The Room Where It Happens

When it was announced that Leslie Odom Jr. would return to Broadway for six weeks to reprise his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton’s 10th Anniversary run, Mr. FamTrav and I secured tickets straightaway for one of the first performances! We’d planned to see the show back in 2020, but of course, that didn’t happen, so this felt like the universe’s way of making it up to us.

@famtravebony

Got to be in the room where it happened in the greatest city in the world! #hamilton #nyc #famytraveladventuresllc

♬ The Room Where It Happens – Leslie Odom Jr. & Lin-Manuel Miranda & Daveed Diggs & Okieriete Onaodowan & Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton

I cannot even begin to describe how much we enjoyed the show. The actors’ chemistry was on point, the crowd was electric, and no one denied us pictures/video in the first half. Though before the second act, the crowd was asked to put away the phones now. Ha!

I’ve known every lyric by heart for years, but hearing them live hit differently. A decade later, some of those lines carry a weight heavier than before. Honestly, it feels like our country could stand to relearn a few of the lessons this story was trying to teach us. Based on the crowd reaction to these same lines, I’m not alone in my thinking.

Bravo!

For fun, I designed a Hamilton-inspired tour for Mr. FamTrav and me. We visited:

• Bank of New York which Hamilton founded in 1784. It is now an event space. We had a lovely chat with a doorman (native New Yorker) who was tickled pink at our idea, and even added a bit of history of his own.
• The graves of Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton, and Angelica Schuyler at Trinity Church.
• The Hamilton Custom House, now the Museum of the American Indian.
• Bowling Green Park
• Lunch at Fraunces Tavern tavern where Hamilton, Washington, and their contemporaries gathered. Today it’s both a museum and a restaurant.

Fraunces Tavern burned a number of times, and also has some recent additions. The Tallmadge Room is one of the original and restored rooms.

If we “had more time,” we would have also visited:

• The Hamilton Statue at Central Park
• Federal Hall – the original building is gone, but the current Federal Hall National Memorial gives powerful context to Hamilton’s early nation-building years.
• The Schuyler Mansion

We’ll tell “the story of tonight” for years to come!

I bring the same enthusiasm to every client’s vacation taking time to understand what matters most to them and turning those dreams into reality. Let’s chat about how I can help plan your next unforgettable getaway.