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Today, I decided to straight up watch the infamous Hamilton Broadway on Disney Plus. My mom had just recently renewed her account, so I knew that I could easily have access to doing so. For background knowledge, I had definitely heard of this Broadway before, I had even heard some of the songs on You tube. Even in my 7th grade English class, I remember learning about this play. This was just the first time I had seen the actual play though, not just some music cover on another app. This is a musical that was made by a man Named Lin-Manuel Miranda, who even acts as the main character, Alexander Hamilton.

I turned on the TV in my room, laid in my bed, logged into Disney Plus, and finally put on Hamilton. I immediately noticed that this was a recording from a live performance, so it was not just the actors and the play, but there was also a crowd in the background that would cheer occasionally. After about thirty or so minutes, I ended up hearing several of the songs that I had heard when I was younger. Some I had even remembered the lyrics, such as “Alexander Hamilton”, or “My shot”. The way that each character would be introduced in the play or performed on stage was pretty entertaining to see.

This Play manages to tell the tale of Alexander Hamilton, A man who was a founding father, orphan, war veteran, secretary of Treasure, he is even on the ten dollar bill. It all starts with his childhood, which was not great. We learn through the songs that he was abandoned by his father, his mother passed away from illness, he lived with his cousin after he lost his parents, only for that cousin to commit suicide later on. He experienced many hardships and losses throughout his life, but still managed to become a man of great importance in American history, and even got a play named after him.

Each segment of the musical would introduce a different song, that would go along with a different scene of Hamilton’s life, whether it was him meeting Aaron Burr, meeting his wife, going to war, or even cheating on his wife. I did notice however that there was a lot of repetition throughout the play, lines from certain songs being repeated in new ones such as “I’m not throwing away my shot” or “How does a bastard, orphan”. Its almost as if each song is connected in some way, and can be used in multiple scenes, or even have a larger meaning in the story.

After watching this musical, I certainly understand why it was seen as such a popular and incredible form of art to watch. The songs, the choreography, the storytelling mixed with the performances, it was really impressive to see it all. I’m sure it would have been even better to see in person no doubt, but they still did a good job making the whole play look very appealing on TV.

I decided for the first time ever, to watch Alexander Hamilton on Disney+. For me I had heard about it and even though I had heard such great things about Hamilton the musical itself and how ground breaking it was, I never once thought to take the time to sit down and watch it. I’m glad this class gave me a reason too however, because it really did live up to my expectations for it. Even without the in theatre experience which I don’t doubt is an experience that cant be created through my own screen, this musical was truly outstanding.

To talk about the film in length would take a while since there is so much the film is about, however the really encaptivating story of how Hamilton started from nothing and through his effort, determination, and his sheer intelligence was he able to reach the top of the American government and contributed many great things to America. I think out of the entire Musical however, my favorite song was “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”. It’s at this point of the story that we begin with people starting to recognize Alexander Hamilton and recognizing how Alexander Hamilton is sort of the forgotten founding father (well, before this musical came out.) On top of that the song is just beautifully written and one of the thing about the song that really speaks to me is how Eliza sings her parts at a slower pace, without really rushing in comparison to the other songs. To me at least it shows how carefully crafted these songs are, how these songs are engineered to tell a story just through the tempo themselves. From Alexander’s previous song “The World Was Wide Enough” where his tempo is fast throughout the song, signifying throughout the song how much he is rushing because his time is soon.

It’s through these realizations about the music within the musical combined with my increased understanding of the arts from this course was I really able to appreciate the actual work of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Connecting it to the themes of our course, to the themes of understanding and diversity and identity. To see how people communicate how they moved through struggles, no different from how Alexander came from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the top. To see and visualize that through various songs and through that, to see how he moved in his life through Art itself. This semester has taught us how art is a medium for story telling in of itself and how all art is able to tell a story no matter the form it takes, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is able to do that with every character here, from the lyrics they sing to the way they say it, to the tempo and instruments used. During “The World Was Wide Enough”, when he cuts all of the song all together to hone in on his final moments before his death, to really drive that impact, which is something only an art could do.

I really loved watching Hamilton and even though the experience could have been better in an actual theatre, that wasn’t enough to take away the hard effort that was put into Hamilton to make it the sensational musical it has been known for and lived up to the title for me.

With one of my close friends from high school, I visited the MoMA PS1 and their new exhibition at the time, titled Soon Will Summer Be Over, curated by Inuuteq Storch. This specific exhibition held a collection of photographs taken by Storch in Greenland. However, the displayed photographs went beyond a general appreciation for one’s home. Instead, Storch beautifully brought attention to the clash of colonization and tradition in his small hometown, leaving me truly touched.

