Students across state join the cast of Hamilton for unique educational program

BOSTON — Students from across the state hit the Boston Opera House stage on Thursday -- alongside the cast of Hamilton, no less.

The Broadway hit has become popular for going beyond the stage and into classrooms where it's a history lesson with a twist.

The "Hamilton Education Program" is exactly that. It's a unique curriculum created by the Gilder Lehram Institute of American History with the producers of Hamilton and the Miranda family where students take what they learned in history class and turn it into a show.

In Boston, 2,500 students from all over the state packed the Boston Opera House to put on their own show using what they learned about Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers.

The Hamilton education program to date includes 62 EduHams performances between New York, Chicago and both national tours currently on the road.  Over 110,000 students and teachers have participated.

Participating Hamilton cast members believe the program is as original as the musical itself.

"There’s a constant flow of inspiration happening, which is beautiful," said Hamilton cast member and Winchester native, Nick Christopher. "It speaks in a language which we all know and love which is hip hop….which is fun. But it also drives the point home of revolution of change…that things are possible."

For many students, visual learning is not only more effective, but also more enjoyable.

"Something about visually seeing an event as opposed to just reading about it in a book really changes your perspective on the event as a whole,” said Nicholas Adeleye, Boston Prep Charter Public School student. “Stepping off the stage it felt like a dream… I was like we really just did that.”

And some students infused a personal message into their history lesson, as well.

"The message is, girls can be a rapper, not only the men," said Margarita Munez, one of the students in the program.

After the students performed their original works, they participated in a Q&A with the Broadway cast members.

And to top it all off, they got to sit back and watch a performance of Hamilton, the history lesson that left these students with knowledge... and most of all, courage.

Cox Media Group