Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Emotional Final ‘Hamilton’ Curtain Call
Lin-Manuel Miranda ended his Tony-winning run as Alexander Hamilton in the history-making Broadway show he wrote and starred in Saturday night with an emotional curtain call. The July 9th performance also marked the final Hamilton appearances of Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr in the hip-hop-inspired historical musical, and Phillipa Soo, who portrayed Eliza Schuyler.
For the final curtain call, the orchestra played the theme to the political TV series The West Wing – a favorite of Miranda’s, The Hollywood Reporter writes – as Miranda, Soo and Odom, Jr. took their final bows at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Despite calls for a speech, Miranda simply put his fist to his chest, gave one last bow, waved to the crowd and danced off the stage, arm around Soo.
Backstage, Miranda celebrated in a liberating way by cutting off the ponytail he grew for the role:
Teach ’em how to say goodbye… pic.twitter.com/dJ49jUYHlh
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 10, 2016
Junior Muñoz, Miranda’s longtime alternate who will take over the Hamilton role immediately, and Daveed Diggs, the Tony-winning rapper who plays Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette, marked Miranda’s final Hamilton performance by taking shots out of their Grammys:
#Javilton & @DaveedDiggs #shotsoutthegrammy @HamiltonMusical #Felix&Oscar pic.twitter.com/Q7lz1zaEH9
— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) July 10, 2016
Author and historian Ron Chernow, whose biography on Alexander Hamilton inspired Miranda to create the musical, was in attendance for the creator’s final Hamilton performance.
“Well I think it’s safe to say that when I was writing the book I never imagined that it would be turned into a musical, much less a hip-hop musical, much less this extraordinary hip-hop musical,” Chernow told The Associated Press. “The show has such universal appeal, it really delights me how he’s taken the book and really amplified it and appealed to such a mass audience. It’s just astounding.”
Given the significance of the Saturday performance, the show halted several times due to standing ovations, including after Miranda’s opening number and Odom Jr.’s “The Room Where It Happens.” Rory O’ Malley, who has taken over the King George III role, broke character during his final number to blow a kiss to Miranda.
After Hamilton – which won 11 Tonys, a Grammy, the Pulitzer Prize for drama and earned Miranda a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, and will begin its touring production this fall in Chicago – Miranda will next embark to Hollywood to co-star in the Emily Blunt-led Mary Poppins sequel and pen music for the animated film Moana. Soo will frontline an upcoming musical adaptation of the French comedy Amelie, while Odom Jr. will focus on his music career.