The show's
creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda (pictured, left) performed an early
version of the opening number for president Obama in 2009 at the White
House Poetry Jam
The cast of Alexander Hamilton the broadway show were are the white house today
"about the life of someone who embodies hip-hop treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton".
'Not to take undue credit, but this is definitely the room where it happened,' Obama said referencing one of the show's songs.
Videos after cut
The cast of Alexander Hamilton the broadway show were are the white house today
"about the life of someone who embodies hip-hop treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton".
'Not to take undue credit, but this is definitely the room where it happened,' Obama said referencing one of the show's songs.
Videos after cut
The cast of Alexander Hamilton the broadway show were are the white house today
Through
rap and hip-hop, the show tells the life story of the United States'
first treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, with every role played by a
person of color.
The
first-ever performance of a song from Hamilton was sung by the show's
writer and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, at the White House in 2009, when it
was a project called the Hamilton Mix Tape.
Photo: AP
The cast of the smash hit Broadway hip-hop musical Hamilton performed at the White House for president Obama and the first lady
The president said the musical's album has become Michelle Obama's (center) favorite thing to listen to in the White House 
Vice President Joe Biden made sure he
didn't miss the Hamilton performance at the White House. Tickets for
Hamilton on Broadway are sold out for months and the cheapest seat is
$1,200
After years of writing, Hamilton debuted at the Public Theater in New York City early last year and moved to Broadway in August.
It has since become a world-wide phenomenon, with tickets sold out for the foreseeable future with the cheapest resell seats costing $1,200.
Seven
years after Lin-Manuel first brought the first incarnation of Hamilton
to the White House, the cast returned to show the president and first
lady how far its come.
The
cast performed the opening number 'Alexander Hamilton', the same some -
now perfected - that Lin-Manuel performed back in 2009, and the show's
third song 'My Shot'.
President
Obama introduced the cast, joking that even he couldn't get a ticket
and since he 'felt a little deprived' decided to bring Hamilton to him.
The cast performed two songs from
Hamilton: 'Alexander Hamilton', the show's opening number, and 'My
Shot', the show's third song
Chris Jackson (left) plays George Washington in Hamilton and Phillipa Soo (right) plays Eliza Hamilton, Alexander's wife
'They kind of owe me though because seven years ago Lin-Manuel Miranda came to the White House Poetry Jam.
'He
took the mic and he announced that he and his musical collaborator Alex
Lacamoire, that they were going to perform a song from a hip-hop album
they were working on and I'm quoting him, "about the life of someone who
embodies hip-hop treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton".
Obama explained how when Lin-Manuel said that, the crowd began laughing, but the 'Lin was serious and who's laughing now?'
'Not to take undue credit, but this is definitely the room where it happened,' Obama said referencing one of the show's songs.
Michelle Obama welcomes Lin-Manuel
(far left), Daveed Diggs (center, left), Christopher Jackson (center,
right) and Phillipa Soo (right) to the White House
Lin-Manuel also brought musical director and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire (center) with him to the White House
The cast had been tweeting up a storm
prior to their White House visit and looked overjoyed as the president
spoke about what a cultural phenomenon Hamilton has become
He
mentioned that the musical, along with winning awards, turning musical
haters into fanatics and selling millions of tickets, has become a
favorite in the Obama household, to which Michelle Obama cheered.
After a few jokes, Obama took a serious note to explain that Hamilton has become a cultural phenomenon because it presents the true American story of an immigrant overcoming poverty, making his way to the new world and climbing to the top by sheer force of will.
'We are the projects that never ends.
'It's
not the project of anyone person. America is what we make it. We only
need to look at this cast in front of us,' Obama said introducing the
cast.
Once
Obama had finished his remarks Leslie Odom, Jr, Anthony Ramos, Daveed
Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Lin-Manuel, Chris Jackson and Phillipa Soo
took the stage to perform.
Michelle Obama could hardly contain her excitement as she watched the Hamilton cast perform two songs from the musical
She was also excitedly tweeting about the cast's arrival, stealing a line from the show's opening number
Even the Treasury Department got in on
the action with a picture of Lin-Manuel speaking with current treasury
secretary Jack Lew in front of a portrait of the first treasury
secretary Alexander Hamilton
The cast had been tweeting prior to the performance and so had the White House and first lady.
'Alexander Hamilton! We've been waiting in the East Wing for you,' Michelle Obama tweeted in anticipation of the performance.
After the cast performed, Lin-Manuel took his talents to the Rose Garden for this week's Ham4Ham.
Since
the show began, every week Lin-Manuel would host a free performance
outside the Richard Rogers theater, where Hamilton is performed, as a
part of a ticket lottery.
Lin-Manuel's
freestyle skills have been showcased on Jimmy Fallon's late night show,
but this time he put them to the test in front of the president
The president appeared to be feeling the beat during his freestyle session with Lin-Manuel in the Rose Garden
In Hamilton George Washington's
cabinet members argue by having rap battles. Obama joked that his
cabinet members have been challenging him to rap battles, which he has
declined
'You think that's going viral?': The president was blown away by Lin-Manuel's rapping skills and quick wit
The
shows became so popular, Ham4Ham had to become a digital performance
due to fears someone in the massive crowds that accumulated on Broadway
would get hurt.
In this weeks, the performance was re titled 'Bam4Ham' as president Obama lent a hand in Lin-Manuel's Rose Garden Freestyle.
The
president held up words relating to government, the White House and
Hamilton as Lin-Manuel rapped the first things he could think of.
Going through words like 'Oval Office' and 'congress', until the cards were up.
Before the video ended, Obama hugged Lin-Manuel saying, 'You think that's going viral?
Courtesy dailymail
Courtesy dailymail
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