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Arts & Entertainment

Watch Kristen Bell, Joss Whedon, Rachel Bloom, And Others Perform 'Hamilton' for #Ham4All

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Ah yes, hashtag challenges: the Triple Dog Dare of our modern times. Though, the end result has less to do with icy flagpoles, and more to do with icy buckets of water. They're also often tied with a good cause (the bucket challenge was done to promote awareness of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), so there's a point to it all.

Late last month, Lin-Manuel Miranda (the man behind Hamilton) put forth a new challenge into the world. It was called #Ham4All, and the challenge was for participants to:

1. Donate $10 or more to Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition
2. Sing a small part from Hamilton
3. Challenge a pal or two to the same task

Participants were entered into a sweepstakes for two VIP tickets to the opening night of Hamilton in Los Angeles, two tickets to the after-party, roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, and a meet-and-greet with Mr. Miranda himself.

Unsurprisingly, a slew of celebrities joined in on the fun, probably to grow awareness of the challenge, less so to snag tickets for themselves (if this latter scenario is indeed the case, we're worried about your own chances on getting into Hamilton). In the spirit of the challenge, and in stoking hype over Hamilton's imminent arrival in L.A. (it starts on August 11 at the Pantages Theatre), we've rounded up some of our favorite celebrity takes on the smash musical.

Evan Rachel Wood may have given the most stirring rendition. If you're not familiar with the actress, her voice is a revelation:

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Jenny Slate keeps it short but sweet:

Joss Whedon channels his inner Orson Welles (as noted by one Twitter user):

Here's Ben Stiller chilling out at the park:

"Weird Al" Yankovic also got into it. This is right up his alley, after all:

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And here's Eva Longoria:

Kristen Bell looks to be suffering from a bout of insomnia:

Lea Michele obviously knows how to belt it out, so this is a bit unfair:

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And here's Bobby Cannavale keeping it casual with a backwards ballcap:

And America Ferrera with an inspiring background:

Rachel Bloom, our pal in West Covina, chimes in with her version:

Ed Helms brings out his banjo:

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Here's super chill couple Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade:


Olivia Munn says the challenge resonates with her, as she's the daughter of an immigrant mother:

The sweepstakes ends on July 31 at 4:00 p.m. Check here for more info about the challenge.

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