Hillary Clinton urged donors on Tuesday at a showing of the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton” to “not throw away our shot” during the 2016 election — a reference to one of the hit songs in the multi-Tony winning musical.
Clinton was joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, at an extra showing of the play to benefit the Clinton campaign. Clinton donors paid between $2,700 for general admission tickets to $100,000 for premium seats and the event may bring in more than $3.5 million.
The candidate and Broadway star both touted “Hamilton” for the lessons it has for voters during the 2016 election.
“It really is true that it matters whose stories are told and heard,” Clinton said about the play that addresses how Hamilton’s legacy is viewed. “And this powerful depiction of an immigrant’s story being told should remind all of us how many tens of millions of stories in our country deserve to be told and heard and as Washington tells us, history’s eyes are on us.”
Clinton added, in a reference to Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, “I want to thank all of you for supporting our vision of the kind of America that does try to keep moving us toward that more perfect union. That has to be our mission. We cannot be detoured by those who would play to the worst of our feelings, who would divide us, who would scapegoat up. We have to keep that vision in front of us.”
Miranda, who created the show but stepped away from its namesake role last weekend, said he was “thrilled” that the company agreed to an addition showing.
The show, Miranda said, “drives home that the American experiment is just that, an experiment.”
And then in an obvious knock against Trump, who has pledged to build a large wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and deport undocumented immigrants, Miranda said, “This November the difference could not be more stark.”
“Who do you think is going to get closer to those ideals? Are you going to vote for the guy who is channeling your fears, acting on your fears, or channeling your hopes,” the show’s creator asked. “Are you going to vote for the guy who wants to build walls or the person who wants to build bridges?”
The fundraiser is a boon for the Clinton campaign, as it is expected to bring in — at a minimum — $3.5 million, according to ticket prices and the size of the theater. But the event, given most donors will top dollar to benefit the Clinton campaign and see the show, is expected to bring in far more.
The show, which won 11 Tony awards earlier this month, centers on the life and death of founding father Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
The fund-raiser was put on by the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fund-raising committee that benefits the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties across the country.