Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has announced that he will reprise his praised turn in the show's title role for a three-week run in Puerto Rico. The mounting will appear at Teatro UPR, the theater at the University of Puerto Rico’s main campus in San Juan, for a run from January 8-27, 2019. The engagement will feature the Tony-winning direction and choreography of Thomas Kail and Andy Blankenbuehler, respectively, as well as the work of the Broadway production's acclaimed design team.
“Bringing Hamilton: An American Musical to Puerto Rico is a dream that I’ve had since we first opened at The Public Theater in 2015,” said Miranda. “When I last visited the island, a few weeks before Hurricane Maria, I had made a commitment to not only bring the show to Puerto Rico, but also return again to the title role. In the aftermath of Maria we decided to expedite the announcement of the project to send a bold message that Puerto Rico will recover and be back in business, stronger than ever.”
Miranda has played a major part in the Hurricane Maria relief effort. His original song "Almost Like Praying" has topped charts and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for The Hispanic Federation. The Tony winner's Hamilton announcement was made from the stage at the Teatro UPR, which suffered damage during Hurricane Maria’s landfall on September 20. Teatro UPR has undergone prior restorations, most recently in 2006, and will undergo repairs before Hamilton’s 2019 opening, including roofing and ventilation systems damaged by the category 4 storm.
“We thank Lin-Manuel, Luis Miranda, Jeffrey Seller and their team for their trust in this centenary-old institution to bring one of the finest internationally acclaimed productions to the people of Puerto Rico. This is a unique opportunity for the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, one of the main cultural drivers of our island. Today’s announcement demonstrates Lin-Manuel’s genuine commitment to the advancement of our people,” said Dr. Luis A. Ferrao Delgado, interim chancellor of the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico.
Additional casting for the Puerto Rico engagement of Hamilton will be announced at a future date. Look back at Miranda's performance with the original cast of Hamilton below.