AN EXCITING NIGHT Applause filled the air as Lin-Manuel Beacon Theatre in New York City Miranda took the stage at the New York It was June 12 2016 the night of the annual Tony Awards ceremony These awards recognize excellence in live theater Miranda is the creator of the smash hit musical Hamilton He was accepting the award for Best Musical Score The crowd grew quiet as Miranda began to speak He read a poem he had written earlier that day sending a message of hope Miranda ended his poem with a challenge Lin-Manuel Miranda gave a speech at the 2016 Tony Awards 5
to end hate Now fill the world with music love and pride he said A LIVE PERFORMANCE Each year the Tony Awards ceremony is shown on national television In 2016 the show had the largest number of viewers in 15 years Much of that was because of the buzz created by Hamilton For almost a year the musical had been playing in New York City to sold-out crowds That year the Tony Awards show included a live performance by the cast of Hamilton It gave people across the country a first look at the musical and its highly praised cast THE TONY AWARDS The Tony Awards are an annual awards ceremony They are named for Antoinette Perry She was a famous actress and director She was also a leader of a theater organization called the American Theatre Wing The first Tony Awards were given out in 1947 The Tony Awards ceremony was first shown on national television in 1967 6
The cast of Hamilton took to the stage of the Tony Awards for a live performance For many it was the first time they were able to see what theater audiences had been raving about MAKING HISTORY COOL Hamilton is the story of Alexander Hamilton one of the Founding Fathers of the United States It is also the 7
