Lin Manuel Miranda and Christopher Jackson perform ‘One Last Time’ at the Kennedy Center Honors 2018

Performance

Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Alex Lacamoire perform “One Last Time,” joined by the NEWorks’ Voices of America Youth Choir. The scene follows George Washington telling Alexander Hamilton that he plans to step down—not run for president—and asking him to draft a farewell address.

Hamilton initially assumes the news means he can finally take aim at Thomas Jefferson, prompting Washington’s dry “Talk less.” He then urges Washington to keep serving, while Washington explains why the country needs to see a peaceful transition and hear his warning against partisan conflict. Their exchange builds around the song’s central question: how to teach a nation to say goodbye.

The performance’s most stirring moment comes as Washington reflects on the legacy he hopes to leave, including the promise that people can live safely “under their own vine and fig tree.” Jackson then delivers a lengthy passage from Washington’s farewell address, before the choir joins the performers for a swelling finale repeating “One last time” and “Teach ’em how to say goodbye.”

Personalities Featured

Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, and the NEWorks’ Voices of America Youth Choir.