When viewing this exhibition, I noticed that a majority of these photographs gave me an intimate glimpse into what life was like in the small town of Sisimiut. Prior to this visit, I knew little to nothing about Greenland’s living conditions and cultural life. I had naively disregarded Greenland as a whole simply because of its lower human population, and because I rarely hear about it in my own life. As a result, Storch’s exhibition was especially eye-opening, confronting me with photographs of everyday moments of life in Greenland that I had ignored. One photo that especially grabbed my attention was from one of Storch’s previous projects, titled Keepers of the Ocean. This photo closely captured a woman being embraced by another, with both having their eyes closed, almost like they were sleeping. To me, this physical embrace and act of sleeping create a very vulnerable state, one that ultimately contrasts with the mystique of Greenland in my original perspective. I believe that this contrast was intentional, with Storch challenging the ignorant misconceptions people from other countries have developed about Greenland. His photographs of these mundane moments are embedded with themes of identity and culture, drawing attention to the survival of the indigenous communities against the desires of the Danish colonization. In this, I thought about the poetry we read in this Arts in NYC course, specifically “A Litany for Survival” and “Puerto Rican Obituary,” which do the same. This highlights the defiance that artists can display using their works, and shows that art is both beautiful and political at the very same time.

Furthermore, the physical space of the MoMA PS1 influenced my overall experience attending this museum. The MoMA PS1 was originally constructed to be a public school building, making it considerably smaller, starkly contrasting the more spacious areas that I normally associate museums with. Additionally, the previous classrooms, now turned exhibition rooms, were truly unconventional spaces to display art of this caliber. However, after going home and doing additional research, I discovered that the organization used this public school building to make artistic use of otherwise abandoned spaces in New York City. Now knowing this intentionality, I connected it to the lessons I learned in this Arts in NYC course. More recently, we have discussed the role of Queens within the larger city. More specifically, we covered how it remains a beautiful, cultural backdrop for art, and yet art is still widely and incorrectly associated with wealthier areas in Manhattan. Consequently, the continued existence of the MoMA PS1 is a vital reminder that enjoying and producing art isn’t a luxury for the elite, instead often coming from artists inspired by their underprivileged upbringings from throughout the city. As such, I now understand that it is important that these lesser-known artistic spaces be publicized more, rather than focusing solely on the major museums such as the MET or the original MoMA.

For my virtual event, I set some time aside to sit down and watch the official recording of Hamilton on Disney+. I specifically chose Hamilton because, as an aspiring history teacher, I love learning about U.S. history, and because I was familiar with a few of its songs through my friends. I have never been a huge fan of musicals, so I was excited to enter this new realm. Despite this, it is often very challenging for me to get into the proper mindset to watch anything in one sitting, even if I do enjoy it, so I had to remind myself that this was a mandatory assignment. However, by the end of my viewing, I developed a whole new perspective on this struggle.

During my viewing process, I was captivated by the combination of the music, choreography, and staging. In particular, I really loved the moments in which the backup performers are motionless to signal the freezing of time. These little decisions only added to the overall musical performance, especially in the song “Satisfied”, which is currently my favorite song out of the entire soundtrack. This song successfully conveyed Angelica’s pain and internal conflict as the eldest daughter, and this emphasis on her story was especially appealing to me as a woman. Even today, I feel that the perspectives of women throughout history are rarely considered or discussed, so for Angelica to have her own dedicated song was a refreshing listen. Just this one single song is a powerful example of art as representation and a tool for resistance against opposition, something that we have discussed in our Arts in NYC class. 

Alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda’s great usage of art as a medium for protest, it is an amazing work of storytelling in itself. I noticed his continuous weaving of quite a few themes, with the most notable being immigration, legacy, or lack thereof, and love. I want to highlight the intersection between the themes of immigration and legacy within this musical and how it ties into our Arts in NYC curriculum. Throughout this semester, we have been exploring the diversity of New York City, a community that is home to so many immigrants and children of immigrants. We did this by analyzing various pieces of art created by people of color, much like Lin-Manuel Miranda and the various cast members. I think that this form of diverse representation thematically is especially powerful, with messages that resonate with a population of minority groups that rarely get catered to in a white-dominated world. In this, artistic works like Hamilton elevate or contribute to the legacy of immigrants or other marginalized groups, which is important as people try to erase their existence today.

Overall, after having watched the entire musical, there is no doubt in my mind that every song in the soundtrack is beautiful. Aside from the incredible vocals from each of the performers, each song was able to uniquely convey Alexander Hamilton’s life while having its own literary themes, and I admire Lin-Manuel Miranda’s creativity in doing so. He put in great effort into musically retelling Hamilton’s story and legacy, while also highlighting the roles of other overlooked figures in U.S. history, such as Aaron Burr or Elizabeth Schuyler. Ultimately, I found myself enjoying both the artistic and historical aspects of this musical, even re-listening to some of the songs on Spotify afterwards. My enjoyment in watching Hamilton was an important reminder that attending events, whether virtual or in-person, should never feel like a chore but rather something fun or informative. 

