By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Izzy Miller was star struck when she arrived at the Gammage Auditorium's exclusive promenade about 45 minutes before Tuesday's performance of 'Hamilton,' the smash-hit Broadway musical.
"It's kind of magical," the former Sun Devil volleyball student-athlete said. "It's almost got that Disneyland feel to it, like you're in a dream."
With more than 100 senior student-athletes in attendance at the tough-to-get-a-ticket event, Ray and Buffie Anderson, the first couple of Sun Devil Athletics, wondered aloud how they would top this third annual Senior Championship Life Experience.
"We keep raising the bar and we may have put ourselves in harm's way," Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said while laughing. "If we can't top it, there will be no shame. At least we will always have something to shoot for."
The goal of the Senior Championship Life Experience, in Anderson's words, is "to provide an educational, cultural, arts-oriented event that student-athletes may not have experienced in their young lives." In 2016, student-athletes watched "Black Angels Over Tuskegee' at the Galvin Playhouse. Last year, they watched "The Last Gold" at the Galvin Playhouse.
When Hamilton announced it was coming to town, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, the Executive Director of ASU Gammage, touched all bases in an effort to help the Andersons take the senior experience to another level. She spoke with producer Jeffrey Seller and she even spoke with 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
"Graduating with a cultural experience like this was so important to us," Jennings-Roggensack said. "We are the first and only university to have Hamilton. It was huge to make it happen and it was hard."
Jennings-Roggensack helped design a Hamilton-specific curriculum that select professors taught ahead of the event. She also helped arrange for a first edition of The Federalist (the original name of the Federalist Papers) to be brought under police escort to a Sun Devil student-athlete training table in the fall. She wanted to prep the student-athletes for the live performance.
"I hope every person here realizes this is their history, no matter how they got here," she said. "They have a place in it and history has its eyes on you so you have a responsibility."
Buffie Anderson has seen 'Hamilton' several times. She said it is in keeping with past Senior Championship Life Experiences.
"It's not just entertainment but a teaching moment for kids who had never been in a theater, kids who had no idea who the Black Angels were, kids who don't know about the Federalist Papers, kids who didn't know about the 1976 Olympics and what happened to our female athletes," she said. "It is spreading theater and art and it absolutely ties into athletics. Everything we bring is about struggle or overcoming adversity. I think they can personally relate this."
Former Sun Devil soccer student-athlete Jazmarie Mader, an avid theater buff, called the opportunity a once-in-a-lifetime event.
"I am sad that every senior athlete didn't take advantage of this," she said. "I was so excited to be able to see this because I've heard nothing but great things about it, it's super expensive and I'm broke!
"Hearing from friends that go to other schools, they don't do anything like this. Ray Anderson and Buffie care about us on another level."
After the performance, Mader was gushing with rave reviews.
"I was so moved by the performance as a whole, the choreography, the music, the lyrics to the tunes themselves were amazing!" she said. "I have the entire soundtrack on my phone now.
"I really had no idea, beside the basics of what they teach us in high school about Alexander Hamilton's life. To learn so much about him and the struggles he faced as well as the consequences for his decisions blows me away. I feel like as Americans we praise our founding fathers and make them out to be perfect but they aren't. They are humans just like you and I, and they made mistakes but they still made history and will be remembered forever. To be able to experience seeing parts of his life through theatre was by far the best history lesson I have ever received."
Former football player Jacom Brimhall grew up attending countless Broadway performances at his mother's urging. Nothing prepared him for Tuesday' performance.
"You almost don't even realize how much history you're learning because of how involved you are in the performance," he said. "I feel like I could turn on some of those songs in my car and my friends would have no idea it was from a Broadway musical. I left with my expectations fulfilled.
"For ASU to take the time to organize something a college student couldn't normally afford shows what kind of people we have pushing our student-athletes to grow."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Izzy Miller was star struck when she arrived at the Gammage Auditorium's exclusive promenade about 45 minutes before Tuesday's performance of 'Hamilton,' the smash-hit Broadway musical.
"It's kind of magical," the former Sun Devil volleyball student-athlete said. "It's almost got that Disneyland feel to it, like you're in a dream."
With more than 100 senior student-athletes in attendance at the tough-to-get-a-ticket event, Ray and Buffie Anderson, the first couple of Sun Devil Athletics, wondered aloud how they would top this third annual Senior Championship Life Experience.
"We keep raising the bar and we may have put ourselves in harm's way," Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said while laughing. "If we can't top it, there will be no shame. At least we will always have something to shoot for."
The goal of the Senior Championship Life Experience, in Anderson's words, is "to provide an educational, cultural, arts-oriented event that student-athletes may not have experienced in their young lives." In 2016, student-athletes watched "Black Angels Over Tuskegee' at the Galvin Playhouse. Last year, they watched "The Last Gold" at the Galvin Playhouse.
When Hamilton announced it was coming to town, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, the Executive Director of ASU Gammage, touched all bases in an effort to help the Andersons take the senior experience to another level. She spoke with producer Jeffrey Seller and she even spoke with 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
"Graduating with a cultural experience like this was so important to us," Jennings-Roggensack said. "We are the first and only university to have Hamilton. It was huge to make it happen and it was hard."
Jennings-Roggensack helped design a Hamilton-specific curriculum that select professors taught ahead of the event. She also helped arrange for a first edition of The Federalist (the original name of the Federalist Papers) to be brought under police escort to a Sun Devil student-athlete training table in the fall. She wanted to prep the student-athletes for the live performance.
"I hope every person here realizes this is their history, no matter how they got here," she said. "They have a place in it and history has its eyes on you so you have a responsibility."
Buffie Anderson has seen 'Hamilton' several times. She said it is in keeping with past Senior Championship Life Experiences.
"It's not just entertainment but a teaching moment for kids who had never been in a theater, kids who had no idea who the Black Angels were, kids who don't know about the Federalist Papers, kids who didn't know about the 1976 Olympics and what happened to our female athletes," she said. "It is spreading theater and art and it absolutely ties into athletics. Everything we bring is about struggle or overcoming adversity. I think they can personally relate this."
Former Sun Devil soccer student-athlete Jazmarie Mader, an avid theater buff, called the opportunity a once-in-a-lifetime event.
"I am sad that every senior athlete didn't take advantage of this," she said. "I was so excited to be able to see this because I've heard nothing but great things about it, it's super expensive and I'm broke!
"Hearing from friends that go to other schools, they don't do anything like this. Ray Anderson and Buffie care about us on another level."
After the performance, Mader was gushing with rave reviews.
"I was so moved by the performance as a whole, the choreography, the music, the lyrics to the tunes themselves were amazing!" she said. "I have the entire soundtrack on my phone now.
"I really had no idea, beside the basics of what they teach us in high school about Alexander Hamilton's life. To learn so much about him and the struggles he faced as well as the consequences for his decisions blows me away. I feel like as Americans we praise our founding fathers and make them out to be perfect but they aren't. They are humans just like you and I, and they made mistakes but they still made history and will be remembered forever. To be able to experience seeing parts of his life through theatre was by far the best history lesson I have ever received."
Former football player Jacom Brimhall grew up attending countless Broadway performances at his mother's urging. Nothing prepared him for Tuesday' performance.
"You almost don't even realize how much history you're learning because of how involved you are in the performance," he said. "I feel like I could turn on some of those songs in my car and my friends would have no idea it was from a Broadway musical. I left with my expectations fulfilled.
"For ASU to take the time to organize something a college student couldn't normally afford shows what kind of people we have pushing our student-athletes to grow."