Human musical joy machine and recent Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree Lin-Manuel Miranda was his usual charming self on last night’s Late Night. He can afford to be a little breezy these days, what with him having turned over the title role of his game-changing Broadway smash Hamilton to the reportedly outstanding Javier Muñoz (hey, tickets are still impossible to come by), and adopting a more relaxed role toward the satellite productions taking place in Chicago and San Francisco (soon to move to Los Angeles). Comparing his sideline status to the difference between being a worried parent and an indulgent and proud grandparent (“Do whatever you want! You’re all so beautiful and talented!”), Miranda shared rosy memories about the show’s creation, like the time he essentially workshopped the song “Alexander Hamilton” at the White House back in in 2009. No pressure there.
But Miranda hasn’t been just chilling in a Scrooge McDuck pool full of Hamilton cash, telling Meyers about his current charity project (or “stunt,” “lark,” and.or “jape” according to Miranda), #Ham4All. Taking aim at Donald Trump’s controversial (or racist, unconscionable, and un-American, if you like) “travel ban” (which went into temporary and arbitrarily applied effect on Thursday night), the online event sees celebrities (like Ben Stiller, Steph Curry, Rainn Wilson, Shonda Rhimes, Tatiana Maslany, Stephanie Beatriz, Ben Schwartz, and many more) not only singing a song from Hamilton, but challenging two of their famous pals to do the same. The whole Ham-athon is in support of Miranda’s Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition, a “supergroup,” as Miranda says, of 12 immigrants’ rights and support organizations. Yes, you can win Hamilton tickets and other goodies and stick it to Trump at the same time. As Miranda put it, in reference to his show’s continuing relevance to an America beset by divisive, entrenched political rhetoric, mudslinging, and violence, “Why won’t it stop being current?”
And just because, here’s Riz Ahmed (under his musical moniker Riz MC), K’naan featuring Residente, and Snow Tha Product in their video for “Immigrants: We Get The Job Done” from The Hamilton Mixtape.