GRAMMY Awards

EXCLUSIVE: 'Hamilton' Cast Celebrates GRAMMY Win by Raising a Glass to Freedom

By Rachel McRady
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They did not throw away their shot!

The cast of the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, had a big
night on Monday during the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Not only did
the live performance of their opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,” go off
without a hitch, but they also picked up the GRAMMY for Best Musical Theater
Album.

“Honestly, the real win tonight is that best cast album was
on primetime at the GRAMMY Awards,” Hamilton
creator Lin-Manuel Miranda told ET's Jennifer Peros after accepting the award live from the
Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. “We are not often at the cool kids' table, and it’s really exciting that Broadway music and theater music is being
recognized in the same league as all of these other artists.”

MORE: 'Hamilton' Cast Opens Up to ET About Diversity, Beyonce and Crashing Phone Lines

ET was also in the audience during the telecast to celebrate
with the cast and crew of the hip hop-themed, biographical musical about the
U.S. Founding Father, with Stephen Colbert presiding over the evening’s
festivities. 

The Late Show host kept the mood light, cracking
jokes for an audience of lucky lottery winners. During the cast’s first
rehearsal, Colbert hilariously flubbed his exit when he got in the way of actor
Leslie Odom, Jr., who opens the number. They shared a laugh and the crowd
cheered for Odom, Jr., before they reset and tried it again.

By 9:30 p.m. ET, it was time for the performance, which went
seamlessly. Naturally, the cast picked up the coveted trophy, and the crowd
immediately went silent when Miranda began rapping his acceptance speech. 

MORE: 'Hamilton' Stars Talk Worst Audience Experience and 'Law & Order' Rite of Passage

Admittedly superstitious about writing an acceptance speech
before winning, Miranda told ET he “had to write it down so I didn't forget
anyone.”

While GRAMMYs executive producer Ken Ehrlich told ET he
originally wanted to have the production perform live from the Staples Center
in Los Angeles, Miranda was grateful Hamilton stayed in New York City.

“It belongs in this house,” he said. “It’s a very difficult
thing to do it anywhere else.”

No doubt, traveling back and forth from New York City to Los Angeles would have been a grueling feat for the production, which is only dark on Mondays. 

MORE: 'Hamilton' Cast Brings Broadway Smash to TV With Spectacular GRAMMYs Performance

Despite the intense performance schedule, with most of the
cast participating in the production since it first started Off Broadway just
over one year ago, actor Daveed Diggs said the important subject matter keeps the cast going.

“Lin-Manuel has tapped into something that is right now, and
has written a piece and put a thing together that makes us all feel a little
bit more proud to be an American at a time when I think we needed that,” he
told ET following the cast’s win.

Although the GRAMMYs were over, the cast and crew were far
from done for the night. Promising to “raise a glass to freedom” in
celebration, Miranda invited a group of loyal fans waiting outside the theater
in to hang out with the cast, making time for the people who put them in the
room where it happens.