Last week I almost caused a traffic accident.
We were on a four-hour drive and had been listening to Hamilton for about an hour and a half, but then in the middle of Act 2, the thing that happens happened. Which I have never made it through without crying, even though I know it’s coming.
I started sobbing so hard I couldn’t see and had to blindly stab at the volume button to have a prayer of driving properly.
So please use caution in choosing when and where to play Found/Tonight, the new mashup using songs from Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen.
LMM teased this one, telling everyone on Twitter he was excited about the ‘March Hamildrop’ and including pics of Ben Platt, who originated the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, in the recording studio. But obviously it’s much more than just a mashup.
The lyrics of both songs have been changed to make Found/Tonight into an anthem for #MarchForOurLives, the March 24th worldwide protest against violence in schools created by the students at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. They’re both incredibly affecting by themselves; together, they’re shockingly resonant. I’ll wait while you cry.
This isn’t an accident, of course – Lin-Manuel Miranda has used songs as fundraisers following the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando and after Hurricane Maria. This one isn’t a fundraiser, it’s a harmonized battle cry. How many times do you think we’ll hear it sung on social media posts from all the marches?
It’s especially affecting because so many of the Parkland activists are theatre kids. Many of whom have probably been drawing strength from their favourite numbers and their favourite artists supporting them. How better to prove that this isn’t just a passing fad than to give the March (and movement) an anthem of its own? I also loved that The Hamilcast teamed up with Coloring Broadway to make downloadable, colour-in-able posters featuring both the March For Our Lives logo and, naturally, a key Hamilton phrase:
“This Is Not A Moment, It’s The Movement”
I can’t help remembering that Last time I invoked that phrase on the site, it was a little over a year ago, about a song that became another protest anthem we might hear this weekend.
There’s been debate over whether celebrity support, financial or otherwise, will help or hinder the mission (or, you know, label it a concern of ‘liberal Hollywood elites’), but keeping it in the consciousness and the conversation is one of the best ‘celebrity’ gifts I can think of.
If you go to one of the marches near you this Saturday, let us know what signs you see, and what songs you hear. And if you want to study up on ‘Found/Tonight’, you can find the lyrics on Genius here.
