‘Hamilton’ Creator Leaving Cast — Names Replacement
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, 36, has announced that he’s leaving the cast of his hip-hop musical, which has left audiences dazzled since it opened on Broadway back in August of 2015.
Miranda’s last show will be on July 9, and it just so happens that while the Hamilton creator is leaving, we already know who is going to be replacing him on the stage. That man will be Javier Muñoz, who can be seen on the right in the picture provided by Blake Ross below.
This isn’t the first time that Muñoz will be replacing Miranda in a role either, as he formerly took over Miranda’s position in In the Heights.
Muñoz recently decided to go public about his battle with cancer, which, according to USA Today, who quoted an interview with the New York Post, forced him to take time off of work in order to seek treatment, and it wasn’t until back in February that Muñoz was able to return to the stage.
“I was diagnosed in October. I spent about six weeks not wanting to think about it, face, it, deal with it. I had never felt fear before like this in my life.”
And the torch is officially passed @Lin_Manuel hands @HamiltonMusical to @JMunozActor July 11 pic.twitter.com/eot97P4FV6
— Blake Ross (@BlakeRossNY) June 16, 2016
Though the Hamilton creator is leaving the show, it won’t be the last time we’ll see him in the role, as ABC reported Miranda as saying the following.
“For people who will say, ‘But I’ll never see Lin as Hamilton!’ — yes, you will. I have written this insane part that I can’t seem to get tired of, that is new every night… I think this is a role I will be going back to again and again. I know it feels like the end of the world to a very small number of people now, but I plan to revisit this role a lot.”
The Hamilton creator has been cast in the upcoming sequel to Marry Poppins, and is known for wanting to turn his In the Heights musical into a Hollywood film.
Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards on Sunday, and according to ABC, the musical has also managed to rack up a Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy, and an Edward M. Kennedy Prize.
There are undoubtedly a variety of reasons for the Hamilton creator leaving the cast, and the New York Times shows us in a quote that some of those reasons might be political.
“I’m leaving because I have other opportunities that are going to need my mental real estate. Our issues are on the table, from Puerto Rico to a wall to keep half of us out being a party platform. It’s important that we get out and vote.”
Miranda has been vocal about much of what Donald Trump has been saying, especially when it concerns certain immigration policies that the presumed Republican nominee seems to hold. The Washington Post reported Miranda as saying the following.
“In a year where politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant from the West Indies built our financial system, a story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done.”
Wherever the Hamilton creator goes after leaving, he will undoubtedly remain in the public eye, and as the general election begins to loom closer, only time will tell just how loudly he will yell into his celebrity megaphone. For now however, those who still wish to see Miranda perform in Hamilton have another three weeks to try and grab a ticket.
[Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]
