‘Hamilton’ Cast to Perform on Grammys via Satellite
The cast of the Broadway hip-hop musical Hamilton will perform live via satellite from New York’s Richard Rodgers Theatre on this year’s Grammys, which takes place at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on February 15th. The cast joins previously announced Grammys performers like Kendrick Lamar, Adele, the Weeknd, Carrie Underwood, Ellie Goulding, James Bay and Lady Gaga, the latter taking part in a musical tribute to David Bowie.
The performance marks only the fourth time in the award show’s history that a Grammy act has been broadcast via satellite, and the first since Amy Winehouse sang “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab” from London in 2008. Hamilton also enters an elite club of Broadway productions to appear during Music’s Biggest Night, joining shows like La Cage Aux Folles in 1984, Riverdance and Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk in 1997 and, most recently, American Idiot in 2010.
“The Hamilton cast and crew are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this year’s Grammy Awards,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator and lead performer, said in a statement. “The music community’s response to our cast album has been overwhelming, and we’re honored to be a part of such a special night. To perform from our home at the Richard Rodgers Theatre is a dream come true.”
Hamilton‘s original Broadway cast is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album, an award Miranda previously won in 2008 for In the Heights. In an interview with the Grammys, Miranda talked about his groundbreaking musical and why he chose to use hip-hop to tell the story of the titular founding father:
The Hamilton cast also joined together to film a lo-fi video announcing their Grammy performance: