Feature: Highlights from HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION

BroadwayWorld had a sneak peek at the newly opened HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION on Northerly Island. Here are some highlights from the sprawling tent where it happens.

The exhibition provides context and a more detailed historical background for Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. While the exhibit has a museum-like feel, the space unfolds as a series of immersive rooms that put visitors inside different parts of Hamilton's world. Unlike a more traditional museum, the focus here isn't on displaying artifacts.

In many ways, HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION allows patrons to revisit the experience of seeing the musical and listening to its score through a new perspective. Orchestrator Alex Lacamoire has re-orchestrated the entire HAMILTON score for the exhibit. It's a joy to wander through each of the rooms and hear which piece of music comes next. These new orchestrations capture the energy and excitement of the musical itself, which adds dimension to the exhibit.

Speaking of Easter eggs, the exhibit also has fun facts from Miranda scattered throughout the space. Devoted fans of the musical will find it especially enjoyable to search for these small framed tidbits, in which Miranda reveals some of the dramatic licenses he took in fashioning the show.

In terms of the rooms themselves, HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION does not throw away its shot at presenting visitors with tons of information. While the exhibit is a visual marvel, visitors that best process information aurally will learn a great deal, too. Along with his fellow original Broadway cast members Phillipa Soo (Elizabeth Schuyler) and Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Miranda provides audio narration for each room of the exhibit. Yale University historian Joanne Freeman, who served as an advisor on the exhibit, also provides commentary at key moments.

The most exhilarating parts of the exhibit are the ones that feel the most interactive. The exhibit opens with guests taking in an introductory video with Soo and Miranda-projected on a giant scroll that recalls Hamilton's many writings. The Winter's Ball room invites guests to interact with statues of the real-life figures from Hamilton's social life; visitors can stroll through the room and use their audio headsets to find out more about each person. The Battle of Yorktown room is similarly dazzling; a projected map features magnetic figurines that fly in and out of the scene to tell the story of how the battle went down. It's nothing short of captivating.

HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION takes visitors on a whirlwind tour inside the musical and its historical context, and it's easy to see the marvelous result of all the minds at work from the HAMILTON creative team who made it happen.

Individual tickets for HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION are $39.50 for adults, $32.50 for senior/military, and $25 for youth ages 4-14. Visit HamiltonExhibition.com.

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