Hamilton Cast Corners VP elect Mike Pence For Personal Message; Trump Demands Apology For Their "Rudeness"
Brandon Victor Dixon, who played vice president Aaron Burr in the play, said that the cast is welcoming and thanking the vice president-elect for being their audience for that night. After welcoming him, he said that they are anxious that the diverse America would not be protected from harm.
He added that he hoped their show would inspire him to uphold American values and work for all of the Americans. Cheers and boos followed after Dixon ended his message and Pence walked out.
Dixon said he sees Pence walking out and insisted him to hear them. He also asked the audience to stop booing because the play is sharing a story of love.
He also urged the audience not to be negative on Pence, Donald Trump, and their supporters. He said that everyone may not agree with each other but they have to live and share one another.
After the messages about the current political situation have been said, the show went on without interruption. Pence left the show during intermission and escorted back to his seat during the middle of "What'd I Miss?"
The cast did not only seize the opportunity of having Pence as the audience by saying what they want but also tweaking some of their performances and lyrics for the special guest. Rory O'Malley, who plays King George III, gestured toward his seat during the line, "You're all alone."
Some lines of the show also landed quite differently. Applause and standing ovation were given to the casts when they delivered the lines "Winning is easy, young man, governing's harder," and "Immigrants, we get the job done."
Javier Munoz, who played the protagonist, took a jab about former vice president John Adams, saying he doesn't even have a real job. At the end of "Cabinet Battle #2," Seth Stewart, who plays Thomas Jefferson, noted "Daddy's calling," which made the audience think of Pence and Trump.
Everyone was lauding their action except for one person: president-elect Trump. Just like what he always do, he took out his anger on his Twitter account.
In his tweet, he said the cast harassed the "wonderful future VP" Pence and demanded the cast to apologize to him for being "very rude." Dixon replied to his tweet and said that the conversation is not harassment and he appreciated Pence for listening to their message.
The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
Pence was known for his anti-gay legislations, which has been subjected to criticisms. When he was the governor of Indiana, he staunchly opposed same-sex marriage and signed a bill into a law that would make for business to legally refuse services to LGBT customer for religious freedom reasons.
He was also known for believing in "conversion therapy," where gays can be converted back to being straight again by psychological treatment or spiritual counseling. Medical and scientific experts have strongly condoned the therapy, citing its harmful effects.
