‘Birth of a Nation’, ‘Hamilton’ Set In-Theatre Voter Registration Initiatives

The Birth of a Nation and Hamilton are rocking the vote.

To support National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, Sept. 27, the Broadway production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical will host a national voter registration on Sept. 28 and Oct. 1. Members of the cast — who have been trained by voter registration volunteers from the Hispanic Federation, an organization providing community services to the Hispanic community in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut —  will register voters outside the Richard Rodgers Theater from 5 to 7 p.m.

“Voting honors our democracy; honors our founding fathers; and honors the spirit of our show,” said Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller. “We want to do our part to help all citizens participate in an election that will deeply affect the direction of our country.”

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Fox Searchlight Pictures has also aligned with theater chains and voting partners to hold voter enrollment in theater lobbies prior to special promotional screenings of Birth of a Nation. The initiative will continue through the Oct. 7 opening weekend of the slave revolt drama.

Writer-director-star Nate Parker and the film’s cast — Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King and Gabrielle Union — recorded a PSA to further encourage Americans to register to vote in next month’s presidential election. The 75-second spot will play ahead of the film’s promotional screenings.

Fox Searchlight has teamed up with voting organizations who have worked to staff the local theatres in each city: The League of Women Voters; Delta Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc.; National Coalition of Black Civic Participation and its Ohio Unity Coalition and North Carolina Black Youth Vote Network; NYC Votes; and National Voter Registration Day.  The program includes the following participating theatre chains and independent theatres nationwide: Bow Tie Cinemas; Emagine Entertainment; Malco Theatres; Marcus Theatres; Wehrenberg Theatres; Amstar Cinemas; Movie Taverns; The Grand Theatres; Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Bryn Mawr, PA; Glenwood Arts Theatre, Overland Park, KS; Little Theatre, Rochester, NY; Midtown Cinema, Harrisburg, PA; Tower City Cinemas, Cleveland, OH; Cedar Lee Theatre, Cleveland Heights, OH; Cinema Arts Theatre, Fairfax, VA; Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI; The Neon, Dayton, OH.