When 9-year-old Leo Lvoff saw Eddy Lee’s name in the Hamilton playbill, he told his mom Mindy Lvoff, “Mommy, it’s me! This means I can be in Hamilton.”
According to Inside Edition, Leo is a mega-fan of Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical. He now believes he can have a future on Broadway as an Asian American after seeing Lee, a swing performer for Hamilton, on stage. Lee is the first Asian American male performer to join the Broadway company and is now this New Jersey boy’s newest role model.
“I want to be a swing like Eddy,” Leo said in an interview with Inside Edition, “and then maybe even work my way up to Hamilton.”
Mindy says their family loves the diversity in the show.
“Hamilton is probably one of the first shows that we’ve ever seen that really went out of its way to make sure that everyone had an opportunity to be on that stage, and that meant a lot to us,” she told Inside Edition.
On July 3, Leo threw a watch party for the Hamilton premiere on Disney+. He transformed his home to look like the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, where Hamilton is performed.
He set up a ticket booth, where fellow viewers would present their ticket before entering the watch area in his living room. To the side, Leo set up a gift shop that included Hamilton T-shirts, an Alexander Hamilton book, and a Benjamin Franklin costume.
His living room was filled with balloons, decorations, and posters of the different characters’ silhouettes to replicate the painted doors of the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Keeping the Hamilton theme going, Leo put character and song names into the food dishes that are served which include “Peggy’s in a blanket” and “You’ll Be Baby Back Ribs.”
This is not the first time Leo has been recognized for his love for Hamilton. In 2018, Inside Edition showed Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda a video of Leo rapping along to part of a Hamilton song. In a video with Miranda’s reaction, he said to “keep wearing that coat. Never stop,” referring to Leo’s Benjamin Franklin coat.
The coat is too small for him now, but Leo still holds it close to his heart.
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