NEW YORK—Tony-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed Tuesday that he is penning a follow up to his groundbreaking musical “Hamilton”. The in-process sequel “Hamilton: The Reimaginable” will be a reinterpretation of the real-life events from Alexander Hamilton’s life.
MMW News Network obtained a leaked copy of the script; spoilers follow.
In one of the more surprising changes, Hamilton's son, Phillip, does not die. He avoids his fatal duel and goes on to become one of foremost surgeons in America. During his first surgery, Alexander and Eliza sing "Aren't You Glad We're Not Living Through the Unimaginable?"
Alexander's infamous duel with Aaron Burr is retained, but Phillip heroically saves his father who sings "You Took Away My Shot" while in recovery.
Burr and Alexander eventually mend their relationship and successfully run for president. The Hamilton administration ends slavery in 1810 leading to the all-cast finale "We're All in the Room Where It Happens."
Miranda said that he's excited about the project, noting that there have been many sequels just as good as the original.
"There's 'Godfather Two', 'Empire Strikes Back', and... others," he said.
Friends and colleagues have been concerned about Miranda, who has struggled to follow up on his smash hit. Leslie Odom Jr., who played Burr in the original, is dubious about reprising his role.
"I mean, Lin's a genius, but I just don't know about this play. I told him 'In the Heights' (Miranda's successful first play) didn't need a sequel, so why should 'Hamilton'? " Odom said. "We ran some lines the other day. He's got a new song for Burr called 'Gotcha Back' and it's...I told him I was on vocal rest even though I wasn't."
Theater critic Grover Brown fears professional pressure and financial interests are getting to Miranda.
"Clearly, 'Hamilton' is the greatest musical of all time but it's like a baseball player hitting 90 home runs in a season. How do you top that? And then there's a rumor going around that Disney offered him $75 million to write a follow up that would be available on their platform by Christmas," Brown said. "Apparently he said 'how do I say no to this?' I've been waiting all day to use that line."
Brown said this could be the worst musical follow up since 2007's "Re-Rent: 525,600 More Minutes" where Angel returns as an actual angel to run Tom Collins' successful campaign for mayor of Santa Fe.