A day on Broadway

In summer 2015, prominent Fort Myers public relations executive Tina McCain Matte faced a messaging problem while on vacation with her significant other and her two daughters: They were about to buy tickets to the Broadway show “Hamilton,” which uses a combination of hip-hop, rap and rhythm and blues to tell a story about American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

“I'm afraid the girls will shoot us if we take them to a show about American History,” quipped Matte to her companion, Naples attorney Laird Lile. But the family gave it a shot, and bought tickets way up top. At intermission, they all looked at each other in stunned silence about how incredible the show was. “It was amazing,” Matte tells Coffee Talk. “It was so powerful.”

A partner at Gravina, Smith Matte & Arnold, Matte was hooked on “Hamilton” from that show on, just like thousands of others, given the Tony-winning Broadway show has become a pop-culture hit. So hooked she has now seen it five times on Broadway, including one where she met “Hamilton” creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda.