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Lin-Manuel Miranda changes Hamilton lyrics during Puerto Rico show to stop audience member filming

The Hamilton creator has asked fans: 'Please don't make me do that s*** again'

Clémence Michallon
New York
Thursday 17 January 2019 10:38 EST
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Jimmy Fallon joins Hamilton cast for special Puerto Rico episode

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Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda changed the lyrics to one of his own songs to stop an audience member from filming a recent performance.

Miranda explained on Twitter that the incident occurred during the 16 January, 2019 show, while he was rapping the song “My Shot”, one of the first few songs in the musical.

He was in the middle of an early verse during which a young Alexander Hamilton exposes his ambitions for the future, during his first meeting with Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette.

As usual, he rapped: “Imma get a scholarship to King’s College / I prob’ly shouldn’t brad but dag, I amaze and astonish”

Then, instead of delivering the usual line, which goes: ‘The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish”, Miranda changed it to: ”LADY FILMING IN THE 4TH ROW, PLEASE STOP IT”

He went back to the regular lyrics at the next line, rapping: ”I gotta holler just to be heard”

Miranda asked fans on Twitter to refrain from fiming future live performances, writing: “Please don’t make me do that s*** again.”

He added: “Anyway, having to think that fast within ‘My Shot’ takes a year off my life, please just enjoy the show. Otherwise you were the best crowd we ever had!”

Hamilton is running for three weeks in Puerto Rico. Miranda, who played Hamilton in the original Broadway cast, has reprised the role.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast appear onstage at the opening night curtain call for Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre on 16 August, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast appear onstage at the opening night curtain call for Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre on 16 August, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) ((Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images))

The composer, singer and actor has in the past railed against audience members caught recording live performances.

In 2015, he said in a tweet he had “caught and kicked someone out for audio recording”.

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The previous year, Miranda had explained on Twitter that he believes “a bootleg, with terrible audio and shaky visuals doesn’t preserve my work, it MISrepresents it”.

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