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The reason Lin-Manuel Miranda did not perform in ‘Hamilton’ for Beyoncé
The Tony winner did not hit the stage when the singer and JAY-Z attended the Broadway musical in 2015
Lin-Manuel Miranda missed his shot to perform for Beyoncé back in 2015. When the Grammy winner and her husband JAY-Z went to watch the Broadway smash hit Hamilton in New York City, they did not get the chance to see the original Alexander Hamilton a.k.a. Lin-Manuel. The actor recalled his “sad Beyoncé story” with Zane Lowe on Apple Music. He shared (via Just Jared), “I’ll tell you my sad Beyoncé story, which is that the night Beyoncé and Jay Z came to Hamilton I had a 104 degree fever and I could not get to the theater to perform in the show.”
As luck would have it, the night the power couple came to the show marked the first time Lin-Manuel had to call out. “It was my first time being sick. It was my first time calling out,” he admitted. “At noon they said, ‘Beyoncé’s coming tonight.’ And I was like, ‘Pull the IV out, I can do it.’ My wife was like you, ‘You have to stay home.’”
Following the performance, which Lin-Manuel ultimately missed, Beyoncé and JAY-Z met the musical’s cast backstage and posed for photos. Back in 2015, the Hamilton creator responded to a story about his show’s hip-hop references tweeting, “Yes, Countdown by Beyonce is the most perfect song ever written, and influences EVERYTHING.” Lin-Manuel recently told Capital Breakfast that he’d love to work with the Single Ladies singer, or have her involved in one of his projects. “Beyoncé. I’d drop everything,” he said.
Lin-Manuel’s Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton, is now streaming on Disney+. The live capture of the show was filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2016 with the original Broadway principal cast. The release of the film was fast-tracked in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “No other artistic work in the last decade has had the cultural impact of ‘Hamilton’—an inspiring and captivating tale told and performed in a powerfully creative way. In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company said in a statement.
Lin-Manuel added, “I’m so grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4th weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down. I’m so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and I’m so glad that we’re able to make it happen. I’m so proud of this show. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
Watch Hamilton on Disney+
