On Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 111 Collinsville High School students and chaperones attended a matinee performance of Hamilton at The Fabulous Fox in St. Louis thanks to a grant from the Hamilton Education Program.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History – in partnership with Hamilton: An American Musical and Rockefeller Foundation – offered an opportunity for high school students attending Title I schools in selected cities where the touring company would perform, to receive curriculum focused on Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Era.
Hamilton: An American Musical is a rapped-through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
The lessons were incorporated into classroom studies. The students researched and created special projects based on the curriculum. The final assignment was to see the musical.
Eleventh grade CHS students in US History classes were invited to see the performance for just $10 a ticket.
Show day included a morning session with student performances, a Q&A with cast members of Hamilton, and lunch prior to the show.
Participation in the Hamilton Education Program was made possible and coordinated through the efforts of CHS staff.
The Hamilton Education Program is part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s broader mission to improve the teaching and learning of American history.
For many of the CHS students, Hamilton was the first Broadway musical they attended. The reaction from the students and their chaperones was overwhelming positive for the show, the history lesson and the life experience.
Here is what a few of the students had to say about the experience:
Othello Williams
“It was really interesting and amazing!!”
Racheal Mack
“It was wonderful! We need to do more field trips like that.”
Tremayne Burns
“It taught me about his life personally. It was not just what is in the history books.”
Jariah Head
“It was a dream come true. I don’t think I would ever have been able to go otherwise.”