1 00:00:05,005 --> 00:00:07,005 ["My Shot" playing] 2 00:00:10,093 --> 00:00:12,433 ♪ I am not throwing away my shot ♪ 3 00:00:12,513 --> 00:00:14,853 ♪ I am not throwing away my shot ♪ 4 00:00:14,932 --> 00:00:17,732 ♪ Hey, yo, I'm just like my country I'm young, scrappy and hungry ♪ 5 00:00:17,809 --> 00:00:20,439 ♪ And I'm not throwing away my shot ♪ 6 00:00:21,271 --> 00:00:22,941 [man] As an artist, I have learned 7 00:00:23,023 --> 00:00:27,033 that I cannot control the success or failure of a thing I make. 8 00:00:28,028 --> 00:00:32,238 So when I make decisions on things I want to do creatively, 9 00:00:32,658 --> 00:00:35,408 the biggest decision is, if it doesn't leave me alone. 10 00:00:36,036 --> 00:00:40,076 Like Hamilton did not leave me alone for seven years. 11 00:00:40,499 --> 00:00:41,919 All right. All right. I'm writing it. 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,880 ♪ Burr, check what we got Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot ♪ 13 00:00:45,963 --> 00:00:48,513 ♪ I think your pants look hot Laurens, I like you a lot ♪ 14 00:00:48,590 --> 00:00:51,090 ♪ Let's hatch a plot blacker Than the kettle callin' the pot ♪ 15 00:00:51,635 --> 00:00:54,805 That's always the guiding principle: What am I passionate about? 16 00:00:54,888 --> 00:00:57,388 And what am I going to learn from this experience? 17 00:00:59,268 --> 00:01:00,478 [song ends] 18 00:01:02,855 --> 00:01:03,975 Dear Lin, 19 00:01:04,063 --> 00:01:08,073 As an undocumented immigrant, you helped me stand up for my community. 20 00:01:08,151 --> 00:01:11,531 Dear Lin, You taught me to be proud of who I am. 21 00:01:11,613 --> 00:01:14,953 When you spoke out, you opened up a whole new world for me. 22 00:01:15,033 --> 00:01:18,453 When I felt like giving up, you gave me hope to keep going. 23 00:01:20,122 --> 00:01:23,462 I get letters from all over our country and all over our world. 24 00:01:24,126 --> 00:01:27,916 And I realized that every time you make something, 25 00:01:28,005 --> 00:01:29,915 you're throwing rocks in a pond, 26 00:01:30,007 --> 00:01:33,637 and you have no idea the ripples that are gonna come back to you. 27 00:01:33,719 --> 00:01:34,969 Every time you make something. 28 00:01:36,013 --> 00:01:37,893 - [woman] Dear Lin-Manuel... - [man] Dear Lin... 29 00:01:37,973 --> 00:01:39,023 - [woman 2] Dear Lin... - [woman 3] Dear Lin... 30 00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:40,809 [voices continue] 31 00:02:03,165 --> 00:02:06,785 I have always believed that if you fancy yourself a writer, 32 00:02:06,877 --> 00:02:08,537 every experience is valuable. 33 00:02:09,963 --> 00:02:13,933 I grew up off 200th Street, at the very top of Manhattan. 34 00:02:14,801 --> 00:02:19,101 The top of Manhattan has always been the first chapter in many immigrant stories. 35 00:02:20,140 --> 00:02:22,940 My dad came from Puerto Rico to get his education, 36 00:02:23,018 --> 00:02:25,648 and I think always intended to go back to Puerto Rico. 37 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:28,569 But then he met my mom. My mom was also born in Puerto Rico. 38 00:02:29,316 --> 00:02:31,236 So, when I was growing up, 39 00:02:31,318 --> 00:02:35,448 it was like, what does home mean to you if your parents grew up somewhere else 40 00:02:35,531 --> 00:02:37,371 and you grew up here? 41 00:02:37,449 --> 00:02:39,789 And where do we find home? 42 00:02:40,577 --> 00:02:43,407 When I was a kid, I loved musicals, I loved hip-hop. 43 00:02:44,331 --> 00:02:48,171 I remember having the Fat Boys' albums and Run-DMC. 44 00:02:48,252 --> 00:02:50,962 And then at the same time, a steady diet of cast albums. 45 00:02:51,046 --> 00:02:53,336 We didn't have money for Broadway when I was a kid. 46 00:02:54,550 --> 00:02:59,510 I remember my mom cranking the volume knob on those songs as a kid, 47 00:02:59,596 --> 00:03:01,466 and just rattling our house. 48 00:03:01,557 --> 00:03:03,267 I meet so many kids who are like, 49 00:03:03,350 --> 00:03:05,350 "I love Hamilton, but I've only listened to the album." 50 00:03:05,435 --> 00:03:07,555 That was me with pretty much all my shows. 51 00:03:08,438 --> 00:03:12,858 My first time seeing West Side Story was the movie, 52 00:03:12,943 --> 00:03:15,953 because I got cast as Bernardo in the sixth grade play. 53 00:03:16,029 --> 00:03:18,779 I was one of five Latinos in my elementary school. 54 00:03:18,866 --> 00:03:21,906 Every one of you hates every one of us, and we hate you right back. 55 00:03:21,994 --> 00:03:23,004 Let's get at it. 56 00:03:23,078 --> 00:03:25,498 I wanted a life in this business so badly. 57 00:03:25,581 --> 00:03:29,711 But I sort of realized that there weren't many opportunities for Latinos 58 00:03:29,793 --> 00:03:32,173 other than gang members in the 1950s. 59 00:03:33,046 --> 00:03:34,046 [grunts] 60 00:03:34,131 --> 00:03:38,431 But the thing that changed everything for me was, um, in 1997. 61 00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:41,760 For my 17th birthday, I went to see Rent. 62 00:03:41,847 --> 00:03:46,847 ♪ 525,600 minutes ♪ 63 00:03:46,935 --> 00:03:49,725 And it's hard to overstate the importance of that. 64 00:03:50,647 --> 00:03:51,647 It was a game changer, 65 00:03:51,732 --> 00:03:55,032 because musicals always took place somewhere else and in some other time. 66 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,870 But here is a musical that takes place right now. 67 00:03:59,948 --> 00:04:02,158 It's a contemporary score. 68 00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:04,662 And that blew my mind. 69 00:04:04,745 --> 00:04:06,785 By existing, it said to me, 70 00:04:06,872 --> 00:04:09,832 "You're allowed to write musicals about what you know, about your friends 71 00:04:09,917 --> 00:04:11,287 and things that matter to you." 72 00:04:11,376 --> 00:04:13,626 ♪ Remember the love ♪ 73 00:04:13,712 --> 00:04:17,172 ♪ Oh, you got to You got to remember to love ♪ 74 00:04:17,257 --> 00:04:18,837 ♪ Remember the love ♪ 75 00:04:18,926 --> 00:04:22,216 ♪ Don't you know that love is a gift From up above ♪ 76 00:04:22,304 --> 00:04:23,644 ♪ Remember the love ♪ 77 00:04:23,722 --> 00:04:25,772 ♪ Share love, give love ♪ 78 00:04:25,849 --> 00:04:27,889 So, this is what hit me like a ton of bricks 79 00:04:27,976 --> 00:04:29,766 senior year of high school. 80 00:04:30,062 --> 00:04:32,982 One, no one's gonna write your dream show. 81 00:04:33,815 --> 00:04:36,235 And two, if we don't tell our own stories, 82 00:04:36,318 --> 00:04:39,818 they're gonna tell the story of gang members from the 1950s again. 