A speaker explains Hamilton's plot and historical background, then the NCC Women perform a reinterpretation of Eliza's "Burn" number. The performance blends lyrics from the musical with original lines about betrayal and infidelity, emphasizing Eliza's pain as she watches her husband's affair unfold.
Hamilton is the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton, from his early military and political career during the Revolutionary War and his life later in the early years of the newly created United States. Opening on Broadway on August 6th, 2015, Hamilton became a nationwide phenomenon with tickets making over $888 million to date. In the first act, the story unfolds as audiences see Hamilton's relationship throughout the war with Hamilton getting married to Eliza Schuyler and working directly with George Washington. In the second act, Hamilton faces pressures of organizing a newly won country, contention from enemies like Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, scandal and arrests when Hamilton publicly announces that he had an affair with a married woman, Mariah Reynolds. In a publication known as the Federalist Pamphlet and musical number Burn, the audience gets to see how Eliza reacts to reading the papers for the first time. The NCC Women will now have the pleasure of performing "First Bird." I saved every letter you wrote me.
From the moment I saw you, I knew you were mine. You said you were mine. I thought you were mine. Do you know what Angelica said when I told her what you had done? She said, "You are very dangerous. He has flown too close to the sun. Don't take another step in my direction. I can't be trusted around you. Don't think you can talk your way into my heart." into my arms. I'm burning the letters you wrote me. You can stand over there if you want. I don't know who you are, but there's so much to learn. I'm rereading your letters and watching them burn. Watching them burn. The letters she wrote you. You told the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed. In clearing your name, you ruined our lives. Heaven forbids no one whisper these parts. Some sneer or end up being whispered, so you have to scream. I know about whispers. See how you look at my sister. Don't! I'm not naive. I have seen whispers. Women around you. Don't think I don't see how they fall for your charms, all of your charms. When the future hits you, you're gonna wonder how Eliza reacted when you broke her heart. You're gonna throw it all away, stand back, watch it burn. Just watch it all burn.
