Jared Grimes & Laura Benanti's #Ham4Ham Show Is Pure Joy

October 7, 2015

Thank you, musical theater gods, for (newly-crowned MacArthur genius) Lin-Manuel Miranda. He brought us In the Heights. He brought us Bring It On. And then he went and brought us Hamilton—that most unlikely and yet, somehow, most fantabulous rap musical about America’s Founding Fathers.

As if that weren’t enough, he also instituted the daily #Ham4Ham lottery, which gives 21 lucky Broadway fans last-minute $10 tickets to the indefinitely sold-out Hamilton. And as if THAT weren’t enough, he then decided to entertain the crowds of lottery hopefuls with daily #Ham4Ham performances at the stage door—impromptu appearances that have become events in themselves.

Why? Oh, because they tend to feature guest stars who may or may not be the biggest names on Broadway. Some of them are from the cast of Hamilton itself—like Jonathan Groff, who rapped it out with Miranda. Some of them are Great White Way legends—like Kelli O’Hara, who did her best LL Cool J. Some of them are adorable precocious children—like our friend Iain Loves Theatre, who gave us a preview of what the next Hamilton generation will look like.

But while generally rich in singing and rap-battling, the #Ham4Ham performances haven’t featured much dancing. Until yesterday.

Realizing that critical oversight, Miranda invited master tapper Jared Grimes to do a little something with Broadway and TV actress Laura Benanti at last night’s #Ham4Ham show. The result—which involved a tap board and a My Fair Lady classic—was, unsurprisingly, totally delightful.

Happy Thursday, everyone.