83 00:04:39,905 --> 00:04:42,945 And so, I think In the Heights was born out of that, 84 00:04:43,033 --> 00:04:45,663 out of those twin realizations. 85 00:04:47,329 --> 00:04:50,619 My first attempt at a full-length musical was In the Heights. 86 00:04:50,707 --> 00:04:53,087 I started writing my sophomore year at Wesleyan. 87 00:04:53,752 --> 00:04:56,302 And it was everything I'd always wanted to see in a musical. 88 00:04:56,380 --> 00:05:01,010 It was Latino characters, but also playing with hip-hop and musical theater. 89 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:03,600 It's basically about home. 90 00:05:04,388 --> 00:05:05,718 People come from somewhere else. 91 00:05:05,806 --> 00:05:08,596 They make a neighborhood their own. They make it special. 92 00:05:08,684 --> 00:05:11,274 They make it so special that other people want to move in. 93 00:05:11,353 --> 00:05:13,653 And then suddenly they can't afford to live there anymore. 94 00:05:13,730 --> 00:05:15,440 And that's what happens in In the Heights. 95 00:05:15,524 --> 00:05:19,904 And it happens over and over again, all over our country and our world. 96 00:05:21,071 --> 00:05:23,451 So, I put it up at Wesleyan. 97 00:05:23,532 --> 00:05:24,622 ♪ In Washington Heights ♪ 98 00:05:27,119 --> 00:05:28,829 ♪ In Washington Heights ♪ 99 00:05:28,912 --> 00:05:31,292 Because it took place at the top of Manhattan, 100 00:05:31,373 --> 00:05:33,963 I really had to look far and wide across campus 101 00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:37,212 to find people of color to play the roles. 102 00:05:38,213 --> 00:05:39,463 And as a result, 103 00:05:39,548 --> 00:05:44,758 my show was just so much more diverse than the typical Wesleyan fare. 104 00:05:44,845 --> 00:05:50,225 And so many more people came to see it, because everyone had a friend in the show. 105 00:05:50,309 --> 00:05:51,519 ♪ In Washington Heights ♪ 106 00:05:54,271 --> 00:05:55,611 ♪ In Washington Heights ♪ 107 00:05:55,689 --> 00:06:00,069 So, I graduated with a degree in theater, and what do you do with that? 108 00:06:00,152 --> 00:06:02,322 It does not guarantee income in any way. 109 00:06:02,404 --> 00:06:04,824 So I taught seventh grade English for a year, 110 00:06:04,907 --> 00:06:06,407 and I loved it. 111 00:06:06,491 --> 00:06:11,711 And I could see the version of my life where I teach for 30 years 112 00:06:11,788 --> 00:06:13,958 and I never write one show. 113 00:06:14,041 --> 00:06:16,501 Um, and it scared the crap out of me. 114 00:06:17,169 --> 00:06:20,919 And so, I started to devote my time to writing In the Heights. 115 00:06:22,758 --> 00:06:26,598 In 2003, I met a great director, Tommy Kail. 116 00:06:26,678 --> 00:06:31,388 And we started talking about what In the Heights could be. 117 00:06:31,475 --> 00:06:34,845 And he was so smart, he was so fast, 118 00:06:34,937 --> 00:06:39,437 and at every step of the process was more patient than me. 119 00:06:39,525 --> 00:06:41,275 The first time a producer said to us, 120 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,160 "I like the show and I like the music, but I think it needs to be higher stakes. 121 00:06:45,239 --> 00:06:47,119 Where's the drugs? Where's the prostitutes?" 122 00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:48,949 My face changed colors. 123 00:06:49,034 --> 00:06:51,454 The meeting ended and Tommy said, "We don't need him. 124 00:06:51,537 --> 00:06:54,747 We'll find the person who wants to tell the story we want to tell." 125 00:06:54,831 --> 00:06:56,831 So, one of his biggest contributions 126 00:06:56,917 --> 00:06:59,587 was teaching me how to say no until it was right. 127 00:07:00,546 --> 00:07:04,716 Because we did have opportunities, but we waited for the right opportunity. 128 00:07:05,342 --> 00:07:09,472 And then, In the Heights opened, uh, off Broadway in 2007. 129 00:07:11,014 --> 00:07:13,644 ♪ Me and my cousin Runnin' just another dime-a-dozen ♪ 130 00:07:13,725 --> 00:07:15,305 ♪ Mom-and-Pop, stop-and-shop ♪ 131 00:07:15,394 --> 00:07:17,274 ♪ And oh, my God It's gotten too darn hot ♪ 132 00:07:18,021 --> 00:07:21,691 And I began to see what it did to Latinos 133 00:07:21,775 --> 00:07:24,815 who saw the show and finally saw themselves represented on the stage 134 00:07:24,903 --> 00:07:27,033 in a way that wasn't holding a knife. 135 00:07:27,114 --> 00:07:29,074 And that's enormously gratifying. 136 00:07:29,157 --> 00:07:31,117 -[song ends] -[applause] 137 00:07:33,912 --> 00:07:35,002 Dear Lin, 138 00:07:36,081 --> 00:07:39,081 I've lived in a tightly knit Latino community my whole life, 139 00:07:39,168 --> 00:07:41,748 and I'm very proud of my culture and where I come from. 140 00:07:42,379 --> 00:07:44,839 I went to college to pursue my love of dance, 141 00:07:44,923 --> 00:07:46,473 but it was a culture shock. 142 00:07:46,550 --> 00:07:50,300 "At times, in order to fit in, I felt like I had to hide my Mexican heritage 143 00:07:50,387 --> 00:07:52,637 so that I would be accepted by my peers." 144 00:07:53,307 --> 00:07:55,887 When you don't see people who look like you onstage 145 00:07:55,976 --> 00:08:00,516 or in front of cameras, it feels like there isn't a place for you. 146 00:08:00,606 --> 00:08:06,396 But then I discovered In the Heights. It's the first musical I could relate to. 147 00:08:06,486 --> 00:08:09,816 When I found out my college was doing a production of your musical, 148 00:08:09,907 --> 00:08:14,197 I auditioned and was thrilled to be cast in one of the lead roles. 149 00:08:14,286 --> 00:08:17,156 You opened new doors for us in the Latino community. 150 00:08:17,247 --> 00:08:19,877 And you empowered me to step onto the stage 151 00:08:19,958 --> 00:08:22,418 and try musical theater for the first time. 152 00:08:22,503 --> 00:08:24,633 "In the Heights is more than a musical to me. 153 00:08:24,713 --> 00:08:28,513 It opened me up and made me free to celebrate who I am and where I'm from." 154 00:08:28,592 --> 00:08:32,222 [woman] It made me proud of what Latino immigrants, like my mom and dad, 155 00:08:32,304 --> 00:08:35,104 have had to endure to make it to where we are today. 156 00:08:35,933 --> 00:08:37,683 In the week leading up to the opening, 157 00:08:37,768 --> 00:08:40,898 I wanted to make sure everything in my performance was perfect. 158 00:08:40,979 --> 00:08:42,729 Okay, can we run those lines really quick? 