With Broadway shut down and most large gatherings banned, musical theater fans are facing a stunning silence during the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, wherever there is darkness, there is Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Hamilton mastermind has shared an unused demo from the hit historical play called “I Have This Friend”.
“Wish I could send you peace of mind via this app,” Miranda tweeted. “Alas. But I can send you music no one’s heard. Here’s a cut Hamilton/Washington tune called I Have This Friend. No one’s heard it, not even [director Thomas] Kail.”
“I Have This Friend” finds Alexander Hamilton going to President George Washington for advice about the brewing scandal surrounding the former’s affair with Maria Reynolds. That relationship is a central plot point in the musical, and Washington’s guidance here would have essentially boiled down to “ignore it.”
As it’s a demo, Miranda sings both parts, though he said it would be “funnier if you picture me and” original George Washington actor Christopher Jackson singing it. Take a listen below.
There’s more of Miranda and Hamilton in the works, as well. A film versions of the stage production featuring the original cast and shot at New York’s The Richard Rodgers Theatre is set to hit theaters on October 15th, 2021. Meanwhile, the John M. Chu-directed movie adaptation of Miranda’s In the Heights is due out on June 26th, 2020.
Wish I could send you peace of mind via this app.
Alas.
But I can send you music no one's heard. Here's a cut Hamilton/Washington tune called I Have This Friend. No one's heard it, not even Kail.
Funnier if you picture me and @ChrisisSingin singing it.https://t.co/lhkLP0jQeT— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 12, 2020