Hamilton creator and original star Lin-Manuel Miranda has tweeted that he would return to the title role in the musical for a single performance under very special circumstances.
Miranda has been lobbying to have Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera pardoned from his virtual life sentence and released from a Chicago prison after more than 35 years. He was a member of a group called the the F.A.L.N., the Spanish acronym for Armed Forces of National Liberation, which was seeking Puerto Rican independence from the United States. The F.A.L.N. carried out dozens of terror bombings in the U.S. during the 1970s. Rivera was not charged with personally taking part in the bombings, and was the last member of the group still in prison.
On January 17 President Barack Obama announced that has was pardoning Rivera, who had been sentenced in 1981 to 55 years for conspiracy and an additional 15 years for conspiring to escape from prison. Rivera, who is now 74, is now scheduled for release May 17.
Miranda, whose family came to New York from Puerto Rico, and who played his final performance in the show on July 9, 2016, tweeted that he would return to the role of Alexander Hamilton for a special performance in the Chicago production of the show if Rivera were in attendance.
Y @MMViverito, when you talk to Don Oscar, díle I've got a show for him in Chicago. It'll be my honor to play Hamilton the night he goes.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 17, 2017
🇵🇷
Sobbing with gratitude here in London.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 17, 2017
OSCAR LOPEZ RIVERA IS COMING HOME.
THANK YOU, @POTUS.
🇵🇷 https://t.co/IEdaEvsVcG
There was no immediate word on when that performance might be.
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