REPUBLICANS CAN’T FORGET IMMIGRANTS: NIKKI
‘SHOWSTOPPER’ Broadway musical’s cast gives V Pelect earful about equality
NEW YORK: Vice president-elect Mike Pence was repeatedly booed at a performance of the awardwinning Broadway musical Hamilton, whose “alarmed and anxious” cast made an unusual call for Donald Trump’s incoming administration to work on behalf of all Americans.
Trump later complained the cast had been rude to Pence and harassed him during the performance late on Friday. “This should not happen!” Trump tweeted.
The wildly popular hit musical, which won 11 Tony Awards in June, follows young colonial rebels who became America’s founding fathers, celebrating diversity and immigrants’ contribution to the nation. The show’s lead actor, Javier Munoz, is openly gay, HIV-positive and a cancer survivor.
The crowd greeted Pence, a stalwart Christian conservative from the Midwest, with a mix of boos and cheers when he entered the theatre before the show.
Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays third US vice president Aaron Burr, read a statement to Pence during the curtain call that echoed some of the main concerns critics have voiced since the Republican firebrand won the election on November 8.
With that, a performance about a revolution and dawn of a young nation became even more political. Thanking Pence for attending the performance, Dixon asked him to “hear us out.”
“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,” Dixon said.
“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.”
Hamilton, Dixon told Pence, was performed by “a diverse group of men, women of different colours, creeds and orientations.” The audience cheered and loudly applauded.
Pence ducked out before Dixon finished the unprecedented message but heard the full remarks from the hallway outside the auditorium.
Outside, many protesters jeered, including one woman who held up a sign with a line from the musical that always gets a cheer: “Immigrants, we get the job done.”
During the performance, the audience gave a standing ovation at the line “immigrants we get the job done”, theatergoer Christy Colburn tweeted.
Trump complained in a tweet on Saturday morning. “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing,” he wrote. “This should not happen!”
“The Theater must always be a safe and special place,” he added in another tweet. “The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”
Activists worry the Trump administration will be hostile to gay rights. Trump has deployed polarising rhetoric to describe immigrants, vowing to build a wall along the US border with Mexico and ban Muslims from entering the US.