THE LOOP — "Hamilton" mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to play his title role one more time, and in Chicago.
The creator and onetime star of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical told the speaker of New York's city council that he will perform a show in Chicago in honor of Oscar López Rivera, the onetime Humboldt Park resident and incarcerated Puerto Rican activist whose sentence was commuted Tuesday by President Barack Obama.
Y @MMViverito, when you talk to Don Oscar, díle I've got a show for him in Chicago. It'll be my honor to play Hamilton the night he goes.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 17, 2017
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Claro @Lin_Manuel! W/o a doubt! Told him you would invite him to Hamilton. But no idea you would perform! What a treat! But he deserves it! https://t.co/uWVq5R5Rrj
— Melissa MarkViverito (@MMViverito) January 17, 2017
Oscar Lopez Rivera, Former Humboldt Park Activist, To Be Freed From Prison
Rivera was born in Puerto Rico, but moved to Humboldt Park, one of the city's largest Puerto Rican enclaves, as a teenager. He went on to become an activist in Chicago before going off to fight in Vietnam.
Rivera was sentenced to 51 years in prison in 1981 after being convicted of federal conspiracy charges. Then, he was a member of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or FALN, group that has claimed responsibility for many bombings in major U.S. cities between 1974-1983 as it attempted to overthrow the U.S. government.
Now, Rivera will be released in May after receiving presidential clemency. Activists and people of Puerto Rican descent such as Miranda applauded the move.
I wish I was with every 🇵🇷in Chicago RIGHT NOOWWWWW
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 17, 2017
Miranda himself has never played "Hamilton" in Chicago, and left the New York run last year. "Hamilton" debuted in October at the PrivateBank Theatre in the Loop with Miguel Cervantes as Alexander Hamilton.
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