10 Types of Tears Hamilton Made You Shed
By Tina Wargo
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
#4: Women In The Sequel Tears
Not only is there literal sisterhood in Hamilton, but the Spice Girls-caliber girl power feminism at work in the show is crucial to the story, lovely to behold, and (unfortunately) a genuine rarity to witness in any work of fiction, let alone historical fiction. In their first number, the Schuyler Sisters are trolling the city for dudes (badass ladies do hard flirting, too!!!)…but not just ANY dudes. They’re looking, as Angelica reminds her sisters, “for a mind at work.” And when sub-par gentlemen (**cough Aaron Burr cough**) encroach on their afternoon out, Angelica and her backup girls make it very clear that his complimenting their perfume choices and father’s money will not fly.
In one of the greatest lyrical riffs of the first act, Angelica responds to Burr’s advances with, “You want a revolution? I want a revelation! Now listen to my declaration!” She proceeds to recite the Declaration of Independence- “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”- but her clincher? The finale of the greatest response to a mansplainer I have ever had the great privilege of hearing with my own two ears and weeping over out of my own two eyes? “And when I meet Thomas Jefferson? Ima compel him to include women in the sequel. WORK!”
The empowerment doesn’t stop there. Angelica boldly owns up to her heartbreaking inability to put herself first and allow herself happiness, Eliza refuses to be broken down or defined by the deplorable actions of her husband, and they remain, through the end, steadfast queens.
Werk, indeed, Schuylers. Werk, indeed.
Songs to cry to: The Schuyler Sisters, Satisfied, Burn