Not a Parody: Nancy Pelosi Gets Cast of Hamilton to Perform Song at Jan. 6 Remembrance on Capitol Hill
Democratic leaders and notable historians who were gathered on Capitol Hill to discuss the anniversary of Jan. 6 were joined by an unexpected cast Thursday: Lin-Manuel Miranda and some of his fellow performers from the musical Hamilton.
“Thank you for coming together for what I consider to be a solemn occasion, and a prayerful one for our country,” said Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to begin the commemorative event.
The Speaker introduced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who delivered his own opening remarks, before she returned to the mic for the introduction of the panel discussion with historians Jon Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
That serious and solemn discussion of historical context then turned to a large screen for a musical number to kick things off.
“To begin the conversation, we are privileged to have a contribution from one of the great creative talents of our time, Lin-Manuel Miranda. May his beautiful words be an inspiration to us,” said Pelosi. She said Miranda and the singers all were “very honored to be asked to participate today.”
In the video, Miranda said “We are all stewards of the American experiment,” and that “We should never take our rights and our liberties for granted.”
“That’s what I wrote about in the song ‘Dear Theodosia’ from Hamilton,” he said. “I believe no challenge is worth abandoning our efforts to unite as Americans. We’ll keep working, generation after generation, until we reach that someday.”
At that point, several members of the Hamilton cast performed the song from remote locations, in keeping with Covid tradition.
After the full video of the musical number was complete, Pelosi returned to the solemn podium to continue being serious and prayerful.
“Somehow the arts have a way of saying things in a way that connects, that we cannot do any other way,” she said. “That’s why I thought it was really important for us to have the arts lead us in this discussion.”
Discussions and commemorations of Jan. 6 both in the press and on Capitol Hill have dominated media throughout the day.
Watch the clip above, via the Speaker’s Office and C-SPAN.
