Report: Democrats Courting ‘Hamilton’ Star Lin-Manuel Miranda for Philly Convention

Democrat Party officials are reportedly reaching out to pop stars and celebrities — including Broadway’s Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda — in an attempt to recruit star power to add to the Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

According to Politico, Democrats planning the convention have their eye on the Republican convention in Cleveland, where presumptive nominee Trump is expected to fill the Quicken Loans Arena with a number of celebrities and “showbiz” heavyweights in an effort to avoid the boredom of a speaker lineup full of politicians.

But Miranda — whose smash hit Broadway show just picked up 11 Tony Awards — has a busy summer planned, and may not be able to make the Democrat convention. He is reportedly scheduled to be in London doing rehearsals for an upcoming live-action Mary Poppins film at that time, and is also working on the soundtrack for the upcoming Disney animated film Moana.

Miranda recently announced that his last scheduled performance in Hamilton is on July 9. He plans to spend a portion of his summer helping to spearhead a Latino voter registration effort with the aim of preventing Trump from winning the White House.

The actor’s father, Luis Miranda Jr., told Politico that there is “no truth” to reports that Democrats have reached out to his son to appear at the convention.

If Miranda can’t make it, the Clinton campaign could call on any number of celebrities who have stumped for her in the past few months, including Katy Perry, Lena Dunham, Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera.

Clinton could also enlist the help of some of her biggest Hollywood donors, including Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and J.J. Abrams.

Meanwhile, Trump is said to be planning a made-for-TV Republican convention in Cleveland, that, if successful, could divert attention away from the Democrats’ gathering the following weekend. The presumptive GOP nominee will reportedly announce his vice presidential pick on live television, and, according to the New York Times, is working to secure a speaker lineup including Kenny Rogers, Jack Nicklaus and campaign social media stars Diamond & Silk.

Trump could also get a lift from conservative Hollywood celebrities like Jon Voight, who has been in touch with the Trump campaign and pledged in a recent interview to help the Republican win the presidency in “any way” he could.

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum