Ten years ago,Lin-Manuel Mirandawas relatively little known on the national stage when he went to the White House with a song to sing about a very famous dead politician named Alexander Hamilton.
That performance,in May 2009, was the world’s first glimpse of what becameHamilton, Miranda’s smash hit musical.
In attendance that night? Then-PresidentBarack Obamaand First LadyMichelle Obama. And a friendship formed.
On Sunday night, Mrs. Obama presented Miranda with the Portrait of a Nation Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.,at the gallery’s fundraising gala.
“They said, ‘Who’s your dream presenter?’ And that’s my dream presenter, and my dream presenter said yes,” the actor and composer, 39, explained to reporters on Sunday.
“I owe her, from performing the first song at the White House in 2009 to her coming to seeHamilton— not on Broadway, but off Broadway at the Public Theater, which I think is unprecedented for the first lady,” Miranda continued. “Presidents and first ladies go see Broadway shows, but they don’t go downtown that much. So that early advocacy, I can’t ever repay her for that.”
Inan Instagram post from Sunday night, Mrs. Obama, 55, had equally gushing things to say of him.
“[W]hat I love most is that he believes it’s his duty to lift up those around him, especially the next generation,” she wrote along with a photo of her and Miranda with a portrait of him that will hang in the museum.
She highlightedhis relief efforts for Puerto Ricoin the wake of Hurricane Maria, his support ofHamiltonas a curriculum tool in schools and his advocacy for voting.
Paul Morigi/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
“He’s someone who has, in melody and rhyme and connection, painted as honest a portrait of our country as I’ve ever seen,” Mrs. Obama wrote. “Love this guy.”
Notedfor her fashion choiceswhile her husband was in office and since, for Sunday’s gala Mrs. Obama chose a custom-made corset-like Schiaparelli gown in bright — almost fluorescent — yellow (sans sleeves, of course).
“The inspiration for the shape originally came from the crinoline, which is often found underneath couture gowns, but the real starting point for the overall look was the color,” Schiaparelli’s creative director, Daniel Roseberry, said in a statement.
Miranda was one of six recipients of the Portrait of a Nation prize on Sunday, along with Nobel-winning chemist Frances Arnold, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the musicians Earth, Wind & Fire, longtime Pepsi executive Indra Nooyi andVogueeditor Anna Wintour.
On Twitter, Mirandashared the photoof him and Mrs. Obama. Perhaps still soaking it all in, he kept the caption brief — to a pair of eyes emoji. “Bit of a night,” he hashtagged it, promising more later.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Miranda was asked what he would call a musical about Mrs. Obama. He playfully cited her childhood wellness initiative while she was first lady: “Let’s move!”
source: people.com
