Lin-Manuel Miranda’s father told him not to sing ‘Hamilton’ at the White House (Exclusive)

Lin-Manuel Miranda wasn’t throwing away a shot!

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at a screening of Hamilton in New York City last month, the Tony Award winner’s father, Luis A. Miranda Jr., said he was skeptical when his son told him he was going to perform Hamilton songs at the White House in 2009.

“He was invited to the White House. He was asked to sing the song ‘In the Heights,’ and he said to me, ‘Dad, you know I’m working on Hamilton. Do you think you can play the only song I have?'” the proud father, 71, recalls.

“I was like, ‘No, no, why don’t we use what we know works, which is In the Heights?'” But he took it to the White House. They loved it, and the rest is history,” says Lewis.

Lin-Manuel performed “The Hamilton Mixtape”, an early version of the Broadway musical’s opening number, on May 12, 2009, at the White House’s Evening of Poetry, Music, and Spoken Word. The performance took place early in President Barack Obama’s presidency and is believed to be the first time songs from the hit Broadway musical have been performed in public.

Lin-Manuel appeared in the White House about a year after making his Broadway debut in 2008 in “In the Heights.” The musical went on to win four Tony Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

“Hamilton” premiered on Broadway in 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theater, where it is currently playing. The musical ultimately became a huge hit, winning a Pulitzer Prize, 11 Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award.

The show’s 10th anniversary was commemorated with the theatrical release of a live-captured performance of the original Broadway production, which was filmed in June 2016 and released on Disney+ in 2020.

Obama, 64, is an avid fan of musicals about the Founding Fathers, and even contributed to the remix of Lin-Manuel’s Hamil Drops Collection’s Act II song, “One Last Time.”

Lewis and his wife, Ruth Towns-Miranda, also spoke about how proud they are of Lin-Manuel on the anniversary of Hamilton’s milestone. The songwriter went on to write songs for Disney’s Moana and Encanto, and made his feature directorial debut with Jonathan Larson’s Netflix adaptation of Tick, Tick… Boom! stage musical.

“This is such a great piece of art, and I hope it continues to be great,” Lewis tells PEOPLE. “Now it’s on the big screen. For us, it’s even more important because we never got to go to Broadway. We couldn’t afford to go to Broadway, but we always went to the movies. So I know there are a lot of families who can now experience Hamilton on the big screen.”

Never miss a news. Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to human interest stories.

“The original cast is in it, which is great,” Luz added.

“Hamilton” is currently showing in theaters nationwide.