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Trump: Hamilton cast should apologise

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Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, flanked by the cast of Hamilton, delivers a message to Vice President-elect Mike Pence(Photograph from CNN)

Donald Trump has repeated his assertion that the cast of hit Broadway musical Hamilton, which stars Bermudian Nick Christopher, should apologise to Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

Mr Pence watched a performance of the critical and commercial smash on Friday night. After the show, the cast publicly addressed him with a statement urging the new administration to protect all Americans.

Mr Christopher was standing onstage when actor Brandon Victor Dixon acknowledged that Mr Pence was in the audience, and addressed him: “We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday morning: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!

“The Theater must always be a safe and special place.

“The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”

Mr Dixon tweeted in response: “@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.”

Lead producer Jeffrey Seller has said that Mr Dixon’s statement was co-written by himself, the show’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and director Thomas Kail, with input from cast members.

Mr Seller was quoted in The New York Times: “We had to ask ourselves, how do we cope with this?

“Our cast could barely go on stage the day after the election. The election was painful and crushing to all of us here. We all struggled with what was the appropriate and respectful and proper response. We are honoured that Mr Pence attended the show, and we had to use this opportunity to express our feelings.”

Hamilton has won particular praise for its provocative portrayal of America as a nation of immigrants — particularly with its casting of Hispanic or black actors in the roles of Hamilton, Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers.

Yesterday, Mr Pence responded to the controversy by saying that he had not been offended by the incident.

He told Fox News: “I did hear what was said from the stage. I can tell you I wasn’t offended by what was said. I will leave to others whether that was the appropriate venue to say it.”

However, Mr Trump remained incensed by the matter, tweeting yesterday: “The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior.”

Last week, Mr Christopher hit the headlines when he officially took over the role of George Washington in the award-winning musical about US founding father Alexander Hamilton.

UPDATED: more information on controversy