The New York Giants will fold a Hamilton Halftime Show into their Sept. 13 commemoration of the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, turning halftime at MetLife Stadium into part memorial, part Broadway showcase. During the game against the Dallas Cowboys, a host of former Hamilton stars will perform a medley from the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical.
Nicholas Christopher will appear as Aaron Burr, while Mandy Gonzalez, Morgan Anita Wood and Candace Quarrels are also set to perform. The medley will feature a special arrangement by Alex Lacamoire and Don P. Roberts, along with a marching band collaboration with Morgan State University's Magnificent Marching Machine, Penn State's Blue Band and soloist Jaheim Lee. It is the kind of halftime staging that can only work if the show is tight; a medley has to move fast enough to fit the break, which is why the production is built as a selection of songs rather than a full number.
That choice matters because the Giants are not using halftime as a standalone entertainment segment. The performance is one piece of a broader 9/11 remembrance that will begin before kickoff and run through the night on NBC at 8:15 PM ET. Fans arriving at MetLife Stadium will be greeted by Ladder 343, a ceremonial FDNY firetruck named for the 343 members of the FDNY who died on 9/11, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation will end its Steel Across America tour with a steel beam from the World Trade Center displayed outside the stadium. Players and coaches from both teams will wear commemorative NYPD, FDNY and PAPD pregame apparel with Never Forget T-shirts, while first responders will lead the Giants onto the field, a moment of silence will be accompanied by a photo montage of lives lost, and A Tribute in Light will be illuminated in remembrance of the fallen towers.
There is still a sharp edge to the night: an entertainment-driven medley is being placed inside a memorial event centered on a national loss that remains raw 25 years later. The pregame ceremony will continue with a joint NYPD, FDNY and PAPD honor guard and a National Anthem performance by members of the NYPD and FDNY, before Jesse Armstead, Tiki Barber, Kerry Collins and Jason Sehorn join uniformed first responders for the Go Big Blue chant. Hamilton continues on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, but on Sept. 13, the musical will be asked to do something different at MetLife Stadium — carry memory as well as melody.
