1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This resolution honors Lin-Manuel Miranda for his contributions to art and civics
11 education through his composition of the musical "Hamilton."
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ recognizes the work of Lin-Manuel Miranda in composing the smash-hit musical
15 "Hamilton," which has captivated audiences worldwide, regardless of economic
16 circumstances or political stances;
17 ▸ encourages teachers, when possible and age-appropriate, to utilize the "Hamilton"
18 soundtrack to inspire a love of American history in today's students; and
19 ▸ encourages artists and citizens to use their talents to explore American history.
20 Special Clauses:
21 None
22
23 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
24 WHEREAS, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer and star of the Grammy
25 Award-winning musical "Hamilton" has "revolutionized" Broadway with the story of
26 America's unlikely founding told through the prism of America's most unlikely Founding
27 Father, Alexander Hamilton;
28 WHEREAS, "Hamilton" is, in the words of Miranda, "the story of America then, told
29 by America now," in an infectious hip-hop style, with a cast that reflects the rich diversity of
30 modern America;
31 WHEREAS, Miranda graduated from Wesleyan University in 2002 where he studied
32 performing arts and a wide variety of genres of music, including freestyle rap, bodega, and
33 salsa;
34 WHEREAS, Miranda launched into national consciousness with his first musical, "In
35 The Heights," which won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score and the
36 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album;
37 WHEREAS, Miranda was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a
38 Musical for his starring role in "In The Heights";
39 WHEREAS, the story of Hamilton's life sparked Miranda's imagination after he read
40 Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Chernow's book "Alexander Hamilton";
41 WHEREAS, in the musical adaptation "Hamilton," Miranda cleverly captures the
42 contemporary relevance of the struggles, perplexities, and triumphs of our founding history in a
43 uniquely modern style that is mesmerizing audiences from around the world, young and old,
44 from all walks of life, all political stripes, all ethnicities, and all backgrounds;
45 WHEREAS, Miranda, the son of Puerto Rican immigrants, brings to life the limitless
46 possibilities, promise, and hope of America, even for a "young, scrappy and hungry" orphaned
47 immigrant:
48 "The ten-dollar founding father without a father
49 Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
50 By being a lot smarter
51 By being a self-starter...";
52 WHEREAS, America "has its eyes on ['Hamilton']" and the innovative story told by an
53 ethnically diverse cast, including an African-American Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr,
54 Asian Eliza Schuyler, and Hispanic Alexander Hamilton played by Miranda himself;
55 WHEREAS, "Hamilton" opened in 2015 and has smashed Broadway box office records
56 ever since, resulting in sold-out shows through 2016;
57 WHEREAS, the "Hamilton" soundtrack debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard album
58 charts and eventually went to No. 1 on the Rap Albums chart, making the musical accessible to
59 people who have not been able to see the stage performance, and resulting in one million
60 comments on Twitter in 2015 alone;
61 WHEREAS, Miranda and the producers of "Hamilton," through the generosity of the
62 Rockefeller Foundation, are providing $10 tickets to 20,000 New York City public high school
63 students in 2016 to "excite curiosity in [these] students," as Miranda explained, with the hope
64 that "they will take away how much Hamilton did with his life in the time that he had.";
65 WHEREAS, with tickets sold out for the foreseeable future, the "Hamilton" producers
66 want the play to be accessible to audiences of all economic backgrounds and have begun
67 offering 21 front row tickets for $10 each in an online lottery for each show;
68 WHEREAS, the American history "world [has] turned upside down" thanks to
69 Miranda, a former high school teacher with an "unimaginable" combination of talent as a
70 songwriter, playwright, composer, actor, and singer; and
71 WHEREAS, "Hamilton" places us all "in the room where it happens," portraying the
72 human drama, intrigue, passion, perplexity, and promise of America's founding in a way that
73 resonates with a modern and ethnically diverse America, and will continue to "stay alive" in
74 our national consciousness for decades to come:
75 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
76 Governor concurring therein, are not "throwin' away [our] shot" to express our gratitude to
77 Lin-Manuel Miranda, sir, and recognize that Utah, America, and the world "has its eyes on
78 you" for your exemplary contributions to the arts and education by "placing [us all] in the
79 narrative" of our rich American history with "Hamilton," the man and the musical.
80 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor encourage
81 teachers, when possible and age-appropriate, to utilize the "Hamilton" soundtrack to "lay a
82 strong enough foundation" in American history in today's students and "[they'll] blow us all
83 away."
84 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor encourage artists
85 and all citizens of the state and the nation to make full use of their talents and tell the stories of
86 "America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference...A
87 place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up."
88 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to Lin-Manuel
89 Miranda, the Utah Commission on Civic and Character Education, the Utah Education
90 Association, the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, the
91 Center for Civic Education, the American Historical Association, the Organization of
92 American Historians, the New York Historical Society, the National Society of the Sons of the
93 American Revolution, the Utah Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters
94 of the American Revolution, and the Utah State Society of the Daughters of the American
95 Revolution.