Sabtu, 19 November 2016

Trump demands apology from 'Hamilton' after cast's message to Pence - Washington Post

The cast of "Hamilton" delivered a message to Vice President-elect Mike Pence from stage after he watched the show at Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on Nov. 18. Pence was booed by some audience members when he first walked in. (Twitter/Hamilton via Storyful)

The cast of "Hamilton" was not going to throw away its shot.

After Friday evening's performance, at which Vice President-elect Mike Pence was in the audience, several dozen of the Broadway musical's cast zeroed in on Pence during their curtain call. Brandon Victor Dixon — the actor who played Aaron Burr — stepped forth and cut through the applause.

"You know, we have a guest in the audience this evening," he said to audience laughter. "And Vice President-elect Pence, I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us just a few more moments. There's nothing to boo here, lad ies and gentlemen. There's nothing to boo here. We're all here sharing a story of love. We have a message for you, sir. We hope that you will hear us out."

As he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket, Dixon encouraged people to record and share what he was about to say "because this message needs to be spread far and wide."

['Hamilton': Making ecstatic history[1]]

"Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you, and we truly thank you for joining us here at 'Hamilton: An American Musical.' We really do," Dixon said to fu rther applause. "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 uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again, we truly thank you truly for seeing this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds and orientations."

Some audience members booed Vice President-elect Mike Pence as he walked to his seat at a "Hamilton" show, held at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on Nov. 18. (Storyful)

Pence reportedly left the auditorium before Dixon finished speaking, but a show spokesman told the Associated Press[2] that the vice president-elect stood in the hallway and heard the full message.

The unusual address quickly went viral and drew not one but two tweets from President-elect Donald Trump, who demanded the next morning that the cast apologize.

"Hamilton," a musical about the rise of Alexander Hamilton from his humble beginnings as an orphan and an immigrant to become one of the Founding Fathers, has a famously diverse cast. One of its oft-touted lyrics — "Immigrants, we get the job done" — appeared on a sign Friday night just outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre[3], where dozens had gathered to protest Pence.

Twitter exploded late Friday night with responses that cleaved into two camps: Those who cheered the cast for voicing their concerns so directly and those who found the exchange "rude." In the latter was Trump, who said that the cast had "harassed" Pence with "cameras blazing."

"The Theater must always be a safe and special place," Trump tweeted[4] as a follow-up. "The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!"

Dixon responded to Trump on Twitter, saying that conversation did not amount to harassment and that he appreciated that Pence stopped to listen.

By Saturday morning, both #NameAPenceMusical and #BoycottHamilton were trending on Twitter.

[Peter Marks: Why Trump gets theater completely and utterly wrong[5]]

Although the Broadway cast's message was directed broadly at what would be an administration under Trump's presidency, Pence himself has a political track record that has been excoriated b y the LGBT community. Last year, as governor of Indiana, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act[6] after the federal courts ruled that same-sex marriage bans in states were unconstitutional. Under the new state law, Indiana business owners could cite their religious beliefs if they didn't want to participate in same-sex weddings. Opponents said it amounted to allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation. A week later, after facing boycotts and widespread condemnation from rights groups, Pence signed an amendment clarifying that the law could not be used to discriminate against the LGBT community.

He has a "0%" rating[7] from the Human Rights Campaign[8], a nonprofit group that calls Pence "notoriously anti-LGBTQ" when he was chosen to be Trump's running mate. Republican Chrys Kefalas outlined Pence's anti-LGBT record in a guest column for The Washington Post[9]:

During his public career, Pence has been an outspoken opponent of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. In Congress, he opposed efforts to encourage foreign governments to decriminalize homosexuality and sought to block the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. As a governor, he stood against not only marriage equality, but civil unions as well. He also opposed a law prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace and signed one opening the door to wide-ranging discrimination against these residents of his own state under the guise of religious liberty.

None of this was lost on the au dience, who greeted Pence's arrival to his prime orchestra seat with a mix of cheers and boos, according to the AP[10].

Dixon told Broadway.com after Friday's performance[11] that the cast was alerted ahead of time that Pence would be in the audience, and that they spoke to Lin -Manuel Miranda, who created "Hamilton," as well as show producer Jeffrey Seller. The message was from both the producers and the cast, he said.

"When we first got the call that [Pence] was coming, there was certainly a question of what we would do," Dixon told the site, which covers Broadway news. "These are the opportunities that you die for."

Dixon added that he saw Pence enjoying the show and hoped the future vice president would remember the cast.

['Hamilton's America' tells the story of a great American and a great musical[12]]

"I truly believe we had an effect," Dixon told the site. "… If you have differences, say something! What better place than on this stage telling this story with these people? I hope he thinks of us every time he has to deal with an issue or talk about a bill or present anything."

"Hamilton" has been an overwhelming hit since it debuted on Broadway last August[13]. The show won 11 Tony Awards[14] in June, including for best musical. It is unclear how Pence gained entrance to the show, for which tickets are notoriously difficult and expensive to obtain. Spokesmen for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to questions by email Saturday morning.

Read more:

'Do not say mean things': Kids are writing to Donald Trump, asking him to be a kind president[15]

Diplomats wonder if spending money at a Trump hotel can buy presidential favor[16]

Trump agrees to $25 million settlement in Trump University fraud cases[17]

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