Hamilton, written by Miranda in 2015, has since risen to become one of the most popular musicals in Broadway history. Its use of music in unconventional ways, such as rap and hip-hop, showcases the Founding Era in new ways. The plot follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States. Now, through the Hamilton Education Program, a partnership of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the producers of Hamilton, students are provided with the opportunity to integrate history of the Founding Era into classroom studies, then see the musical in person.

The goals of the Hamilton Education Program are to improve the teaching of this essential part American history in classrooms across the country. According to the site of the program, “The goal of the Hamilton Education Program is to help students see the relevance of the Founding Era by using primary sources to create a performance piece (e.g., a rap, poem, dramatic piece), following the model used by Lin-Manuel Miranda to create the Hamilton musical.” Through this educative program, Grants Pass High School’s students are able to go see Hamilton at a staggering ticket price of only ten dollars total, as compared to the original price of up to 200 dollars.

The process students went through for the tickets was not as simple, however. To qualify for the program, students were required to do research through the Hamilton Education Program on a specific historical figure of event of the founding era, then compose a song, rap, or poem based on their research. Jackie Wittler, a sophomore at Grants Pass High School going on the trip, said,

“I feel fortunate to be able to go to Hamilton because it would never come to be close to Grants Pass. I know that without Ms. Mac we wouldn’t have this opportunity to go for such a great price.”

At GPHS, around 160 students completed their project, and are now able to travel to San Francisco to see the musical next week.