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Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo Bid Tearful Farewell to Hamilton

Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, and John Kerry were among those who saw the original trio’s final performance.

Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his final bow as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton.
Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his final bow as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton.
(© David Gordon)

Original Hamilton leading players Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo said a tearful goodbye to the musical on July 9, playing a standing-room-only audience that included Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Marla Maples, and United States Secretary of State John Kerry. The evening also served as the final performance of original ensemble member Ariana DeBose.

Miranda received 2016 Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score for his work on Hamilton, which had its world premiere in 2015 at the Public Theater. Odom, meanwhile, took home the award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing the role of Aaron Burr. The show was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards and won 11, including the top honor, Best Musical.

Javier Muñoz, who has served as the standby for Alexander Hamilton since the earliest days of the production, will take over for Miranda full-time beginning July 11. In addition, as was recently announced, Lexi Lawson (In the Heights national tour) will replace Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Michael Luwoye (Invisible Thread) will step into Muñoz's role as Hamilton alternate, and, beginning mid-August, two-time Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along) will replace Odom.

Directed by Tony winner Thomas Kail and inspired by Ron Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton explores the life of the American founding father and first Secretary of the Treasury, as well as his experiences as an orphan of the British West Indies who immigrated to the 13 Colonies and helped shape the United States of America. The show opened August 6, 2015, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

For tickets and more information, click here.

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