CMU School of Drama


Monday, November 21, 2016

Mike Pence Responds to ‘Hamilton’ Cast Statement

Variety: Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s demands that the cast of “Hamilton” apologize to Mike Pence for its statement on Friday, the future vice president took a much more measured approach to the incident on Sunday.

“It was a real joy to be there,” Pence told Chris Wallace in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “When we arrived, we heard a few boos and we heard some cheers and I nudged my kids and reminded them, that’s what freedom sounds like.”

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I don't support Mike Pence, or his policies, in any way, shape, or form, but I thought that they way that he handled the Hamilton situation was very admirable. In my humble opinion, the Hamilton cast made a very powerful and gracious speech in a forum that they were absolutely privy to use. Their speech happened after curtain call and lasted about a minute long. The cast asked the audience not to boo. Pence's reaction to the situation seemed more calm and collected, but to be honest, anything would have seemed calmer than our president-elect's barrage of tweets following Pence's theatrical visit. Furthermore, I felt like the cast of Hamilton acted very professionally in the face of someone who is in complete opposition to most of their beliefs. I don't think I would have been offended in that scenario. These people were using their platform to appeal to Pence as a person. I thought that was pretty powerful.

Unknown said...

I will be very open about the fact that I do not like or represent Mike Pence or his views. Some of his policies, such as his support of conversion therapy, I find frightening and disgusting. However, this is one instance in which he does come off a little bit better than his President. Unlike Donald Trump, Mr. Pence has been involved in politics before and therefore understands that criticism comes with the territory. He knows that you can’t yell and scream at people to apologise for respectfully and eloquently voicing their concerns. The cast did not boo Mr. Pence, the audience did and the cast asked them to stop. I respect the way Mr. Pence has dealt with the Hamilton situation, if only Mr. Trump had been half as graceful. I believe I can survive living under an administration that I do not agree with as long as I have to freedom to speak out against them and to oppose them whenever they try and put other people in danger. Shutting down all people who critique the president, demanding they apologise for “rudeness” or painting them as unpatriotic is straying dangerously close to a dictatorship in which any opposing views are silenced.

Zara Bucci said...

I would like to say that I do not in any way support Donald Trump or Mike Pence in any of their policies or opinions. Looking at the past few comments before me it seems as though it has become the norm that we must begin our statements with our disapproval and disassociation with our new president elect team. Almost as if to say, “Before you read this just know I am a good person.” I find that awful but when it comes to the topic of this election, I can’t seem to get away from preluding each statement with my standing. As for the topic of the Hamilton call out, I am glad to hear that Pence was not offended. It shows the smallest inkling of respect towards our diverse America that he could stand there and take it. To Donald Trump, please grow a pair and stand by to hear your people speak.

Unknown said...

"Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated..." Donald Trump is such a 5 year old. It used to be comical, before he become president-elect. :/ Regardless of anybody's feelings towards Mike Pence, he and his kids should have been allowed to see the show without getting heckled by audience members or the cast. I'm glad he handled getting called out graciously, but seriously, why was he put in that place in the first place. Everybody has a job to do, but they should be able to put that on hold, at least temporarily, when they are taking the evening off, whether at home, or the theatre. Yes, I understand that obviously high ranking members of the government should be held up to much higher and continual scrutiny. But it just feels like lots of individuals went out of their way to make this evening at the theatre a lot more unpleasant than it had to be, for everybody involved.

Alex Kaplan said...

Echoing many of the same sentiments said by previous commenters… I do not agree with Pence on any of his policies. I think that he is homophobic and bigoted against anyone that doesn’t look like him. However, I think his response to the cast of Hamilton was very civil and democratic. I only wish that his president could have taken the same approach. Being against the free speech of those who are against him is very worrying, especially how he lauds it in his followers. Speaking out to ask for equal representation is not harassment or rude in any terms. What Dixon did was the epitome of American Democracy, to make one's voice respectfully heard. Pence should talk some sense into Trump that this is the way our democracy is supposed to function. If he cannot, that I fear we are in for a longer four years than any of us can imagine.

Kat Landry said...