159 00:08:42,813 --> 00:08:44,653 -[woman 2] Yeah, yeah. -Okay, uh, from... 160 00:08:44,733 --> 00:08:48,653 One night, a group of us stayed late after our dress rehearsal to practice. 161 00:08:49,488 --> 00:08:52,408 I'd made plans that night to go dancing with my friends. 162 00:08:52,491 --> 00:08:55,291 And just as I finished rehearsal to go meet them, 163 00:08:55,369 --> 00:08:59,249 a cast member told me there was a shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, 164 00:08:59,331 --> 00:09:02,791 the same place I was headed to meet my friends. 165 00:09:03,836 --> 00:09:06,916 [male officer] We got multiple people down. We need a lot of ambulances. 166 00:09:07,756 --> 00:09:10,926 You never think something like this will happen in your community. 167 00:09:11,009 --> 00:09:13,719 My fellow cast members huddled around. 168 00:09:13,804 --> 00:09:17,644 We were all in shock. We just sat on stage crying. 169 00:09:17,724 --> 00:09:21,194 Later that night, I learned that four of our friends never made it out. 170 00:09:21,270 --> 00:09:23,230 [helicopter whirring] 171 00:09:23,313 --> 00:09:25,823 Less than 24 hours later, 172 00:09:25,899 --> 00:09:29,779 one of the worst wildfires in California's history broke out 173 00:09:29,862 --> 00:09:32,322 and completely upended our community. 174 00:09:33,866 --> 00:09:37,236 We were forced to evacuate, and the university shut down. 175 00:09:39,746 --> 00:09:42,916 We were paralyzed with shock and grief. 176 00:09:44,042 --> 00:09:47,132 The sense of community we built was falling apart. 177 00:09:48,839 --> 00:09:51,259 And then something amazing happened. 178 00:09:51,341 --> 00:09:54,931 Somehow, you had heard about everything our production had gone through, 179 00:09:55,012 --> 00:09:57,932 and you invited us to come meet you in Los Angeles. 180 00:09:58,557 --> 00:10:00,807 I can't describe how much that meant. 181 00:10:00,893 --> 00:10:03,653 You were our light amid all of the darkness. 182 00:10:04,188 --> 00:10:07,688 "You were a shoulder for us to lean on, and you gave us hope in our time of need." 183 00:10:08,609 --> 00:10:11,779 [woman] You told us that art can be healing in times of tragedy. 184 00:10:12,613 --> 00:10:16,033 After meeting you, we were all motivated to keep going. 185 00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:19,326 And thanks to my incredible drama teachers and our university, 186 00:10:19,411 --> 00:10:22,501 we were able to put on our production of In the Heights. 187 00:10:22,581 --> 00:10:26,171 And that helped us bring our community back together again. 188 00:10:26,835 --> 00:10:30,665 We performed three incredible shows in front of sold-out crowds. 189 00:10:30,756 --> 00:10:32,876 -[salsa music playing] -[singing] 190 00:10:37,596 --> 00:10:40,016 I'll never forget the look on my parents' faces 191 00:10:40,098 --> 00:10:41,808 as they watched from the front row. 192 00:10:42,935 --> 00:10:46,605 I felt connected to them and my Latino heritage unlike ever before. 193 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:49,980 But more importantly, 194 00:10:50,067 --> 00:10:52,687 performing In the Heights for our friends and community 195 00:10:52,778 --> 00:10:56,408 lifted all of us up and helped us heal when we needed it most. 196 00:10:56,490 --> 00:10:59,080 [audience cheering] 197 00:11:01,787 --> 00:11:02,997 Hi. I made that. 198 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,370 Thank God I sucked in my gut in that picture. 199 00:11:05,457 --> 00:11:07,747 I'll never go through a bigger change in my life 200 00:11:07,835 --> 00:11:11,665 than going from substitute teacher to Broadway composer. 201 00:11:11,755 --> 00:11:15,715 That is the biggest leap I will ever make. I can't make a leap that big again. 202 00:11:15,801 --> 00:11:19,391 Um, and-- Everyone says don't read the reviews. 203 00:11:19,471 --> 00:11:24,691 But my professional life and personal life depended on good reviews, 204 00:11:24,768 --> 00:11:26,898 because we didn't have any stars in the show, 205 00:11:26,979 --> 00:11:28,769 we didn't have any stars behind the scenes. 206 00:11:29,481 --> 00:11:32,321 And so, we were so grateful for the reviews. 207 00:11:32,651 --> 00:11:34,111 Even though they did carry a whiff of 208 00:11:34,194 --> 00:11:36,824 "Why are there no knives? Why is there no crime?" 209 00:11:36,905 --> 00:11:40,575 They got us to the Tonys, and that was game changing for me. 210 00:11:41,410 --> 00:11:44,870 And the Tony Award for Best Score, which I already opened, 211 00:11:44,955 --> 00:11:46,075 goes to... 212 00:11:47,374 --> 00:11:48,884 -In the Heights. -[cheering] 213 00:11:48,959 --> 00:11:52,169 Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. 214 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:54,880 [Miranda] It's still a blur. 215 00:11:54,965 --> 00:11:56,545 I was happy I won. 216 00:11:56,633 --> 00:11:58,763 Um, we really needed the win. 217 00:11:59,845 --> 00:12:01,305 ♪ I don't know what else I got ♪ 218 00:12:01,388 --> 00:12:02,508 ♪ I'm off the dome ♪ 219 00:12:02,598 --> 00:12:05,058 ♪ I know I wrote a little show About home ♪ 220 00:12:05,851 --> 00:12:07,271 ♪ Mr. Sondheim, look ♪ 221 00:12:07,352 --> 00:12:09,652 ♪ I made a hat Where there never was a hat ♪ 222 00:12:09,730 --> 00:12:11,110 ♪ It's a Latin hat at that ♪ 223 00:12:11,190 --> 00:12:13,980 Uh, and then when we won the Tony Award for Best Musical, 224 00:12:14,067 --> 00:12:15,737 that was a very surreal moment, 225 00:12:15,819 --> 00:12:16,949 and I'll never forget it. 226 00:12:17,029 --> 00:12:20,069 [Whoopi Goldberg] The 2008 Tony Award goes to 227 00:12:20,157 --> 00:12:21,407 In the Heights. 228 00:12:21,491 --> 00:12:23,951 [cheering, applause] 229 00:12:24,828 --> 00:12:26,908 It's the great joy of my life 230 00:12:26,997 --> 00:12:29,957 that I actually get to make a living doing what I do. 231 00:12:30,042 --> 00:12:31,842 But I would be doing it if no one was watching 232 00:12:31,919 --> 00:12:33,839 and if I was doing it between grading papers. 233 00:12:39,134 --> 00:12:42,974 2008. We've just won the Tony Award for Best Musical. 234 00:12:43,055 --> 00:12:45,675 We are very happy, 'cause it means our show is going to run. 235 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,150 And I have my first vacation in a really long time. 236 00:12:50,938 --> 00:12:55,478 We went to Borders on 59th Street and looked for books to read on vacation. 237 00:12:55,567 --> 00:13:00,197 I read the glowing reviews of Ron Chernow's book on Alexander Hamilton. 