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Shonda Rhimes Nearly Came to Blows with Art Garfunkel During a Showing of 'Hamilton'

By Dustin Rowles | Hamilton | May 31, 2016 |

By Dustin Rowles | Hamilton | May 31, 2016 |


I know that Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff and Phillipa Soo get most of the Internet attention when it comes to Hamilton, but Leslie Odom Jr.’s Aaron Burr really is the MVP of the show. I always end up feeling a certain sense of sadness for Burr, wondering how different his legacy would have been if he’d died in the duel. Burr was the Hillary of his time: He put in the work. He was calculated. He bided his time. He did everything right. But the recklessly ambitious Hamilton screwed him over at every turn.

Also, here’s Leslie Odom Jr. and Aaron Tveit performing “What You Own” from Rent, because it’s amazing.

Anyway, I bring up Leslie Odom, Jr. — who was on The Tonight Show the other night — because he is the one who witnessed Shonda Rhimes nearly throw down with Art Garfunkel. As he tells Jimmy Fallon, Odom, Jr. decided — on his week off from Hamilton — to witness the play himself as a spectator. Being the star of the play and all, he managed to get tickets in the celebrity section, which is where he witnessed Shonda Rhimes nearly come to blows with Art Garfunkel because Garfunkel wouldn’t shut up during the play. He was talking and singing along, as though he were at a rock concert. Also, he may have been high.

Shonda Rhimes wasn’t having it.

I’d be conflicted, I think. On the one hand, I wouldn’t want anyone ruining the Hamilton experience for me. On the other, it’s two shows for the price of one. You get to witness Hamilton AND hear the legendary Art Garfunkel offer up his own sing-along rendition.