Today marked the end of Hamilton’s weekly matinee preshow, #Ham4Ham, and the ritual went out in style. Departing cast member Renée Elise Goldsberry, who won a Tony for her performance as Angelica Schuyler, brought the miniconcerts to a fitting end with a song from Hamilton’s run at the Public Theater that didn’t make it into the Broadway production.
According to Goldsberry, Lin-Manuel Miranda himself asked her to perform “Congratulations” for the final #Ham4Ham. The song, which was originally folded into “The Reynolds Pamphlet,” isn’t quite as polished as the numbers that did eventually make the final cut, of course, but it still has some supremely satisfying zingers including “You know why Jefferson can do what he wants?/ He doesn’t dignify schoolyard taunts with a response.”
“Congratulations” also offers some more, very welcome insight into Angelica’s character, with a few lines about her loveless marriage and her devotion to her sister. All in all, not a bad way for Goldsberry, or for #Ham4Ham, to go out.