238 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,120 I thought, "This is a nice big book. Only have to pack one." 239 00:13:03,867 --> 00:13:06,617 All I knew about Hamilton was his son died in a duel, 240 00:13:06,703 --> 00:13:09,003 and he died in a duel three years later. 241 00:13:09,081 --> 00:13:11,121 And I thought, "How do you walk into that?" 242 00:13:11,208 --> 00:13:13,378 It seems like the most avoidable mistake of all time. 243 00:13:14,461 --> 00:13:18,421 But as soon as I started reading it, I just thought, "I know this dude." 244 00:13:18,507 --> 00:13:20,967 He was born in the Caribbean, like my father was born. 245 00:13:21,051 --> 00:13:23,641 And I realized, "Of course, this is an immigrant story." 246 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:25,810 Would he have been called an immigrant back then? 247 00:13:25,889 --> 00:13:26,889 No, he wouldn't have. 248 00:13:26,974 --> 00:13:31,024 But the notion that he's gonna have to work three times as hard as anyone else 249 00:13:31,103 --> 00:13:32,733 just to get his foot in the door-- 250 00:13:32,813 --> 00:13:34,983 to me, that's what makes this an immigrant story. 251 00:13:35,065 --> 00:13:39,235 That's what I saw all around me in my neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, 252 00:13:39,319 --> 00:13:41,609 was we just have to work harder, 253 00:13:41,697 --> 00:13:44,867 uh, to get half the chance that someone born here gets. 254 00:13:46,076 --> 00:13:47,786 And I thought, "This is hip-hop." 255 00:13:47,870 --> 00:13:52,120 This is what the great hip-hop artists do: They write about their struggle. 256 00:13:52,207 --> 00:13:55,337 And they write about it so well that they transcend it. 257 00:13:56,420 --> 00:13:58,920 So, even the first time I'm reading the book, 258 00:13:59,006 --> 00:14:02,296 I'm already not thinking about a traditional musical. 259 00:14:03,093 --> 00:14:05,143 I was thinking, "As an album..." 260 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:06,220 [applause] 261 00:14:07,055 --> 00:14:10,515 I'm thrilled the White House called me, uh, tonight, 262 00:14:10,601 --> 00:14:14,941 because I'm actually working on a hip-hop album. 263 00:14:15,022 --> 00:14:19,032 In 2009, the White House invites me to perform something from In the Heights 264 00:14:19,109 --> 00:14:22,489 at their first evening of poetry and spoken word. 265 00:14:22,571 --> 00:14:23,661 But with the... 266 00:14:24,656 --> 00:14:25,656 with the asterisk, 267 00:14:25,741 --> 00:14:28,331 "Unless you have something about America you'd like to perform." 268 00:14:29,036 --> 00:14:33,116 I have 16 bars about Alexander Hamilton. Uh, that's all I've got. 269 00:14:33,832 --> 00:14:37,502 It's a concept album about the life of someone I think embodies hip-hop, 270 00:14:37,586 --> 00:14:39,876 Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. 271 00:14:40,589 --> 00:14:42,419 You laugh, but it's true! 272 00:14:42,508 --> 00:14:49,348 Um, he was born a penniless orphan in Saint Croix of illegitimate birth. 273 00:14:49,431 --> 00:14:54,391 Became George Washington's right-hand man, uh, became Treasury Secretary. 274 00:14:54,478 --> 00:14:57,108 Caught beef with every other founding father. 275 00:14:57,189 --> 00:14:59,439 And all on the strength of his writing. 276 00:14:59,525 --> 00:15:02,985 I think he embodies the word's ability to make a difference. 277 00:15:03,070 --> 00:15:05,570 So, I'm going to be doing the first song from that, 278 00:15:05,656 --> 00:15:06,986 uh, and snap along if you like. 279 00:15:07,658 --> 00:15:09,328 [scattered laughter] 280 00:15:11,161 --> 00:15:13,541 [playing "Alexander Hamilton"] 281 00:15:13,622 --> 00:15:18,292 ♪ How does a bastard, orphan Son of a whore and a Scotsman ♪ 282 00:15:18,377 --> 00:15:22,257 ♪ Dropped in the middle of a forgotten Spot in the Caribbean ♪ 283 00:15:22,339 --> 00:15:24,879 ♪ By providence impoverished in squalor ♪ 284 00:15:24,967 --> 00:15:27,217 ♪ Grow up to be a hero and a scholar? ♪ 285 00:15:27,302 --> 00:15:30,512 ♪ The ten-dollar founding father Without a father ♪ 286 00:15:30,597 --> 00:15:33,227 ♪ Got a lot farther By working a lot harder ♪ 287 00:15:33,308 --> 00:15:36,648 ♪ By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter ♪ 288 00:15:36,728 --> 00:15:40,688 ♪ By 14, they had placed him In charge of a trading charter ♪ 289 00:15:40,774 --> 00:15:44,404 ♪ And every day while slaves Were being slaughtered and carted away ♪ 290 00:15:44,486 --> 00:15:45,526 ♪ Across the waves ♪ 291 00:15:45,612 --> 00:15:47,322 ♪ Our Hamilton kept his guard up ♪ 292 00:15:47,406 --> 00:15:50,276 ♪ Inside, he was longing for something To be a part of ♪ 293 00:15:50,367 --> 00:15:53,997 ♪ The brother was ready to beg Steal, borrow or barter ♪ 294 00:15:54,079 --> 00:15:57,209 ♪ Then a hurricane came And devastation reigned ♪ 295 00:15:57,291 --> 00:16:00,501 ♪ And our man saw his future drip Dripping down the drain ♪ 296 00:16:00,586 --> 00:16:04,046 ♪ Put a pencil to his temple Connected it to his brain ♪ 297 00:16:04,131 --> 00:16:07,091 ♪ And he wrote his first refrain A testament to his pain ♪ 298 00:16:07,176 --> 00:16:10,676 Who on earth would tell you that a hip-hop R & B musical 299 00:16:10,762 --> 00:16:13,972 about America's founders and the Treasury Secretary 300 00:16:14,057 --> 00:16:15,727 would be a good musical? 301 00:16:15,809 --> 00:16:16,889 Doesn't sound good on paper. 302 00:16:16,977 --> 00:16:19,017 ♪ And the world is gonna know your name ♪ 303 00:16:19,104 --> 00:16:20,484 ♪ What's your name, man? ♪ 304 00:16:20,564 --> 00:16:23,284 -♪ Alexander Hamilton ♪ -[audience laughs] 305 00:16:23,358 --> 00:16:25,858 ♪ His name is Alexander Hamilton ♪ 306 00:16:26,904 --> 00:16:29,284 ♪ And there's a million things He hasn't done ♪ 307 00:16:29,364 --> 00:16:31,374 ♪ But just you wait ♪ 308 00:16:31,450 --> 00:16:33,290 ♪ Just you wait ♪ 309 00:16:33,368 --> 00:16:34,998 But you can't chase what's happening now. 310 00:16:35,078 --> 00:16:38,668 You have to chase something bigger, which is your own passion for your work. 311 00:16:38,749 --> 00:16:42,339 And I think people recognize that authenticity. 