Listening to Hamilton with kids

I found Magdalena's notes on 'Satisfied.'

Should you let your kids listen to Hamilton? Well, you're the best judge of that. Hamilton contains the following elements that you may not want your kids to hear:

- profanity (a few s- and f-bombs; a few hells and damns; two or three instances of taking the Lord's name in vain)

- quasi-profanity (the main refrain includes the words 'bastard' and 'whore,' but used in the literal sense of a child who was born out of wedlock)

- thematic elements (adultery, young soldiers talking about wooing ladies in irreverent ways, duels that lead to injury and death)

I decided (I actually couldn't wait!) to listen to Hamilton with my kids, ages 10, 7, and 2. And I am so glad I did. I introduced them to it on our road trip to Kuusamo last month. We got through the complete show four times, interspersed with periods where I'd take requests for favorite songs to listen to over and over again. The first time through, before each song I'd place it in context for the kids so they would know the overall arc of the story and lyrics. They had a lot of questions - did this really happen? Did they really sing when it happened? How do they know the songs they sang when it happened if it was more than 200 years ago?

Obviously, after I was done giving them a primer on what musicals are, we moved on to more pressing questions, like why Burr is always waiting and Hamilton is always acting rashly, and how it would have done both of them well to take a page from the other's book. While Jeremy was busy running his 160k race, the girls and I had a great discussion about the dynamic between Angelica and Eliza as illustrated in 'Helpless' and 'Satisfied' - how the pace and intensity of the lyrics showcase their personalities, and why Angelica made the choice that she did to "give up" Alexander in favor of Eliza's having him. Magdalena has decided she IS Angelica - "I'm always talking and I just want to talk with people who have interesting things to say."

To cope with the profanity, I obtained a clean version with the s- and f-bombs silenced (not bleeped). I am happy with this decision. The hells, damns, and bastard/whore refrain remain. I've made my peace with it.

To cope with the thematic elements, I skip the second half of "Aaron Burr, Sir" and "Say No To This" every time. It's enough dealing with "Mom, what does 'deflower' mean?" - I don't also need, "Mom, what does 'intercourse through four sets of corsets' mean?" The dueling stuff does not bother me or my kids. In fact, "The Ten Duel Commandments" is Magdalena's favorite song, and Sterling, at age 2.5, can sing a good chunk of it. It is hilarious to hear him stutter out, "if they apologize, no need for further action." If you sing "Burr, you disgust me/ah, so you've discussed me," Sterling will sing, "I'm a trust fund baby, you can trust me."

I think my main advice for listening to Hamilton with kids would be this: consider other musicals that you listen to as a family. I think most people wouldn't hesitate to listen to, say, Les Miserables or The Phantom of the Opera with their children; or, more on-topic, something like 1776. But Les Mis has its share of mature themes, along with two outright ribald songs ("Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House"). Phantom has "Past the Point of No Return" and some other blush-inducing moments. And 1776 has its violins/Thomas Jefferson subplot and plenty of jolly cursing. I consider (an f- and s-bomb edited) Hamilton to be comparable to these musicals in terms of child-friendly content.

If your child is mature (and AWESOME) enough to be interested in Hamilton and enjoy its plot, its music, and its lyrics, then they're mature enough to handle it.

In conclusion, here is Magdalena doing her best at a slice of "Satisfied" and "The Schuyler Sisters." This was a week ago - she can do even better now!

Edited to add: we got Sterling saying "if they apologize, no need for further action" on video. He also kind of says the "the challenge demands satisfaction" the second time.