Hamilton was to me, my dear Sir, more than friend, he was a brother. We were both very young, when associated with our common father; our friendship, formed in days of peril and glory, suffered no diminution from time ---Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Remember that you write to your friends, and that friends have the same interests, pains, pleasures, sympathies .... Adieu, be happy, and let friendship between us be more than a name. ---Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, September 16, 1780

The Story of Tonight is a scene-based game following the foursome of Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, and John Laurens (as well as Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, after the death of Laurens) over time from 1772 to 1804. It incorporates elements and episodes featured in the musical Hamilton, but also some others from history (e.g. Lafayette's imprisonment in Europe, Hamilton & Laurens' at-minimum-romantic-friendship relationship, their activities in abolitionist societies); it is inspired by both, and as a result is entirely faithful to neither. Historical events / outcomes and major beats of the scenes are fixed/scripted, while players will have some freedom regarding character motivations and details of their relationships. In other words, the what is generally fixed, but often the exactly why and how is not.

There are romantic elements between the roles of Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens/Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (both halves, with a single player playing first the male, then the female role over the course of the game). The frame of the story is Hercules Mulligan recounting events of Hamilton's life to one of Hamilton's sons (John Church Hamilton, played by the GM) for a biography, and the role of Hercules Mulligan is the least central in terms of character drama (his relationship with Hamilton being the least fraught and least well historically documented), but also permits some degree of narrative/interpretive input in how the events in the game are presented throughout to J.C. Hamilton (making it almost a semi-GM/director role, suitable for a player who is happy to focus on the overall story as much as their individual character). Significant portions of historical letters between the characters will be read aloud by those characters between many of the scenes (Hamilton's in particular, as he was the most prolific). Knowledge of the musical (or equivalent history) is helpful, but not required (relevant historical details will be provided), and no singing is required (this game itself is not a musical).