312 00:16:42,419 --> 00:16:44,879 -[song ends] -[applause] 313 00:16:46,089 --> 00:16:47,219 [Miranda] Thank you. 314 00:16:47,299 --> 00:16:52,049 After the White House, I sort of realized, "Oh, this isn't an album. This is a show." 315 00:16:52,137 --> 00:16:54,517 And I was like, "This is going to be the story of America then 316 00:16:54,598 --> 00:16:55,768 told by America now." 317 00:16:56,808 --> 00:16:58,018 When I was writing for Hamilton, 318 00:16:58,101 --> 00:17:00,731 particularly once we got into rehearsal and production, 319 00:17:00,812 --> 00:17:02,232 we had the system down by then. 320 00:17:02,314 --> 00:17:07,034 I had a shorthand with this creative team, who I'd worked with on In the Heights, 321 00:17:07,109 --> 00:17:09,319 and there's a bedrock level of trust there. 322 00:17:09,988 --> 00:17:11,368 It took us seven years of writing. 323 00:17:11,448 --> 00:17:15,118 And then Hamilton opens, uh, off Broadway in 2015. 324 00:17:16,828 --> 00:17:19,998 I did think, "We'll do okay with school groups, 325 00:17:20,082 --> 00:17:25,052 given how much of AP US history is covered in rhyming verse in our show. 326 00:17:25,127 --> 00:17:27,167 Teachers will want to bring their kids to this." 327 00:17:28,048 --> 00:17:29,678 I could not have anticipated 328 00:17:29,758 --> 00:17:33,388 how many people found their way in because of different things in the show. 329 00:17:33,470 --> 00:17:34,890 - ♪ And when I meet Thomas Jefferson ♪ -♪ Uh ♪ 330 00:17:34,972 --> 00:17:37,682 ♪ I'm gonna compel him To include women in the sequel ♪ 331 00:17:37,766 --> 00:17:38,846 ♪ Work ♪ 332 00:17:38,934 --> 00:17:40,734 This was a show that as soon as it started, 333 00:17:40,811 --> 00:17:44,111 everyone who left told five people, "You have to go see this show." 334 00:17:44,189 --> 00:17:47,819 And that's the thing no one can buy. History buffs want to go see the show. 335 00:17:47,901 --> 00:17:51,361 Hip-hop fans see the show. Musical theater fans see the show. 336 00:17:51,446 --> 00:17:54,446 Kids really liked the score. 337 00:17:54,533 --> 00:17:57,543 They could see history as something that could be cool 338 00:17:57,619 --> 00:17:59,619 and really engage with it. 339 00:18:00,122 --> 00:18:01,922 You realize what you have. 340 00:18:01,999 --> 00:18:04,289 I'd be lying if I didn't say it was exhilarating. 341 00:18:04,376 --> 00:18:08,296 And so, because of Hamilton's off-Broadway success, 342 00:18:08,380 --> 00:18:12,590 we opened on Broadway just a few months after that. 343 00:18:12,676 --> 00:18:14,676 All of that happened so fast. 344 00:18:14,761 --> 00:18:17,181 - ♪In the greatest city in the world ♪ - ♪In the greatest city in the world ♪ 345 00:18:17,264 --> 00:18:19,734 ♪ In the greatest city in the world ♪ 346 00:18:19,808 --> 00:18:20,808 [song ends] 347 00:18:22,853 --> 00:18:23,983 Dear Lin-Manuel, 348 00:18:25,189 --> 00:18:27,859 My name is Sydney. I love gymnastics. 349 00:18:28,233 --> 00:18:30,993 My friends and I used to practice at my house all the time. 350 00:18:32,613 --> 00:18:33,913 [man] Ooh! 351 00:18:33,989 --> 00:18:37,989 [Sydney] But a few years ago, I had trouble training because my back hurt. 352 00:18:38,452 --> 00:18:41,792 I thought I had pulled a muscle, so my dad took me in for a checkup. 353 00:18:44,333 --> 00:18:45,583 Dear Lin-Manuel, 354 00:18:45,667 --> 00:18:46,667 After countless tests, 355 00:18:46,752 --> 00:18:49,762 we found out that our daughter has a rare form of brain cancer 356 00:18:49,838 --> 00:18:51,088 located in her spine. 357 00:18:55,302 --> 00:18:56,852 Sydney means the world to me. 358 00:18:56,929 --> 00:19:00,639 As a parent, you pray your child never has to go through anything like this. 359 00:19:01,308 --> 00:19:03,638 You care so much, but feel so helpless. 360 00:19:05,771 --> 00:19:08,021 We were so afraid we might lose her. 361 00:19:09,191 --> 00:19:11,861 I had two surgeries on my back to remove the tumor. 362 00:19:11,944 --> 00:19:14,574 But I had to go to the hospital for chemotherapy treatment 363 00:19:14,655 --> 00:19:16,365 every Friday for nine hours at a time. 364 00:19:17,908 --> 00:19:20,538 It was really hard because it made me feel very sick. 365 00:19:22,329 --> 00:19:25,499 My parents would do little things to try to make it easier for me. 366 00:19:25,582 --> 00:19:28,462 They hung sheets up and made a fort around my bed 367 00:19:28,544 --> 00:19:30,594 so I could pretend to be somewhere else. 368 00:19:32,381 --> 00:19:35,131 [dad] It was torture watching Sydney go through that pain. 369 00:19:35,217 --> 00:19:37,047 Every time we brought her home from chemo, 370 00:19:37,135 --> 00:19:39,465 she'd be sick for three to four days at a time. 371 00:19:40,305 --> 00:19:43,805 She should have been playing with her friends, going to school, learning, 372 00:19:43,892 --> 00:19:46,522 not just trying to survive and get through each day. 373 00:19:47,688 --> 00:19:51,108 Fighting cancer forced me to give up everything I loved. 374 00:19:51,191 --> 00:19:53,611 I was really starting to lose hope. 375 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,740 Then one day, my dad showed me something he thought I would love. 376 00:19:59,825 --> 00:20:02,865 ♪ Ooh, I do, I do, I do, I do ♪ 377 00:20:02,953 --> 00:20:04,793 It was the Hamilton soundtrack. 378 00:20:05,956 --> 00:20:07,876 He was right. It was awesome. 379 00:20:07,958 --> 00:20:10,998 Listening to the Hamilton soundtrack filled me with so much joy 380 00:20:11,086 --> 00:20:13,166 and transported me to a magical place. 381 00:20:14,965 --> 00:20:18,045 ♪ Look into your eyes And the sky's the limit, I'm helpless ♪ 382 00:20:18,135 --> 00:20:19,885 "When it finished, I played it again, 383 00:20:19,970 --> 00:20:21,890 and again, and again." 384 00:20:21,972 --> 00:20:24,602 There were so many things I couldn't do when I was sick. 385 00:20:24,683 --> 00:20:26,853 But the one thing I could do was listen to your music. 386 00:20:26,935 --> 00:20:29,395 Hearing your songs helped me forget about chemo 387 00:20:29,479 --> 00:20:32,319 and made me feel better when the treatments got really hard. 388 00:20:32,399 --> 00:20:35,069 ♪ And no one else is in the room Where it happened ♪ 389 00:20:35,152 --> 00:20:37,492 I probably listened to Hamilton 400 times. 390 00:20:37,905 --> 00:20:40,905 I love Hamilton, but after hearing it 400 times, 391 00:20:40,991 --> 00:20:43,121 I'd had all any normal human could take. 392 00:20:44,828 --> 00:20:46,118 [whispers] Me too. 393 00:20:46,205 --> 00:20:49,785 All I wanted to do was take my daughter's pain away, and I couldn't. 394 00:20:50,542 --> 00:20:51,672 But you could. 395 00:20:51,752 --> 00:20:54,422 You gave her joy during the hardest time in her life. 396 00:20:55,422 --> 00:20:58,182 As her father, I can't tell you what that means to me. 397 00:20:59,176 --> 00:21:02,216 After 60 weeks, my doctors told me the treatment had worked. 