Pence said he, his daughter and her cousins “enjoyed the great, great show.” He also told his daughter that the “boos” they heard when he entered the theater “is what freedom sounds like.”
Pence said, unlike his new boss, he wasn’t offended and that he didn’t want an apology. Bu he did add, “I’ll leave it to others to decide if it was the appropriate venue.”
Donald Trump continues to use the Hamilton/Mike Pence incident on Friday night to distract from the fact that he just settled a huge fraud lawsuit regarding his failed Trump University for $25 million.
After posting two tweets yesterday morning, the Donald took to Twitter again on the subject. First he tweeted the above missive, which he promptly deleted.
Didn’t he just go after Hillary Clinton for deleting internet communications?
And then he posted the below tweet in the middle of the night. In the post, he again demands an apology from the cast for calling Pence “sir,” telling the audience not to “boo” Pence, and expressing their concerns as constituents in a calm voice.
Along the way, he slams Hamilton as “highly overrated.” The show is one of the most celebrated in Broadway history and sold out for the next 8 months. But, whatevs….
Is this really “presidential?”
The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior
With the 2016 election now firmly in the rear view mirror, political activist Aaron Baldwin joined me today on my BlogTalkRadio show, also named The Randy Report, to discuss the fallout of the presidential election including:
• The last minute collapse of the Hillary Clinton campaign
• The floundering Trump transition team caught unprepared for winning
• Trump still taking to Twitter for occasional meltdown
• Trump has already backpedaled on several key campaign promises – will he disappoint his followers?
• Sen. Jeff Sessions in as Attorney General
• RNC Chair Reince Priebus tapped for Chief Of Staff
• Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani angling for Secretary of State, but Mitt Romney is meeting with Trump for same position
• Former Trump campaign nemesis Sen. Ted Cruz eyeing U.S. Supreme Court seat
Plus, I share a fabulous little thing that happened on Broadway last night when Vice President-elect Mike Pence decided to take in the blockbuster hit, Hamilton: An American Musical.
President-elect Trump took to Twitter this morning saying his VP, Mike Pence, was “harassed” last night when Pence attended a performance of Hamilton: An American Musical.
What happened was this:
Upon entering the theater, the audience – not the cast – but the audience booed Pence.
And during the curtain call, Brandon Victor Dixon (who plays “Aaron Burr” in the play) read a message from the cast and creators of the show.
But this is how Trump framed the incident:
Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!
The message read to Pence during the curtain call was anything but “harassment.” Read in a calm voice, asking the audience not to “boo,” addressing Pence as “sir,” the message to Pence asked that he “uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
That constitutes “harassment?”
Here’s the text of the message as well as video.
“You know, we have a guest in the audience, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence I see you walking out but I hope that you will hear us a few more moments. There’s nothing to boo here folks. There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love. And I encourage you all to pull out your phones, and tweet and spread our message far and wide.”
“Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at Hamilton: An American Musical.”
“We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and our inalienable rights, sir.”
“But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us,” Dixon said. “This is one American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds and origins.”
As the cast gathered on stage for their curtain call, Brandon Dixon addressed Pence directly, to the cheers of the audience.
“You know, we have a guest in the audience, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence I see you walking out but I hope that you will hear us a few more moments. There’s nothing to boo here folks. There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love. And I encourage you all to pull out your phones, and tweet and spread our message far and wide.”
“Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at Hamilton: An American Musical.”
“We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and our inalienable rights, sir.”
“But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us,” Dixon said. “This is one American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds and origins.”
“The cast, the creators, we all felt that we must express our feelings to vice president-elect Pence. This is not a normal time, this is not a normal election. This has not been a normal result. And in a democracy, one must let his and her voice be heard, and we were not going to the show tonight without expressing how we feel,” said (producer Jeffrey) Seller. “Everybody should be able to see this show, regardless of their politics, but it does just so happen that the politics of this administration have been so negative toward minorities, people of color, gay people that we felt the need to speak up. As a cast comprised of minorities, women, gay people, it was necessary. We had to speak. We had to express how we feel.”
