Elmo Is Singing Hamilton so Drop Everything You’re Doing and Watch It, Then Get the Kids

hamilton-elmo

 (Via YouTube)

Elmo is singing Hamilton! Elmo is singing Hamilton!

I don’t know why I’m freaking out about this. Elmo is my least-favorite Muppet, and I own the Hamilton soundtrack, so this new video is only a value add in that it offers bonus footage of Christopher Jackson, who plays George Washington in Hamilton, singing beautifully in his dreamy, smooth voice …

OK, I just figured out why I’ve been freaking out about this. Christopher Jackson is a treasure and his voice is sexier than Barry White’s and if Elmo doesn’t stop interrupting him I’m going to reach into the computer screen and knock that tricorn hat off his fuzzy little head.

Hamilton is the amazing and wonderful smash hit Broadway show that is clearly about to win allllllllll the Tony Awards this year. It is the story of Alexander Hamilton–the Founding Father on the $10 bill–set to a hip-hop and Broadway soundtrack, and it is a marvel. If you are Beyonce, you can get tickets to it. If not, well, you can dance along to the soundtrack and develop an obsessive crush on Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr) and Daveed Diggs (Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson) with the rest of us.

This new video is a digital #Ham4Ham for President’s Day weekend. #Ham4Ham is what they call the wonderful performances the cast puts on to entertain people during the traditional Broadway daily lottery to give away good seats for way cheap to whoever is lucky enough to win that day. And this time Elmo showed up so that we will all show Hamilton to our kids and they will all get 5s on their AP American History tests. (Those are still scored on a 1-5 scale, right? I still haven’t gotten used to the SAT’s 2400-point system.)

The video is adorable. Jackson is singing beautifully, and Elmo is interrupting for clarification about things like why General Washington is fighting, because fighting isn’t nice. And what’s in the glass that General Washington wants to raise to freedom.

“Apple juice!” Jackson says.

“Delicious! Carry on,” Elmo says back.

Elmo is pretty appealing to the kids, but even without him it’s generally OK to let kids listen to Hamilton. There are a couple places where parents who don’t want their kids hearing the word “fuck” might need to cover some ears, but for the most part Hamilton is a good thing to let kids listen to. (protip: Cover the ears whenever Hercules Mulligan sounds like he’s coming to the end of a line, or whenever Alexander Hamilton is addressing John Adams) But do not ever cover any ears whenever Angelica Schuyler is on stage, because otherwise you might miss lines like:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’mma compel him to include women in the sequel!”

So yes, watch this video and enjoy Christopher Jackson’s beautiful, beautiful voice and the charming way he interacts with Elmo. And then let your kids listen to the Hamilton soundtrack, because there is nothing better than a kid ready to step up to Thomas Jefferson and say: “A civics lesson from a slaver? Hey neighbor, your debts are paid because you don’t pay for labor.”

Heck, by the time our kids are ready to take that AP US History test, we might actually be able to get tickets to see Hamilton. Until then, Elmo and George Washington might be the closest we get.

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