 On 12/05/2025 Friday afternoon dressed up cozily in my favorite orange scarf and beige coat, I wandered into the Louis Armstrong exhibit around twenty minutes before my house tour began. After our class’s virtual meeting with Ricky Riccardi, I was nothing less than absolutely excited to learn more about this brilliant artist that has absolutely reshaped the landscape of jazz.

Walking around the exhibit, I read up a bit about Louis’s background and saw a few of the memorabilia of his life – including his famous headstone trumpet. It was fascinating seeing the original bronze instrument in person, something that the musician adored so much. It seemed to be in great condition despite it being so many decades, and it was actually originally part of his headstone. Being just inches away from such an amazing artifact that has performed groundbreaking music around the world was almost unbelievable to me. Another thing that the exhibit made me realize was just how much of an amazing man Louis was. He was such a massive community man, living right here in Corona and interacting with his neighbors constantly. “Satchmo,” was more than just a nickname, it was part of his identity. His infectious smile and vibrant energy brightened up the entire neighborhood– that was the man Louis Armstrong was. Not only a trailblazer and groundbreaker in terms of music and Black representation, but a family/community man through and through.

Starting the tour through his actual house, I was immediately blown away by how amazing the interior of the house was. Most things were untouched, the interior and decorations as authentic as it can be. It was extremely cozy inside, and I learnt so much about Armstrong from the tour. His house was filled with souvenirs he acquired around the world such as South Africa and Japan. Apparently Louis and his wife Lucille loved their Christmas tree so much, they brought it around to all his tours until it fell apart. Every single room inhabited a completely unique style, such as his dining room filled with East Asian decor, and his kitchen with modern bright turquoise cabinets. All the walls were covered with gorgeous paintings of different artists he likes, portraits of himself and his wife, still-lifes and more. You can tell how much Louis absolutely adored art from his house, which continues upstairs in his den. In my opinion, it was the most amazing and cozy room in the house with rich brown oak walls and floors, shelves filled with old novels, gorgeous record players and more. It was an other-worldlike experience, and it felt so at peace here. We ended off the tour by listening to a few of his songs and his style was so distinct.

From his peaceful gorgeous melody in What a Wonderful World, to his upbeat dramatic take on Zat You Santa Claus, Louis Armstrong is the epitome of loving art and community. He represents so many ideas that we explore in Arts in NYC, from incorporating identity into art and creating as well as spreading diversity through pieces. I think this tour truly encapsulated the idea that, “Art is an experience,” and his legacy certainly passed this idea on. It was an amazing tour and I can definitely see myself going back again in the future!

Sitting down on my living room couch on 12/06/2025  – I huddled up in my warm blankets with a steaming cup of hot chocolate in my hand as I pressed the start button on my TV remote to begin my first virtual event of the semester – Hamilton on Broadway. Bundled up and cozy, my experience rewatching this cinematic masterpiece could only be one word – stellar. Simply put, there were countless parts of the magnificent Broadway that I was absolutely enraptured with.

The greatest song in the entirety of the musical has to be Alexander Hamilton, the very beginning, introducing Hamilton as a man that has been long overshadowed by other founding fathers despite his immense impact on America’s beginning. It brilliantly tells his story through his lens, despite some things behind being historically inaccurate, every single song was catchy and mesmerizing. Another favorite song of mine was Non-Stop, highlighting how Hamilton was a massive influence in the ratification of the U.S Constitution, fighting tooth and nail with the Federalist Papers. Not only that, the ending is nothing less than spectacular, and I was extremely emotional watching it. It’s absolutely heart wrenching and awe-inspiring watching Eliza Hamilton live to 99 years old, working hard to preserve her husband’s legacy – preserving old letters and papers of his, defending his reputation, advocating for the Washington monument and building the first orphanage in NYC that was inspired by his memory. I was extremely immersed in the musical from beginning to the end, barely moving in my seat. When I was finally done watching the musical, I was in shambles – tearing up and numb from the absolute spectacular sensation that was Hamilton.

