Thomas Jefferson, played by Daveed Diggs, at the beginning of act two.
Thomas Jefferson, played by Daveed Diggs, at the beginning of act two. Joan Marcus

For the last nine months straight, I've been listening to Hamilton. I was happy when Seattle Theatre Group announced it's coming to the Paramount. I was happy when a friend told me he and his wife were expecting their first son, and I gave them Hamilton on CD as a congratulations gift (CDs are the only way they listen to music in their household—and Everyday Music didn't have it, so I had to walk to Barnes & Noble). I was happy when Hamilton won the Pulitzer Prize for drama last week (only the ninth musical ever to win one).

Thats Marquis de Lafayette on the far left, played by Daveed Diggs. Alexander Hamilton, on the far right, played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the show and just won a Pulitzer Prize for it.
Daveed Diggs also plays Marquis de Lafayette, far left, in act one. That's Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the show, on the far right. I deal with my sadness at not having seen it yet by gazing a publicity photos. Joan Marcus

I was happy Hamilton made The Stranger's 2015 year-end music list, in the category Top 5 Albums to Recommend to Your Friend Who's Roughly Your Age and Hasn't Been Paying Attention for the Past Few Years but "I Totally Need to Catch Up. Fuck, I Feel So Old!" When The Stranger's new social-media manager Jessica Fu joined the staff of The Stranger, I was so happy she liked Hamilton (and so jealous she'd seen it on Broadway), we've talked about almost nothing else since she got here. When Tim Keck mentioned that his kids had moved on from Annie and Oklahoma! to Hamilton, I thought: Nice job, hipster 7-year-olds!

Thats Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, on the left, played by Phillipa Soo, and Angelica Schuyler in the middle, played by Renée Elise Goldsberry.
That's Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, on the left, played by Phillipa Soo, and Angelica Schuyler in the middle, played by Renée Elise Goldsberry. Joan Marcus

But Savage refuses to listen to Hamilton. He keeps saying he wants to see it first. I keep saying what other people who've seen it without listening to it first say, which is that it's better to listen to it first. "The first time I saw it, even though I had read the Ron Chernow biography, I missed a lot of the lyrics," Andrew Tobias says. "As I did the second time." Even Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote it and stars in it, says you should listen to it first. It's a rap musical. There are hundreds of words per minute (dig around in the annotated lyrics here). It's great to work out to. And Savage works out all the time. Hey Savage, it won a Pulitzer just like Sunday in the Park with George and A Chorus Line! You listen to those when you work out all the time!

Hilarious, self-pitying, sarcastic King George, played by Jonathan Groff.
Hilarious, self-pitying, sarcastic King George, played by Jonathan Groff. Joan Marcus

Savage is a musicals nerd, he's a history nerd, and he doesn't care about my feelings, clearly. How can I force him to listen to it? I can't. I've tried asking him nicely on Twitter, I've tried berating him on Twitter. A friend watching me berate him on Twitter wrote up what's so great about Hamilton, but I bet Savage didn't even read it.

In the latest Hamilton news, John Oliver referred to it on his show Last Week Tonight two days ago (at the 2:30 mark), saying, "It is easier for a meerkat to get into Harvard Law School than it is to get into that show... The show is amazing... It's so fucking good. It's so good."

Then, at the end of the episode, which was dedicated entirely to the subject of Puerto Rico, Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, Hamilton's writer and star (and the son of Puerto Rican parents), came out and gave an original rap about Puerto Rico (watch it; it starts around the 19:00 mark), including the line: "Paul Ryan, I'll come sing Hamilton at your house."

If Paul Ryan's busy, could you come to my house instead?

Aaron Burr, played by Leslie Odom, Jr., during the song The Room Where It Happens, one of my favs.
Aaron Burr, played by Leslie Odom, Jr., during the song "The Room Where It Happens," one of my favs. Joan Marcus

I just walked over to Savage's desk and asked him what I've been asking him nonstop for nine months.

"Have you listened to Hamilton yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I haven't even listened to Prince yet."

Sigh.

I'll try again tomorrow.