Cheat Sheet: Six Things We Learned about Lin-Manuel Miranda & Hamilton Today

The New Yorker just published 8,000 words about In the Heights Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is currently the talk of the town for his new history-soaked musical Hamilton, now in previews at the Public Theater. Until you have time to plow through the story yourself, we offer six interesting things we learned about the Broadway favorite:

1. He First Met Hamilton Poolside in Mexico
Miranda bought the inspiration for Hamilton, Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton, on impulse while vacationing with now-wife Vanessa Nadal. The fascinating story of the founding father of the U.S. immediately reminded him of his dad Luis Miranda…and Tupac Shakur.

2. He Showed Barack Everything He Had
Miranda famously performed “The Hamilton Mixtape” for President Barack Obama (see below) on May 12, 2009. Although he said it was part of a larger “concept album” he was working on, it was the only song that he’d actually written at the time. The song now opens Hamilton and is performed by Leslie Odom Jr. as Vice President Aaron Burr.


3. He Helped Get Eliot Spitzer Elected
While on summer breaks from high school, Miranda worked for MirRam Group, his dad’s political consulting company, writing jingles for TV commercials for politicians. One of his subjects was none other than Eliot Spitzer during his successful 2006 campaign for New York Governor. Interestingly, Hamilton found himself embroiled in a sex scandal that tarnished his political career, just like Spitzer's love of hookers.

4. He’s Aiming for Fantine-Sized Tears
One of his musical inspirations for Hamilton is another historical rouser, Les Miserables. “I really got my Les Miz on in this score, like being really smart about where to reintroduce a theme,” he says. “In terms of how to access your tear ducts, nothing does it better than that show."

5. He Relates to the Phantom
As a kid, Miranda first saw Les Miz with his parents and admits to sleeping through much of it. But when he saw The Phantom of the Opera, he took notice: “I was, like, ‘Oh, shit!’ Because it’s about an ugly songwriter who wants to impose his will on the world. I related to that.” (Phantom composer Andrew Lloyd Webber tweeted his love of Hamilton earlier today, leaving Miranda speechless on Facebook: “I um. Um.”).

6. He Went the Cocky Route
While writing Hamilton, Miranda couldn’t decide if he’d play the titular hero or Aaron Burr, the rival who ultimately [19th century spoiler!] kills him in a New Jersey duel, saying he relates to both men equally. But as Hamilton, he says, “I get to be cockier than I really am; I get to be smarter than I really am; I get to be more impulsive than I really am. It’s taking the reins off your id for two and a half hours."

Read the entire New Yorker feature by Rebecca Mead here.