Since reflecting, it becomes clear how much of a genius Lin-Manuel Miranda was. This musical is the pinnacle of the very things that we want to explore in Arts in NYC: Identity, community, diversity and the power in storytelling. It reimagined and retold a crucial moment in American history in a format that has been able to reach a massive audience globally, educating and entertaining people at the same time. Through captivating music and acting, Hamilton can be seen as an epitome of how art influences modern views, highlighting corruption, political power, compromise and individualism in America. Identity is explored in countless ways in Hamilton and I think it was extremely impactful how Lin used POC actors to depict different important American figures such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, which subtly reinforced the idea that Black, Latinx, Asian and marginalized groups have a place in theatre and American history. This is only heightened by how it managed to incorporate music types such as hip-hop, rap and R&B into its shows, genres that have been shunned for not being “sophisticated” enough for Broadway.  All in all, Hamilton has absolutely shifted the public’s view on theatre, making it mainstream once more and sparking massive cultural conversations about its deeper meanings.

I had an absolute blast watching Hamilton, and I absolutely would watch it again. It reignited my love for Broadway, theater and American history and made me think about how I can incorporate art in my future. This event was absolutely worth attending! 

One Friday night, my friend and I managed to get tickets to see the (fairly) new, Grammy nominated, Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club. I had never seen this musical before, and I was excited to see what was in store. I love going into a new musical blind, so I didn’t look up anything about the plot prior to seeing it. To say I was pleasantly surprised by this musical would be an understatement. The beautiful costumes, the set, and the character development are just a few aspects I loved about this musical. The plot, though, had me at the edge of my seat. Not to mention it’s based on a true story.

The musical takes place in 1990s Cuba, where a young producer is trying to make an album featuring the musicians from the now 50-year-old Buena Vista Social Club. He was able to round up all the instrumentalists but who he wanted to sing lead vocals, Omara Portuondo was reluctant. After some major convincing, Omara agrees to sing on the album.

Throughout the musical we see flashbacks of Omara’s life when she started singing at the Buena Vista. It was the 1940s, amidst the Cuban revolution. Omara could’ve escaped the violence and immigrated to the U.S. with her sister, but Omara refused. She wanted to stay united with her people, her family in music, and she refused to abandon them.

Like we talk about in class, music and art are often outlets to either spread awareness about their struggles or to escape them for a moment. We saw this in practice during the Harlem Renaissance, for example. Omara and her musicians used music for both reasons. They used music as their shelter but also as an avenue to bring their struggles to light.

Without spoiling the rest of the musical, it was truly breathtaking. The combination of singing in both English and Spanish helped make the musical accessible to non-Spanish speakers. The passionate acoustic guitarists, the strong rhythm of the drums, and the emotional vocals on top made me empathize with the characters. This musical beautifully depicted Cuban culture and the struggles endured by Cuban people. But most importantly, it portrayed their strength and bravery in speaking out against the government and risking their lives in the name of their craft. After the show, I went to the stage door, took pictures with, and got my PlayBill signed by majority of the cast. They were all super sweet and filled with joy.

A large takeaway from this experience was the importance of sharing your story and spreading awareness through palatable ways like art or music. I never knew much about the Cuban revolution but I learned much more after seeing Buena Vista Social Club. A true story along with authentic Cuban music and dancing gave us a taste of their culture in a way that is fun and accessible to the viewers. Art can give you a rich history lesson which is so important because knowledge leads to growth.

On a free Saturday, I decided to visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. I am not a museum goer because visual art is usually boring to me. I don’t usually spend the time to really look at each piece. I just glance and see if something is pretty or not and move on. Nonetheless, after the Guggenheim presentation, I thought the museum might be worth visiting.

Even after the presentation, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of just walking into the building. As soon as you walk in, you look up and see the beautiful spirals. Then you notice how loud but simultaneous muffled everyone sounds. It’s truly a unique experience. Even though the Guggenheim representative told us this was the usual reaction, I didn’t expect it to happen exactly how she described. I have never been to a museum with even an atrium that’s memorable.

My favorite exhibit displayed was the artwork by Rashid Johnson. One of the pieces was familiar to me because someone in class presented on it. But I remember staying in that exhibit for a very long time. A lot of Johnson’s artwork looks weird, abstract, or plain. That is until you sit down with the piece and read what it’s about. That’s when you see the intricacies or the weight of the story behind the piece and see the beauty in it. One of Johnson’s piece that I especially liked was “Stay Black and Die”. Looking at it, its just a black sheet with brown letters with some orange patches that read, “Stay Black and Die” but the story behind it was truly touching. He created that piece and the others (which are apart of the “Things I need to do” series) as a representation of the anxieties that are created by the racism and violence faced by black men.

My time at the Guggenheim was truly a special one. Usually after leaving a museum there is nothing that I deem memorable enough for me to visit again. But, after visiting the Guggenheim I would definitely go there again with my family or friends. It was a unique experience that was worth having. I learned art isn’t boring, I just hadn’t found a museum I loved yet, until now.