Kail ’99, Miranda ’02 Honored at the National Archives Foundation

The National Archives Foundation presented its 2016 Records of Achievement Awards to Wesleyan alumni, Tony and Emmy Award-winning film and theater director, Thomas Kail ’99, and Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, lyricist, and performer, Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, at its annual Gala on Sept. 25.

According to the National Archives Foundation, “The Records of Achievement Award is an annual award given to individuals whose work has cultivated a broader national awareness of the history and identity of the United States through the use of original records.” Kail and Miranda were honored for their collective work on the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize Award-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton.

In an article published by The Washington Post, Miranda credited the National Archives for offering the raw material and documents that laid the foundation for the Hamilton story, saying, “without these gems and genuine artifacts, there’s no story to tell.” Kail, on the other hand, was happy to share this moment with his mother, an archivist at Tudor Place: “I think the most excited I’ve been, was calling my mom and telling her that we had a chance to come to the Archives.” The duo, as part of the program, treated audience members to a full explanation of their creative process, using primary source documents to expand upon and flesh out parts of Hamilton’s life story.

More information is online here.