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Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
Entertainment
Tracy Swartz

Lin-Manuel Miranda says he'll play 'Hamilton' in Chicago for Oscar Lopez Rivera

CHICAGO _ "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda said he was "sobbing with gratitude" about the news that President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera and said he would play Alexander Hamilton at a Chicago performance for Lopez Rivera.

"I wish I was with every Puerto Rican in Chicago right now," Miranda tweeted Tuesday.

Lopez Rivera, who grew up in Chicago, was convicted of seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government in 1981 while he was a leader of the Puerto Rican independence group FALN. The group bombed buildings in the 1970s. He is slated to be released May 17.

Miranda, who is of Puerto Rican descent, tweeted New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito that when she talks to Lopez Rivera, tell him "I've got a show for him in Chicago. It'll be my honor to play Hamilton the night he goes."

Miranda last played the title role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on July 9, 2016.

"Hamilton" opened in October at the PrivateBank Theatre in Chicago, led by Miguel Cervantes.

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