They rose up.
The audience and the cast at Friday’s performance of the hit musical “Hamilton” had a message for Vice President-elect Mike Pence as he took in the historical hip-hop show.
Pence was met with a chorus of boos as he entered the Richard Rodgers Theatre ahead of the 8 p.m. show about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, according to attendees.
“Unreal scene here — Mike Pence walks in and there’s a massive mix of cheers and boos,” tweeted Noah Coslov, a managing editor for One Up Sports.
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The cast acknowledged the Indiana governor’s presence during their curtain call at the end of the show.
“We sir, we are the diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” said Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr. “But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879681.1479530766!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/article-hamilton-7-1118.jpg 1200w” alt=”Audience members interrupted the show to boo Vice President-elect Mike Pence.” src=”http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879681.1479530766!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/article-hamilton-7-1118.jpg” class=”” style=”max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;”>Audience members interrupted the show to boo Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
(Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
People in the theater said the performance was interrupted several times as the audience reacted to certain lines in the show.
“Crowd booed him like crazy, and gave a standing O at the line “immigrants we get the job done,” tweeted Christy Colburn.
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Pence has faced intense criticism for championing President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and his own anti-LGBTQ policies in Indiana.
Trump tweeted early Saturday that “our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!”
The President-elect added that “The Theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”
Dixon responded to Trump’s complaints, countering that “conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.”
Pence has also spoken out in favor of controversial conversion therapy in the past.
“I’m a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,” Pence has famously said when describing himself.
It’s not clear what the veep-to-be thought of Javier Muñoz in the title role of Alexander Hamilton.
Muñoz is an openly gay, openly HIV-positive actor.
assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879679.1479530710!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/article-hamilton-4-1118.jpg 1200w” alt=”Protesters hold signs as Vice President-elect Mike Pence leaves a performance of "Hamilton" at the Richard Rogers Theatre in Manhattan on Friday, November 18, 2016.” src=”http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879679.1479530710!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/article-hamilton-4-1118.jpg” class=”” style=”max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;”>
1 | 3 Protesters hold signs as Vice President-elect Mike Pence leaves a performance of “Hamilton” at the Richard Rogers Theatre in Manhattan on Friday, November 18, 2016. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
Those in the theater couldn’t help sharing a few of the more ironic moments from the show.
“During ‘You’ll Be Back (Reprise)’ they had to keep pausing the song while people jeered Pence on every line,” a Twitter user named Shannon wrote.
The Lin-Manuel Miranda-created show about the life of the nation’s first Treasury secretary won 11 Tony awards this year.
It has been praised by politicians and rap stars alike, President Obama has seen it twice, and it has influenced the debate over the nation’s currency and become a cultural phenomenon since opening on Broadway last August.
Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer of the show, said the statement to Pence was a group effort.
“The cast, the creators, we all felt that we must express our feelings,” Sellers said.
“We wanted to express our feelings and thoughts.”
Dixon echoed Sellers sentiment when he spoke to reporters after the show.
“We really thought this was an important moment to really say something, to get in front of an individual with whom we feel like we have differences and to make sure that he hears and sees us,” Dixon said, adding that he hoped Pence took note of the racial diversity of the cast.
Dixon offered a diplomatic response when asked about the crowd’s reaction to Pence entering the theater.
assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879656.1479528560!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/hamilton19n-3-web.jpg 1200w” alt=”Javier Muñoz (l.), who is openly gay, plays the titular role in the musical following the departure of Lin-Manuel Miranda (r.). Pence has spoken in favor of conversion therapy.” src=”http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2879656.1479528560!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/hamilton19n-3-web.jpg” class=”” style=”max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;”>Javier Muñoz (l.), who is openly gay, plays the titular role in the musical following the departure of Lin-Manuel Miranda (r.). Pence has spoken in favor of conversion therapy.
(Walter McBride/Getty Images)
“There were some boos and some cheers — we are a diverse America and they represented that,” he said.
One theatergoer from Indiana, Pence’s home state, said she hoped the veep-elect took the performance and the cast statement to heart.
“It was moving. The closing remarks are poignant and I hope Mike Pence was listening,” she said.
After the show, Pence was met by a crowd of about 100 people outside the 46th St. theater.
A few protesters waved signs and shouted at him as he made his way to his motorcade.
Pence waved as some in the crowd started to boo and a few chanted: “Mike Pence go away.”
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