During a talk show chat, the 'Mary Poppins Returns' actor recalls what he had in mind while performing a number from the Broadway show before former President Barack Obama and his wife.
- November 17, 2018
AceShowbiz - Lin-Manuel Miranda considered scrapping his hit Broadway show Hamilton if former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle didn't like it.
The Broadway writer and star, who had already tasted success with his musical In the Heights, was invited to an "evening of poetry and spoken word" at the White House in Washington, D.C. in 2009, when he was still working on the historical stageshow, which centres on U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
He decided to perform a small piece of the developing production for the audience, which also included filmmaker Spike Lee, actors James Earl Jones and Zach Braff, and U.S. newsman George Stephanopoulos.
"I met them (the Obamas) when I first performed for them in 2009," he told U.S. TV host Jimmy Kimmel. "It was the first time I had performed anything from Hamilton, anywhere. They had asked me to sing something from In the Heights and I had 16 bars on Alexander Hamilton."
"It worked out OK for me, it worked out pretty well," he added. "But it was really scary. And I remember thinking, 'Well, if it doesn't work in this room, I'll just throw it out and I'll try something else.'"
Hamilton made its Broadway debut at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2015 and went on to win 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It has since also enjoyed a successful launch in London's West End.