398 00:21:02,304 --> 00:21:03,974 I was cancer free. 399 00:21:04,056 --> 00:21:05,306 [scanner beeps] 400 00:21:05,390 --> 00:21:06,600 When Sydney was well enough, 401 00:21:06,683 --> 00:21:09,603 we surprised her with a trip to Chicago to see Hamilton. 402 00:21:09,686 --> 00:21:12,396 This time we wanted her to fully experience and listen to Hamilton 403 00:21:12,481 --> 00:21:15,321 to celebrate how she had beaten cancer once and for all. 404 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,360 "When I felt like giving up, you gave me hope to keep going. 405 00:21:18,445 --> 00:21:21,315 Thank you, Lin-Manuel, for helping me get better." 406 00:21:21,406 --> 00:21:24,536 ♪ Yeah, you'll blow us all away ♪ 407 00:21:24,618 --> 00:21:27,118 ♪ Someday ♪ 408 00:21:27,204 --> 00:21:30,674 ♪ Someday ♪ 409 00:21:30,749 --> 00:21:33,919 ♪ And I am not throwing away my shot ♪ 410 00:21:34,002 --> 00:21:39,052 [female reporter] It's the hottest ticket in town, Broadway's smash hit Hamilton. 411 00:21:39,132 --> 00:21:42,762 [male reporter] The nominations have been announced for the 2016 Tony Awards. 412 00:21:42,845 --> 00:21:45,755 And the big story is, you guessed it, Hamilton. 413 00:21:45,848 --> 00:21:49,728 The blockbuster musical set a new record with 16 total nominations. 414 00:21:49,810 --> 00:21:55,520 I was very happy and grateful and could not believe what was happening. 415 00:21:55,983 --> 00:22:00,363 [male announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, Lin-Manuel Miranda! 416 00:22:00,445 --> 00:22:02,775 Hamilton, and listen, this is no surprise to you, 417 00:22:02,865 --> 00:22:04,985 - completely blew me away. - Thank you very much. 418 00:22:05,075 --> 00:22:07,235 You knew you were doing something different and great, 419 00:22:07,327 --> 00:22:09,117 but did you think it was going to be this great? 420 00:22:09,204 --> 00:22:12,544 Well, you can't control that part of it, right? 421 00:22:12,624 --> 00:22:15,004 The success of Hamilton was remarkable. 422 00:22:15,085 --> 00:22:16,295 And it was... 423 00:22:17,462 --> 00:22:18,632 It's still a blur. 424 00:22:19,631 --> 00:22:20,801 I feel honored. 425 00:22:20,883 --> 00:22:25,553 I feel honored that people feel they can lean on the work. 426 00:22:27,723 --> 00:22:30,643 On the day of the Tony Awards, 427 00:22:30,726 --> 00:22:34,146 I pull out my phone and read about the Pulse shooting. 428 00:22:35,647 --> 00:22:37,727 America is just now coming to grips 429 00:22:37,816 --> 00:22:41,066 with what unfolded in the early morning hours here in Orlando. 430 00:22:41,153 --> 00:22:43,163 A massacre at a gay nightclub... 431 00:22:43,238 --> 00:22:45,868 And we're horrified. 432 00:22:45,949 --> 00:22:51,039 The victims are mostly Puerto Rican. It's in a gay nightclub. 433 00:22:51,121 --> 00:22:56,671 I knew that this was going to both be a day of celebrating 434 00:22:56,752 --> 00:22:59,462 all of the work we'd done with Hamilton to get it to Broadway, 435 00:22:59,546 --> 00:23:02,376 and a day of unimaginable tragedy for our country. 436 00:23:02,466 --> 00:23:03,676 And we were gonna be on TV. 437 00:23:06,345 --> 00:23:10,715 We are the favorite to win, so I know I have to prepare something. 438 00:23:11,099 --> 00:23:15,229 But here's the thing: so much of writing... 439 00:23:16,313 --> 00:23:19,653 is just about meeting the moment as honestly as possible. 440 00:23:20,526 --> 00:23:22,946 And sometimes you have years to do it. 441 00:23:23,028 --> 00:23:26,238 I had a couple of hours to meet the moment. 442 00:23:26,323 --> 00:23:29,243 And the Tony goes to... 443 00:23:30,536 --> 00:23:35,076 Hamilton, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. 444 00:23:35,624 --> 00:23:38,254 I would've loved nothing better than to just thank my wife 445 00:23:38,335 --> 00:23:42,965 and thank all of the hundreds of people who helped Hamilton to get to what it is, 446 00:23:43,048 --> 00:23:44,468 but I couldn't that day. 447 00:23:45,259 --> 00:23:51,309 And I had to tie this tragedy of hate and fear 448 00:23:51,390 --> 00:23:53,810 to the themes of our show. 449 00:23:53,892 --> 00:23:58,732 When senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, 450 00:23:58,814 --> 00:24:00,774 not one day. 451 00:24:00,858 --> 00:24:02,648 This show is proof that history remembers. 452 00:24:02,734 --> 00:24:06,914 We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger, we rise and fall. 453 00:24:06,989 --> 00:24:11,789 And light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love lasts longer. 454 00:24:11,869 --> 00:24:17,709 - And love is love is love is love, -[applause] 455 00:24:17,791 --> 00:24:20,751 cannot be killed or swept aside. 456 00:24:21,420 --> 00:24:24,510 I sing Vanessa's symphony, Eliza tells her story. 457 00:24:24,590 --> 00:24:27,010 Now, fill the world with music, love and pride. 458 00:24:27,092 --> 00:24:28,472 Thank you so much for this. 459 00:24:28,552 --> 00:24:29,852 [cheers, applause] 460 00:24:29,928 --> 00:24:33,098 I remember shutting off my phone after that. 461 00:24:33,182 --> 00:24:36,772 I basically wasn't online for the next couple of days. 462 00:24:36,852 --> 00:24:39,902 And then seeing the "Love is love" start to pop up in places. 463 00:24:39,980 --> 00:24:44,030 Seeing it on the side of churches, seeing people writing about it. 464 00:24:44,109 --> 00:24:47,699 I was very moved by it, because I'd heard "love is love" before, 465 00:24:47,779 --> 00:24:52,199 and I just wanted to double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, 466 00:24:52,284 --> 00:24:55,044 sextuple, septuple, octuple down on it. 467 00:24:55,871 --> 00:24:59,371 And so, if me stringing those words together helped someone, 468 00:24:59,458 --> 00:25:01,338 then I'm very, very grateful. 469 00:25:06,381 --> 00:25:09,551 Dear Lin, My name is Dylan and I'm 19 years old. 470 00:25:09,635 --> 00:25:12,345 I live in a small town in the Bible Belt in Tennessee. 471 00:25:12,429 --> 00:25:16,099 "Hunting and football are really big here, but musical theater isn't." 472 00:25:16,558 --> 00:25:17,558 Been there. 473 00:25:18,352 --> 00:25:21,612 [Dylan] I love theater, and I was bullied a lot in high school because of it. 474 00:25:22,022 --> 00:25:26,032 It was really hard for me, because I had no safe place where I could be myself. 