Several Broadway stars told the story of tonight at a congressional hearing on Thursday, with the cast of Hamilton appearing virtually to serenade lawmakers participating in a remembrance event of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
After playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Hamilton cast were introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who described Miranda as “one of the great creative talents of our time,” Miranda, who said the United States is still striving to create “a more perfect union that treats all its citizens with fairness and equity,” led his co-stars in a performance of “Dear Theodosia,” which the playwright said is about people “finding a way to move forward.”
The actor, who originated the role of the eponymous Alexander Hamilton when the musical debuted in 2015, encouraged U.S. citizens not to take their rights or liberties for granted.
“I believe no challenge is worth abandoning our efforts to unite as Americans,” Miranda said. “We will keep working generation after generation until we reach that someday.”
WHITE HOUSE CALLS ON REPUBLICANS TO ‘TAKE A LOOK AT THEMSELVES’ OVER JAN. 6
.@SpeakerPelosi introduces @Lin_Manuel who introduces other Hamilton cast members to sing “Dear Theodosia.” pic.twitter.com/rNRprgGrau
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 6, 2022
Audience members in Congress watching the virtual performance gave the cast a round of applause. On social media, however, some found the spectacle questionable.
Nancy Pelosi got the cast of Hamilton to sing a song over Zoom to **checks notes** celebrate the anniversary of January 6th?!? https://t.co/TQdyAqXser
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) January 6, 2022
Alexander Hamilton literally was an insurrectionist https://t.co/wIngMmQFjD
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) January 6, 2022
I thought it had to be a joke when people were saying that Nancy Pelosi played a musical interlude from “Hamilton” during her Jan 6 remembrance event. Another lesson in why you should always operate on the default assumption that parody and reality have merged pic.twitter.com/eJdAyuvVBj
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 6, 2022
q anon shaman watching the cast of hamilton sing ‘dear theodosia’ as a tear rolls down his cheek. he takes his viking helmet off and throws it into a fire. “i believe in democracy now,” he says to himself
— Rajat Suresh (@rajat_suresh) January 6, 2022
Other public figures were accused of engaging in hyperbole in their remembrances of the riot, which occurred at the Capitol exactly one year ago. Vice President Kamala Harris compared the Capitol riot to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as “certain dates echo throughout history.”
Those on the Right pushed back, with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz slamming the riot as a “fedsurrection,” elevating unsubstantiated theories federal agents participated in the day’s events.
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Federal agents have charged more than 270 people in connection to the riot, data from the Department of Justice show. But some on the Left have maintained law enforcement should adopt a more aggressive approach in pursuing those involved.