Pence is known for his anti-gay legislation, which was criticized by several fans and theatergoers as they learned he was attending the show. Both O’Malley, who plays King George, and Javier Munoz, who now plays Hamilton, are openly gay and involved in LGBT advocacy. As governor of Indiana, Pence opposed gay marriage, signing into law a bill that made it legal for business owners to refuse service to LGBT customers, citing religious freedom. He is also known for supporting “conversion therapy.”
The album features hit songs from the show performed by popular artists, including “It’s Quiet Uptown” by Kelly Clarkson, “Satisfied” by Sia, and “My Shot” by Busta Rhymes and The Roots.
First we have Clarkson doing a rendition of It’s Quiet Uptown. The song is from the musical’s second act, and is sung in the show after (spoiler alert for American history) Alexander’s son is killed in a duel. The mournful ballad fits perfectly with Clarkson’s soft pop style. You might expect to hear her cover right after Because of You on an album.
In a completely different preview track we have My Shot [Rise Up Remix] by The Roots featuring Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz and Nate Rues. In the show, Hamilton sings this song early in Act I, and it’s the song that establishes the character as the hero of the piece. Miranda has said the song took him years to write. In the show, the song also features Hamilton’s friends Jon Laurens, Hercules Mulligan and the Marquis de Lafayette. Miranda has also said that he based Mulligan’s rap style on Busta Rhymes. In the remix, Busta gets his shot at verses.
Javier Muñoz, the man who took over the lead role in Hamilton from Lin-Manuel Miranda, opens up to Stephen Colbert of The Late Show about what fuels his drive to play the founding father on Broadway.
Muñoz, who is openly gay and HIV+, says his battle with the disease has become a driving force behind his approach to playing “Alexander Hamilton.”
Broadway blockbuster Hamilton is really showing up for the Hillary Clinton campaign by giving an additional performance to the hit Broadway musical with proceeds going to the Democratic presidential candidate.
On July 12, the cast will put on an extra 11:30 a.m. matinee showing in Clinton’s honor. The event is titled “Hamilton: An American Musical with special guest Hillary Rodham Clinton.” Tickets start at $2,700 for a general seat and reach as high as $100,000 for an “event chair” entry, which includes “two Premium Seats and Wrap Party with Hillary and other special guests, and Invitation to the Democratic National Convention,” according to Clinton’s official website.
For $10,000, buyers will score a premium seat that includes a photo reception with Clinton; and for the $33,400 host ticket, donors will sit in a premium seat as well as enjoy the aftershow wrap party with Clinton and guests.
The Tuesday matinee will add an additional performance to the week’s regular slate of eight shows. Despite the fundraiser being held in Clinton’s honor, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda and co-stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Phillipa Soo are not expected to perform as they will be leaving the show following their final performance on July 9.
Ticket prices for the musical have soared as the Broadway hit has gained massive popularity, with premium seats at a current high of $849. Seats on the secondary market are going for as much as $4,000 apiece.
Hamilton’s special matinee showing is presented by the Hillary Victory Fund, as part of its efforts to raise money for the Democratic candidate’s “Hillary for America” campaign.
This could be a huge opportunity for some Hamilton and Clinton fans. Current top ticket price is $849 for best seats, but the show is sold waaaay out. You can buy tickets on the “secondary market” but they are selling for up to $4,000. So, $2,700 could be a deal if you are one of those who expect to donate the max amount to Hillary anyway.
My pockets aren’t that deep, but I applaud the creativity in fundraising.
In his Tony Award acceptance speech tonight for “Best Score of a Musical,” Lin-Manuel Miranda read a sonnet he wrote acknowledging life, love, and today’s tragedy.
“Senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day,” he said. “This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer.”
Tony Award nominee Leslie Odom Jr. tells The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon about the night when TV wonder-producer Shonda Rhimes almost threw down with Art Garfunkel during a performance of Hamilton.
