Thousands of inner city students in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. will have the opportunity to see HAMILTON, thanks to a $6 million grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.

HAMILTON creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced on June 23 the Foundation's commitment to expand the educational partnership that has provided students with tickets to the Tony-award winning show in New York City. The #EduHam program will now reach 100,000 public school children across the United States.

The musical production blended hip hop, dance, and rap, with the Revolutionary War, to create the hottest ticket on Broadway- and one of the coolest American history lessons one is likely to get. (Watch a preview below)

The partnership between The Rockefeller Foundation, HAMILTON, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the New York City Department of Education was announced in October 2015 and was initially funded through a $1.5 million grant to bring 20,000 public school students from the five boroughs-with large numbers of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch-to see the Broadway sensation. Students in New York benefited from an integrated curriculum developed by Gilder Lehrman that enhanced their experience of the play. The program was such a  success, that The Rockefeller Foundation.

"Our initial partnership was such a monumental success, we wanted to fund the partnership nationwide as HAMILTON toured across the country," said Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "Our goal is to not only bring history to life for students, but to have them relate to the actors who make this show what it is; demonstrating that everything is possible for them, no matter what neighborhood they live in, what school they attend, or where they come from."

The educational program includes a HAMILTON Student Performance and Study Guide and an online HAMILTON portal for students and teachers that offers students a creative platform for developing and producing their own original performances of poetry, rap, songs, scenes and other art expressions, to be performed at the theater prior to watching a performance of HAMILTON.

"The HAMILTON student matinees on Broadway have been such a rewarding experience for all of us at the theatre, thanks to the creativity and the passion the students bring to them," said Lin-Manuel Miranda. "The performances that they come up with are unbelievable!"

"Rooted in research, the student projects are creative, personal, and inspiring… Kids who didn't before suddenly care about America's past, and see their own connection to it," said James Basker, President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute.

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