young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 62

"Opening number, this is your places call," the loudspeaker announced. Kasey and the other Hamilton cast members were already where they were supposed to be. "You have ten minutes until curtain."

"Ready?" Ariana asked.

"No," Thayne joked. "But that's okay. I don't think I'll ever be mentally prepared for this. And we're not even at 'Yorktown' yet."

"Here we just have to stand there and dance for like a minute," Kasey reminded them.

"Time will seem longer onstage, but when it's over, it will seem like it was the shortest thing you've ever done," Ariana said.

"Five minutes until curtain."

They were all silent, until- "Curtain is going up."

"I'll see you on the other side," Thayne commented, as they heard the applause when James Corden stepped onstage.

~~~~~~~~~

Kasey barely had time to register the full audience and the laughs that they got when they were onstage before they were already done. It seemed too short, like something that important should have lasted longer.

They waited about twenty minutes before the rest of the cast joined them backstage to change.

"You were fantastic," Carleigh told Kasey as they changed and did their hair in the cramped girls dressing room.

"Thanks, I didn't do much," Kasey laughed.

"You're changing after we perform, right?" Carleigh asked.

"Yeah, my dress is here," Kasey said.

"Good," Carleigh said. "They have seats for us in the theatre, including you guys."

They slipped on their coats, Carleigh in her normal coat.

Whereas Kasey had a redcoat for some of 'Yorktown' and other pieces of the show, they'd given the swings the redcoats for the performance. Kasey finally got to be a Patriot.

It was a big group- for the first time, all of the ensemble and all the swings were going to be onstage at the same time. It was a bigger group than usual, but it was a big stage.

Everyone lined up. Lin, in his usual quirky fashion, slapped them all high-fives before they went onstage.

Kasey's heart was beating quickly. She couldn't believe she was here, and about to perform.

She heard, out onstage, them say "Please welcome the cast of Hamilton, performing 'Yorktown' without muskets, in honor of the Orlando shooting victims as well as the Richard Rodgers shooting victims."

Kasey took a deep breath, exchanging thumbs up with Carleigh from the opposite side of the stage.

Then, the familiar music began once more. It could have been a normal performance. But this was the Tony's.

~~~~~~~~~

It was odd performing without muskets, but their absence made Kasey aware of the people that they'd lost.  It was a reminder as they danced, and it was a reminder to the audience.

Some people had little mistakes here and there- Kasey was pretty sure a lot of people were losing their voice. Lin, mostly. It must have been emotional for him, since he wrote Hamilton. And Jazzy had a fever, but she managed to seem relatively normal.

It was fun, Kasey decided, to be wearing her blue coat instead of her usual red British one. The 'Rochambeau' section was so different in the Tony's. She could look to her left and see a line of ensemblists and look to her right and see even more.

They'd never had so many ensemblists onstage at once. But it made the night so much more meaningful, since all the swings were there, too. 

And Pippa, Renee, and Jazzy joined them onstage for the "the world turned upside down" section.

Kasey didn't want it to be over. She hadn't noticed the huge crowd until the last note of the song sounded and then the thunderous applause began.

The cast all took a bow together and then they rushed offstage. They all had to change back into their gowns and suits for the musical awards. They didn't have a lot of time.

Kasey had a dark navy blue dress that went down to the ground. She still wore flats, but she took the hairtie out of her hair and let the curls hang loose around her shoulders. She had a fancy hair clip to put in the back, and she changed her makeup to be less stage-makeup like.

"You look really pretty," Carleigh said when Kasey was done getting ready. "I wish your family could see you now."

Kasey smiled slightly. "Thanks, Carleigh. But you're here, and the rest of the cast. That's good enough for me."

"My mom's watching for both of us, don't you worry," Carleigh added.

"Good to know. I'll channel Patricia Bettiol's love," Kasey laughed.

They waited for the rest of the cast to appear, and then they were led around the halls to the theatre, entering this time as audience members.

Kasey could feel the excitement radiating off of the entire cast. It was catching, and she could feel her heart beating.

This was the moment.