for a total of $20 we were elated and squealed in delight.
Equally delightful, my cousin Mel was on the cusp of an All-American adventure: after the show, she was getting into a jet black Dodge Charger and driving to Washington DC for a job interview. We took the muscle car to the show…the Hamilton soundtrack blared during the hour-long drive as we researched the important bits of the show.
Mel dropped me off at the venue where scads of theatre-goers were getting pictures with and autographs from the matinee cast. There was a handsome cast member with no line, and, because I didn’t’ have the tickets, or a playbill yet, I had him sign my prayer journal—it was the only thing handy.
After a quick picture with him, I rushed off to pick up our mystery-seat tickets: two seats—next to each other—THIRD ROW CENTER!
I met up with Mel, and giddy with excitement told her about our rock star seating and shared the cast member’s picture and autograph with her. We were perplexed by the autograph…AHEM …was it a MiddleEastern name…Ahen… Mel found the cast notes and proclaimed: “Lisa—-it’s the lead —- it’s A. Ham!”
The evening was beyond our imaginations. The entire drive home we We continued to reveal in the delightful evening…she threw some suitcases in the muscle car and, inspired by early-American politics, headed to Washington DC singing:
“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!”
May 2022: I won the lottery AGAIN…the exact same seats: I think perhaps I should have my name put on them.
I invited my violinist orchestra teacher friend—she’d never seen Hamilton, and was in awe of how close we were to the pit. Throughout the show, her eyes darted between the stage and the pit director.
At Witz' End... 