[city noises]
[applause]
- Hello, I'm Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Megan: Oh we know who you are.
Oh, I'm Megan, this is Stephen.
Stephen: We may have passed on investing in Hamilton,
but with your next musical,
we aren't throwin' away our shot.
Megan: Our shot.
Stephen: Our shot.
Megan: Our shot.
Stephen: Get it?
Lin: Hamilton, got it.
Look, I know I'm asking for a lot of money,
but trust me you're gonna love it.
My next great American musical is
about President William Henry Harrison.
- [muttering] William Henry Harrison.
Oh, the president who died after only 31 days in office
of typhoid?
- Yep, that's the one.
- Really?
- I- I think if anyone can make these historical figures
come to life it's Lin.
Take it away.
- Right, right, all right.
Let me take you back to inauguaration day, 1875.
[music begins]
How does the ninth president of the United States
get defeated at the ripe age of 68.
I had the longest inauguaral speech spoken to date.
Eight thousand four hundred words,
it couldn't save my fate, 'cause I'm--
Chorus: ♪ William Henry Harrison. ♪
Lin: That's right, they call me--
Chorus: ♪ William Henry Harrison. ♪
Lin: Look me up, my name is--
Chorus: ♪ William Henry Harrison. ♪
Lin: I really did exist.
April: Me, I voted for him.
Matthew: Me, I believed in him.
Jessica and Tori: We, we've heard of him.
Typhoid: And me, I'm the virus that got him.
All: ♪ William Henry Harrison. ♪
Lin: And that's the opening number.
Megan:: Listen, Lin, I-
That was great, but um,
do you think that maybe it's a problem
that most people have never heard of this person?
Lin: Few knew the dramatic life story of Alexander Hamilton
until I turned it into a musical.
Stephen: That's right and
even though Harrison was only president for 31 days,
I'm sure he had a fascinating life before his time in office.
Lin: He sure did.
He was an officer in the Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812.
In fact, he was the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison
the 23rd president.
Megan: Wow.
Okay, okay, good, so he was interesting.
We're gonna be fine.
Lin: But we're gonna skip all that.
We're gonna start with his inauguration.
Megan: What?
Lin: Without a coat,
our lead rides his white steed
on a slightly windy inauguration day.
Tori: ♪ Wear a coat! ♪
Lin: He rejected his covered carriage.
April: ♪ Wear a coat. ♪
Lin: Reject his gloves, thinking he can manage.
Jessica: ♪ Wear a coat. ♪
Lin: The chilly air won't get him discouraged.
Girls: ♪ Wear a coat. ♪
Lin: It was cold.
Megan: Okay, so I'm sorry, Lin.
We're just getting right into it?
You wrote a musical about an old man getting sick?
Lin: Yes.
I do affirm that I will faithfully execute [AAAchoo!]
[dramatic gasp]
All: ♪ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. ♪
♪ The ten symptoms of typhoid. ♪
Chorus: ♪ Number one. ♪
Lin: A fever as high as one oh five to six degrees,
and yeah, I'm talking Fahrenheit.
Chorus: ♪ Number two. ♪
Typhoid: A headache that is a throbbing sensation,
and ouch, you can't ignore the inflammation.
Chorus: ♪ Number three. ♪
Lin: Just general aches and pains.
It's achy and painful
and yeah, aches and pains.
Chorus: ♪ Number four. ♪
Typhoid: It's weakness with a bit of fatigue.
It's similar but different than number three.
Chorus: ♪ Number five. ♪
Megan: Wait, wait, I'm sorry.
This just isn't the next Hamilton, okay?
No one wants to watch a musical
about an old man getting sick and dying.
Stephen: Hold on.
I want to hear how it ends.
Megan: I'll tell you how it ends,
he gets sick with typhoid and dies.
Lin: Guys, just sit down, please just hear me out.
[chorus humming]
Lin: William Henry Harrison, the musical.
Perfectly encapsulates the American experience
of typhoid,
and hip-hop,
come on.
Megan: What else you got?
Lin: Awesome, Act 1 finale, guys.
Hit it!
Chorus: ♪ He dry coughed till he died. ♪
♪ He died in 1875. ♪
♪ He dry coughed till he died, ♪
♪ What a pathetic way to die. ♪
♪ Die, die, ♪
[Lin coughs]
♪ die, die. ♪
Lin: Achoo! I'm dying.
Megan: Okay, so he dies before the end of the first act?
What could possibly happen in Act II?
Lin: You know, I'm not sure yet,
but I'm thinking just like a very long funeral.
[audience laughs]
All: ♪ He dry coughed till he-e-e-e-e ♪
♪ died! ♪
[audience applauding]
Lin: Thank you so much for watching Studio C.
If you wanna see some more, visit BYUtv .org
or download the free BYUtv app.
Make sure to like, subscribe and comment down below
what your favorite musical is.
It better be William Henry Harrison the Musical.
Megan: It won't be.