Broadway stars Lin-Manuel Miranda and Platt release #MarchforOurLives song
Two of Broadway’s biggest stars teamed up to release a song on Monday in support of the March for Our Lives gun-control movement started by students at a Florida high school.
Hamilton musical creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt, the Tony-winning star of teen musical Dear Evan Hansen, recorded a mash-up of two songs from the respective shows called Found/Tonight.
A portion of the proceeds from the song will support the March for Our Lives initiative aimed at pressuring US lawmakers to tighten laws on gun ownership.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are organising marches in Washington, DC, and elsewhere in the United States on Saturday after 17 students and teachers at their school in Parkland, Florida, were killed in a mass shooting last month.
“It’s so inspiring to see young people standing up for what is probably the most important cause right now in this country, and demanding action,” Platt, 24, said in a statement. “I hope that this song can play some small part in bringing about real change.”
Miranda said he was “awestruck by the strength and leadership of the students and their ability to speak truth to power”.
The emotional song and a music video combines the Hamilton song Story Of Tonight with You Will Be Found from Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. It was among the top five trending items on YouTube on Monday.
“I just listened to it and I can’t stop crying I’m gonna listen to this forever holy heck,” Emma Gonzalez, one of the student leaders, wrote on Twitter. March for Our Lives has also received support and hefty financial donations from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, director Steven Spielberg, and singers Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Demi Lovato.