An 18th century-style green silk suit worn by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Broadway production of Hamilton was donated to the national collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History November 6.
In addition to Miranda’s costume (designed by Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell), the Smithsonian received a mid-19th-century oil painting of Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton by Daniel P. Huntington.
Miranda's costume will go on view March 22, 2018, in the Smithsonian's Giving in America exhibition, which will be updated to tell the story of philanthropy and the arts. It will later join the theatre collection in the Division of Culture and the Arts. Eliza’s portrait will join the National Museum of American History's new philanthropy collection.
The portrait of Eliza Hamilton was donated to The Smithsonian by Graham Windham, the New York City orphanage she founded 211 years ago that continues its mission to this day.
The November 6 ceremony also marked the directorial debut of original Hamilton cast member Morgan Marcell, whose short documentary, Sharing Our Stories: The Eliza Project, premiered during the event.
Sharing Our Stories: The Eliza Project follows the original cast of Hamilton as they discover that Graham Windham–founded by Eliza Hamilton in 1806—was still in existence as a family services agency. The discovery ultimately gave birth to a foundation that would bring the performing arts to the Graham Windham children.
Watch a clip of the documentary above.
Tony Award nominee Phillipa Soo, who created the role of Eliza in the stage production, along with fellow Hamilton cast member/filmmaker Marcell created the program that united the hit musical with Eliza’s mission.
“It all started in the stairwell of the Richard Rodgers Theatre when I asked Phillipa what her dinner plans were. She was planning, that week, to meet with Sandra and Kristen, two administrators from Graham Windham,” Marcell told Playbill. “Phillipa, Kristen, Sandra, and I met between shows and discussed how we could incorporate what Phillipa learned from her outreach at Juilliard with the curriculum at Graham. Phillipa proposed three master classes taught by artists from Hamilton and also some time in small groups to reflect on what they learned. I also suggested we start a pen pal program called Share Your Stories, in which each student hand-wrote their assigned cast or crew member.
“It’s been on my bucket list for some time to create an organization that focuses on the importance of education, particularly for the next generation. Fortunately, I was part of a Broadway show that allowed me to use their platform for that very goal.”
Sharing Our Stories: The Eliza Project will screen in March 2018 at the opening of the Smithsonian’s annual exhibit, The Power of Giving: Philanthropy’s Impact on American Life. The film will be donated to the Smithsonian Archives as a gift from Marcell, Graham Windham, and The Eliza Project.