475 00:25:26,109 --> 00:25:28,149 I always had to hide who I was. 476 00:25:28,946 --> 00:25:30,776 [crowd groans] 477 00:25:32,199 --> 00:25:33,529 People already didn't accept me, 478 00:25:33,617 --> 00:25:37,157 so I thought there was no way I could tell anyone that I was gay. 479 00:25:40,290 --> 00:25:44,380 But then I saw you win the Tony for Hamilton in 2016. 480 00:25:44,461 --> 00:25:48,471 You took the opportunity to speak out against bigotry and homophobia. 481 00:25:48,549 --> 00:25:51,679 Up to that point, I had been too scared to come out. 482 00:25:52,761 --> 00:25:54,931 But you gave me the courage to find my voice 483 00:25:55,013 --> 00:25:57,223 and be the person I truly am inside. 484 00:25:57,307 --> 00:25:59,517 So I put on your song "My Shot" from Hamilton 485 00:25:59,601 --> 00:26:02,271 and sat down at my computer and poured my heart out. 486 00:26:02,354 --> 00:26:04,314 And then I posted it onto social media. 487 00:26:04,857 --> 00:26:06,527 [exhales] 488 00:26:06,608 --> 00:26:08,988 "You sang about seizing opportunity and owning the moment 489 00:26:09,069 --> 00:26:10,609 in hopes for a brighter future." 490 00:26:10,696 --> 00:26:12,606 [Dylan] That's exactly what I did. 491 00:26:12,698 --> 00:26:16,788 And for the first time, I was me. It was liberating. 492 00:26:16,869 --> 00:26:19,659 Not everyone was okay with it, and that was hard. 493 00:26:21,373 --> 00:26:24,543 A few days later, something truly amazing happened. 494 00:26:24,626 --> 00:26:27,086 Someone from my school who I barely knew 495 00:26:27,171 --> 00:26:31,511 read my post and texted me to tell me he was going through the same thing. 496 00:26:33,260 --> 00:26:35,890 Other people in my town started confiding in me, 497 00:26:35,971 --> 00:26:38,851 telling me I gave them the courage and strength to come out too. 498 00:26:38,932 --> 00:26:42,022 "So many people around me were hiding who they were, just like I had been, 499 00:26:42,102 --> 00:26:44,102 but because you helped me find my inner strength... 500 00:26:44,188 --> 00:26:45,438 [exhales] 501 00:26:46,231 --> 00:26:48,281 I could help other people find theirs." 502 00:26:49,026 --> 00:26:51,816 Now I wear my gay pride pin every day. 503 00:26:53,447 --> 00:26:55,407 I'm in college studying musical theater. 504 00:26:55,490 --> 00:26:59,040 And I'm also a teaching assistant for English Lit classes. 505 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,209 Because I've created a safe, welcoming environment 506 00:27:01,288 --> 00:27:02,828 where it's okay to be who you are, 507 00:27:02,915 --> 00:27:06,335 I've had many students actually come out to me during my office hours. 508 00:27:07,753 --> 00:27:12,013 Now I am an advocate for both gay rights and all human rights. 509 00:27:12,090 --> 00:27:14,300 "I want everyone to know that it's okay to be yourself 510 00:27:14,384 --> 00:27:16,724 and follow your passion, whatever it may be. 511 00:27:16,803 --> 00:27:17,803 Thank--" 512 00:27:18,805 --> 00:27:21,385 Thank you, Lin, for helping me and countless others 513 00:27:21,475 --> 00:27:24,135 follow our hearts, stand up for ourselves, 514 00:27:24,228 --> 00:27:26,688 and bring more love and equality into the world. 515 00:27:28,232 --> 00:27:30,732 [man] We proudly welcome to the Hollywood Walk of Fame 516 00:27:30,817 --> 00:27:32,437 Lin-Manuel Miranda. 517 00:27:32,528 --> 00:27:33,988 [cheers, applause] 518 00:27:34,071 --> 00:27:38,831 I realized that the success of Hamilton has doubled the size of my megaphone. 519 00:27:38,909 --> 00:27:41,619 And then one day, I realized, "Whoa! This thing is really loud." 520 00:27:41,703 --> 00:27:43,123 [speaking Spanish] 521 00:27:45,916 --> 00:27:48,376 Articles were being written based on things I'd tweeted. 522 00:27:49,002 --> 00:27:50,302 You know, it's just different. 523 00:27:50,379 --> 00:27:53,469 That shift happened because of Hamilton, to be sure. 524 00:27:53,549 --> 00:27:54,969 [crowd cheering] 525 00:27:55,759 --> 00:28:01,219 But I treat the issues I get involved with the same way I treat creative ideas. 526 00:28:01,306 --> 00:28:04,726 The compassion of the American people is real and it is still here. 527 00:28:04,810 --> 00:28:06,650 It's only the things that won't leave me alone. 528 00:28:07,437 --> 00:28:10,397 [reporter] Hurricane Maria barreled through Saint Croix overnight 529 00:28:10,482 --> 00:28:12,822 before roaring ashore in Puerto Rico. 530 00:28:12,901 --> 00:28:15,741 That extends to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. 531 00:28:15,821 --> 00:28:18,201 It's shocking and maddening. 532 00:28:18,282 --> 00:28:19,992 It's part of the reason we're here today. 533 00:28:20,075 --> 00:28:24,365 Or performing in solidarity with the Parkland kids 534 00:28:24,454 --> 00:28:26,374 at the March for Our Lives concert. 535 00:28:26,748 --> 00:28:29,328 ♪ If you only look around ♪ 536 00:28:29,751 --> 00:28:31,801 ♪ You will be found ♪ 537 00:28:31,879 --> 00:28:35,469 ♪ And when our children tell their story ♪ 538 00:28:35,549 --> 00:28:39,389 Or being at the immigrants' Families Belong Together rally. 539 00:28:39,469 --> 00:28:43,639 [reporter] It's estimated that more than 2,000 families have been separated 540 00:28:43,724 --> 00:28:45,734 as a result of President Trump's zero tolerance policy 541 00:28:45,809 --> 00:28:47,269 regarding illegal immigration. 542 00:28:48,103 --> 00:28:51,193 I remember feeling horrified. 543 00:28:51,648 --> 00:28:54,278 My stomach hurt for days, like I'm sure yours did. 544 00:28:54,359 --> 00:28:56,149 Our kids are gonna look back on this day 545 00:28:56,236 --> 00:28:58,856 and they're gonna know we were on the right side of history, 546 00:28:58,947 --> 00:29:02,407 and we were fighting for families, and we were fighting for our future. 547 00:29:02,492 --> 00:29:04,752 That affected me so deeply. 548 00:29:04,828 --> 00:29:07,828 We're here because there's parents right now 549 00:29:07,915 --> 00:29:10,125 who can't sing lullabies to their kids. 550 00:29:10,209 --> 00:29:14,709 The world's on fire all the time, and you can't put out every fire. 551 00:29:14,796 --> 00:29:17,756 But you can respond to the things that don't leave you alone, 552 00:29:17,841 --> 00:29:20,221 whether it's an idea or whether it's an injustice. 553 00:29:20,302 --> 00:29:23,352 I have this big megaphone. How can we help? 554 00:29:23,430 --> 00:29:24,930 We love you. Don't give up. 555 00:29:28,101 --> 00:29:29,521 [woman] Dear Lin, 556 00:29:29,603 --> 00:29:33,273 I came to America with my mother on Christmas Day in 2007 557 00:29:33,357 --> 00:29:34,977 in search of a better life. 558 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,990 I was 12 years old and undocumented, and I didn't know what to expect. 