To those who believe that the theatre should be a safe place where people are not called out for their oppressive views, I would like to kindly inform you that if someone's entire career is built on disrespecting other people's existence, they do not deserve to be coddled everywhere they go on their time off. There is no "time off" from being oppressed, so why should Pence be given a break on his night at the theatre? The Hamilton cast's message to Mike Pence was clear, honest, and respectful: please include us in your America. And I am extremely glad to read that Pence took this to heart rather than reacting with anger as Trump did. I actually have huge respect for what he said to his children in response to the boo-ing, "This is what freedom sounds like." While Pence has a terrifying background that absolutely sickens me, I believe that if he continues to have the open attitude he displayed here, he may be easier to work with than we imagined.

Chris Norville said...

It is certainly interesting to see that Mike Pence’s reaction is so different than that of Trumps, I will be curious to see for the rest of the campaign if Pence is taking his marching orders from the RNC or from Trump. I am looking forward for the next four years to seeing just how good the bureaucratic process is at stifling an individual when it really doesn’t like him. If the American media and political bureaucracy doesn’t manage to stifle Trump, then maybe it will be interesting to see just how it is that he really is overturning the whole system which we have had up until this point, in the same way that it would be interesting to watch the world end. I wouldn’t want to miss it, but if its all the same, id rather it didn’t happen. As long as we are living in the hunger games, I might as well say that I was a little bit bored with Pence’s response to the Hamilton cast. He is just another Politian for all I know, and did what the non-insane ones do, he said the thing that wouldn’t offend anyone.

Lauren Miller said...

I am so happy that the Hamilton cast took the opportunity to speak to Mike Pence about his stances and policies. His response is, to me, more terrifying than Trump's. Trump is an attention seeking puppet. He receives little support from either party. He has little to no idea how the government actually works. His policies and opinions are easily, malleable. Pence, however, is far more dangerous. He can keep his calm when insulted. He understands how the government operates. His stances and ideas are much more set in stone. Unlike Trump, Pence will actually push for legislation. Articles like this remind me of that fact. He is able to discuss opposing opinions with a calm mind. He is able to talk to media without causing drama and appear to be sane. This is terrifying. Pence is not sane. Pence, if given significant power, would work to repeal Roe v. Wade, defund Planned Parenthood, fund government-supported LGBT conversion therapy, he has voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, voted against a bill attempting to close the wage gap, and has a 7% rating from the ACLU. This man is not okay, he is not a viable option for political office. Just because he can calmly discuss events with the media does not mean that his isn't more dangerous than Trump.

Sophie Chen said...

First of all, the reason why theater is important is because it's where your views are challenged and expanded. The debate/issue now seems to be whether that was "inappropriate" or "unprofessional" of the actors. The cast performed the show, then addressed Pence after the curtain call, not at the top of the show and thus did not ruin his experience as an audience. In fact, the message was anything but rude. It was very well written, earnest and very admirable. Hamilton is about this country, and it celebrates the diversity that is America today. Pence is the vice president of America for the next four years, regardless of whether it's a Monday or Sunday, whether he's working at the white house at 9:00AM or asleep in bed at 2 in the morning. The cast was absolutely justified in making their voices heard by addressing Pence after the show. Especially at a show like Hamilton, you don't just go in as the vice president of America, and expect to just sit back, relax, and not think about the world you are in and the role you play in it. People who think that Pence shouldn't be "rudely harassed" when he's "just trying to watch a show" clearly have a different understanding of the weight that Hamilton and theater in general holds. Although I think Mike Pence's response is surprisingly well handled compared to Donald Trump's response, I don't necessarily trust him when he reassured everyone that him and Trump will work hard for all Americans at the end of the video. Hopefully he will keep his word.

Emily Lawrence said...

I am very glad that the Hamilton cast took the opportunity to say something to the Vice President at the performance that he attended. I think that people almost expected something to be said, especially since it is a show that is so based on diversity. While I do not agree with Pence and the views that he has on political issues, I do think he handled the situation in a very mature and professional way. He could have simply walked out and not listened, but he did genuinely hear what the cast had to say. While it may not be reassuring to other people, I found it helpful to a certain level because it showed that he is willing to listen to what everyone has to say. I think it would have been way more alarming had he reacted the way that Trump did, because then the #boycotthamilton would have maybe meant more than it currently does. The fact that the man who was spoken at was offended speaks volumes. It also shows how immature Trump is and it is rather frightening that someone cannot stand on a stage without be tweeted at to apologize for something that does not need to be apologized for. Since Pence did not speak out in the same way as Trump, I think it makes people dislike Trump more than they already do; meanwhile, I have slightly more respect for Pence. I am glad that the Hamilton cast did what they did, and I am interested to hear more from Pence after seeing him react that way.