Lin-Manuel Miranda's last performance as Alexander Hamilton in his Broadway hit, Hamilton: An American Musicalwas on July 9th and it is met with bittersweet reactions. Many fans are upset that the man who created the musical and who is the star is leaving, but this leaves him to move on and do so much more.
With Hamilton winning 11 Tony Awards, a Grammy, and even Pulitzer Prize, it's not wonder fans are both happy and sad that Miranda is leaving the show. This hip-hop American musical has impacted our generation, history, and made musical theatre something that anyone can enjoy. It helps to look back at the laughs and cries he has given us for the past few years, and to remember that this is just the beginning for Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Lin is a huge advocate for rights for all, and most recently he has been outspoken about the Black Lives Matter movement, stood up in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, and showed the importance immigration has had in the United States.
After the horrific deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling this past week, Lin tweeted this in remembrance and mourning.
Philando Castile. Alton Sterling.
Never coming home.
Black lives matter. Not just as a hashtag, not just in all caps, in real life.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July">https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/751088619117... 7, 2016
As a person of color, Lin feels the pain of racism and his purposeful casting of Hamilton proves that he believes everyone should get the chance to do what they love. He is filled with empathy and compassion for those around him and he radiates love, which brings us to the Tony Awards.
The day of the massacre in Orlando at Pulse Nightclub, the Tony Awards were just hours later. Upon winning his award for Best Score for Hamiton, Lin wrote a poem to honor the victims, the LGBTQ community, and to show that "love is love is love..."
He wrote this poem just hours beforehand, yet he decided to dedicate his acceptance speech to the victims and his wife, whom he loves so much. He has humility in everything he does and uses mainstream media to spread love and to support those who sometimes cannot support themselves.
In his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania, Miranda spoke of immigrants and how they truly "get the job done." He reminds the graduates as well as the rest of the world that Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant, and that this "broke, orphan immigrant" helped create the country we have today.
This part of the show is always met with applause and cheers, because it proves that immigrants do, indeed, "get the job done." With so much rhetoric about building walls and banning Muslims, we should always remember that those who founded this country were immigrants themselves. "Immigrant" is not synonymous to someone "less-than" or someone who will take away resources for "true Americans." The diversity in America is what truly makes it great.
Lin is also one of the most understanding people in the limelight I have ever witnessed. He created #Ham4Ham shows on accident, by having a small performance at the stage doors. Since then, he has done one almost every day since the start of Hamilton. These shows are an ode to the fans in the lottery trying desperately to win tickets to the highly-coveted show. This show is an ode to fans around the world who are unable to ever see the show. These shows have become pivotal in the Hamilton fandom and Lin knows this more than anyone. The shows even began to feature casts of other Broadway shows like Fun Home, Spring Awakening, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's own creation In the Heights. Patti LuPone, Jimmy Fallon, and J.J. Abrams were among the celebrities who took part in the #Ham4Ham shows.
In this video, the three actors who have played King George III lip-synced to one of the show's most notable songs, 'The Schuyler Sisters.'
Lin is absolutely obsessed with The West Wing, so of course he had to pay tribute to the show. Himself, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Jackson, and Okieriete Onoadowan, in classic West Wing style, perform 'Cabinet Battle #1' in the East Wing of the White House.
Speaking of being a fan of The West Wing, Lin-Manuel Miranda is perhaps one of the most supportive people in the limelight. He has so much respect for his cast mates and see them as friends instead of competition. Humility is hard to find in a celebrity, but Lin radiates that humility and love wherever he goes.
Pippa Soo, who plays Eliza Hamilton, sings Copland and instead of singing along, you can see how awestruck Lin is by his theatre-wife. He acts like a proud parent with his cast, and it is the most genuine and precious thing that I have ever witnessed (and I've seen a lot of puppies).
Lin-Manuel Miranda continues to amaze us all. He has a song out with Jennifer Lopez called "Love Make the World Go Round" to benefit Hispanic Foundation's Proyecto Somos Orlando. He's also writing music for the new Disney movie Moana, which features Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Lin is constantly writing, similar to Alexander Hamilton. He's always writing, producing, and working to change the world one lyric at a time. Lin-Manuel Miranda is just getting started, he is aiming for an Oscar...
Lin will always be writing and creating. Every morning he tweets inspirational messages just to brighten someone's day.
Good morning.
Sometimes staying under the covers seems like the best option.
I feel you.
But cmon, let's go see what's out there.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) February">https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/701774097420... 22, 2016
He makes sure his fans are happy and always smiling, and simple tweets like these are something that can brighten anyone's day.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is a passionate, empathetic, talented, and genius man. He is truly a gift to this generation and to the course of Broadway and American history. Lin-Manuel Miranda will be missed as Hamilton, but he is already making moves to create more history, and I can't wait to witness that.