559 00:29:41,323 --> 00:29:43,583 We were taken across the border by a coyote, 560 00:29:43,659 --> 00:29:45,659 a person who smuggles you into America. 561 00:29:45,744 --> 00:29:47,124 And once he had been paid, 562 00:29:47,204 --> 00:29:50,044 he let us go to start our new lives in the United States. 563 00:29:51,375 --> 00:29:53,535 I grew up in a vecindad in Mexico. 564 00:29:53,627 --> 00:29:54,917 It's a tightly knit community 565 00:29:55,003 --> 00:29:57,763 where one person's struggles become all of our struggles. 566 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,720 And one person's success is celebrated as everyone's success. 567 00:30:02,177 --> 00:30:06,387 "The idea is that wherever you go in life, you bring your community with you." 568 00:30:07,266 --> 00:30:09,636 When I was little, I knew I was undocumented, 569 00:30:09,726 --> 00:30:11,596 but I didn't realize what that actually meant. 570 00:30:12,729 --> 00:30:14,269 When I got older in high school, 571 00:30:14,356 --> 00:30:17,106 all of my classmates started getting their driver's licenses, 572 00:30:17,192 --> 00:30:19,492 finding jobs and applying for colleges, 573 00:30:19,570 --> 00:30:21,820 all things I wanted to do but couldn't. 574 00:30:23,073 --> 00:30:25,703 I just wanted to be a teenager like everyone else. 575 00:30:25,784 --> 00:30:29,914 But I had to live my life in the shadows, afraid that if I drew attention to myself, 576 00:30:29,997 --> 00:30:32,747 my family and I would be deported back to Mexico. 577 00:30:33,250 --> 00:30:34,590 I felt invisible. 578 00:30:35,043 --> 00:30:37,593 This wasn't the life that I wanted for myself. 579 00:30:37,671 --> 00:30:39,921 And because we had to hide in our community, 580 00:30:40,007 --> 00:30:43,967 I never knew the power of theater until a friend told me about Hamilton. 581 00:30:44,887 --> 00:30:46,467 I listened to the cast recording, 582 00:30:46,555 --> 00:30:49,765 and suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. 583 00:30:49,850 --> 00:30:52,020 You taught me about Alexander Hamilton, 584 00:30:52,102 --> 00:30:55,772 an immigrant who came to America and hoped for a better life. 585 00:30:55,856 --> 00:30:58,776 Just like me, he fought for his place in this country, 586 00:30:58,859 --> 00:31:00,319 and I saw my story in him. 587 00:31:00,402 --> 00:31:02,822 - ♪ Monsieur Hamilton ♪ - ♪ Monsieur Lafayette ♪ 588 00:31:02,905 --> 00:31:05,275 - ♪ In command where you belong ♪ -♪ How you say, no sweat ♪ 589 00:31:05,365 --> 00:31:08,155 ♪ We're finally on the field We've had quite a run ♪ 590 00:31:08,243 --> 00:31:10,663 -♪ Immigrants ♪ -♪ We get the job done ♪ 591 00:31:10,746 --> 00:31:13,746 [woman] Then I started learning about you and how outspoken you've been 592 00:31:13,832 --> 00:31:16,752 in support of immigrants like me and my family. 593 00:31:16,835 --> 00:31:18,955 You stood up for DACA and for DREAMers. 594 00:31:19,046 --> 00:31:21,916 You talked about how immigrants helped build this country. 595 00:31:22,549 --> 00:31:23,929 "You showed us in a new light 596 00:31:24,009 --> 00:31:27,389 and you used your platform [sighs] to make a better world." 597 00:31:28,639 --> 00:31:32,809 I wanted to be a part of the movement, and you encouraged me to find my voice. 598 00:31:33,685 --> 00:31:36,855 I began organizing voter registration drives for immigrants 599 00:31:36,939 --> 00:31:38,939 across high school and college campuses 600 00:31:39,024 --> 00:31:41,614 so that they vote and are represented by their government. 601 00:31:44,112 --> 00:31:47,822 And now I serve my immigrant community in the Nevada State Legislature 602 00:31:47,908 --> 00:31:51,038 as a personal attaché to an assemblyman. 603 00:31:51,119 --> 00:31:53,789 "Lin, not only have you empowered me to stand up, 604 00:31:53,872 --> 00:31:55,832 you've shown me that representation matters." 605 00:31:56,542 --> 00:31:59,632 When I first arrived to America, I had to leave my home behind, 606 00:31:59,711 --> 00:32:02,711 and it was difficult for me to feel like this was my country. 607 00:32:02,798 --> 00:32:04,508 But after watching Hamilton, 608 00:32:04,591 --> 00:32:07,971 you helped me see that this is my country too, and I belong here. 609 00:32:08,554 --> 00:32:10,644 Today, I'm no longer undocumented. 610 00:32:10,722 --> 00:32:13,812 I have a visa that has put me on the path to citizenship. 611 00:32:13,892 --> 00:32:15,982 There's a line from In the Heights that says, 612 00:32:16,061 --> 00:32:18,811 - "Wherever we go, we rep our people." -[sighs] 613 00:32:18,897 --> 00:32:23,567 Because of you, wherever my life takes me, I will always represent my people. 614 00:32:25,070 --> 00:32:26,990 Thank you, Dulce. Thank you. 615 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,450 Art's role is always the same: it's to tell stories. 616 00:32:33,537 --> 00:32:37,167 And it's to tell stories that can only be told by those creators. 617 00:32:37,249 --> 00:32:38,629 That's the art that lives forever. 618 00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:41,799 Thank you for opening the door for all of us. 619 00:32:41,879 --> 00:32:44,669 Thank you, Lin, for helping me find my voice. 620 00:32:44,756 --> 00:32:48,046 Your music brought a smile to my face when life was really hard. 621 00:32:48,135 --> 00:32:52,715 You wanna write shows that affect people the way Rent affected me, 622 00:32:52,806 --> 00:32:55,476 the way Les Misérables affected me, 623 00:32:55,559 --> 00:32:59,559 the way "Beef" by Boogie Down Productions affected me. 624 00:33:00,189 --> 00:33:01,859 Because we lean on art. 625 00:33:02,774 --> 00:33:06,654 In my darkest times, I lean on other work, 626 00:33:06,737 --> 00:33:10,277 um, that expresses what I'm going through in a way that maybe I can't, 627 00:33:10,365 --> 00:33:12,865 or is a distraction for what I'm going through. 628 00:33:12,951 --> 00:33:15,621 We lean on art sometimes more than we lean on people. 629 00:33:15,704 --> 00:33:19,004 Thank you, Lin, for inspiring me to share my story with the world. 630 00:33:19,082 --> 00:33:20,542 Sincerely, Dylan. 631 00:33:20,626 --> 00:33:22,706 Sincerely, Melina. 632 00:33:22,794 --> 00:33:25,304 Thank you, Dulce. 633 00:33:25,380 --> 00:33:27,670 -Sincerely, Sydney. -And Chris. 634 00:33:28,175 --> 00:33:32,965 I think most of all, I feel grateful that this art could serve a bigger purpose. 635 00:33:33,055 --> 00:33:35,515 And that's kind of joyous.