"Hamilton's" Lin-Manuel Miranda is very excited about opening night of his musical in Los Angeles.
There's a reason, however, why this opening night — even more than the ones in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco — truly is "the big magillah," he said.
The Broadway star on Aug. 16 is raffling off a totally VIP experience for lucky fans who've expressed support for immigrants and refugees online.
As Miranda explained in the video above, you can win two tickets to the L.A. opening of "Hamilton" — as well as airfare, hotel stay, and access to a star-studded after-party — if you:
- Donate $10 toward the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group created by the Hispanic Federation that helps unify efforts from various organizations fighting for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S.
- Create a video of yourself singing a song (or part of a song) from "Hamilton." In the video, challenge at least one friend to do the same.
- Post the video online using the #Ham4All hashtag.
In the hours following Miranda's ask, the internet began to flood with fans pining for their shot to win. Among them were quite a few big names, too.
Eva Longoria blasted out the lyrics to "Alexander Hamilton."
Ben Stiller and his daughter, Ella, went all in on "Non-Stop."
Shonda Rhimes basically proved she should be in the actual cast of "Hamilton," honestly.
Kelly Clarkson gave us a taste of "It's Quiet Uptown" (and left us wanting more!).
NBA champ Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, brought their rap A-game.
The Harlem Globetrotters made clear they're also not "throwing away their shot."
Matt McGorry's King of England was downright breathtaking.
As was Justin Baldoni's.
Gina Rodriguez used some backup vocals for an assist, and it came out beautifully.
And Sara Ramirez flaunted a nice set of pipes you don't normally hear on "Grey's Anatomy."
Celeb videos and Broadway tickets aside, the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition is a remarkable effort you should definitely support.
Uniting goals from "an all-star Avengers team of 12 organizations" (as Miranda described it), the coalition helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S. by providing legal representation, fighting for changes in public policy, launching awareness campaigns to change hearts and minds, and more. These services truly are critical — especially under the threats of the current administration.
Donate $10 (or more!) at prizeo.com/hamilton, make a video using the #Ham4All hashtag, learn more about the coalition, and check out Miranda's newly released music video, "The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)," below.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."