lin-manuel miranda hamilton cast

And Now, Weird Al Presents a Rousing Hamilton Polka

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What happens when legendary Weird Al Yankovic turns the legendary Hamilton into a polka mix? Sheer, unmitigated joy.

This is the most delightfully Friday thing I have ever experienced. It just single-handedly cured all of my end-of-week sleep deficit and brought cheer to a freezing rain sort of day. I for one am revived, for I never knew how badly I needed to hear a polkafied “The Room Where It Happens” until, well, it happened.

It seems that a Weird Al spin on Hamilton has been an object of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s desire for some time. According to The Daily Dot:

For this month’s #Hamildrops—planned releases of new Hamilton and Hamilton Mixtape covers from major artists every month in 2018—Lin-Manuel Miranda got his longtime idol“Weird Al” Yankovic put his spin on on the musical. Miranda had been teasing “The Hamilton Polka” all day Thursday as the “February 30” roll-out (a.k.a. March 2) brought the song to each time zone at midnight Friday.

Unlike the recording artists who have tackled a single Hamilton song, Weird Al squeezes more than a dozen numbers into five minutes. The master of satirical versions of popular music, Al’s chameleon-like voice switches between affecting King George’s nasal tone to Aaron Burr’s dulcet purr.

This is all great fun, but for a true Weird Al experience, I’d love to see him rewrite a Hamilton song or two in the style of “Like a Surgeon” or  “Eat It” or “Yoda.” Still, “The Hamilton Polka” is super impressive, especially when you consider that Hamilton songs at normal speed already move at a challengingly fast clip, and Weird Al sets these into overdrive.

(via The Daily Dot, image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

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Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.