When Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of Broadway’s runaway hit musical Hamilton, received his Tony Award for Best Original Score at the ceremony, he came prepared. He didn’t just speak off the cuff in accepting the honour, but recited what he called a sonnet that he had written specially for the occasion.

It was a poem about love, thanking Miranda’s wife for her love and support for him personally, and making broader references to the importance of love as a redemptive experience.

As he finished reading, he was crying, and the audience were cheering him on. It was a poignant and meaningful gesture in response to the mass shooting at an LGBT club in Orlando, Florida, the full horror of which was still only just becoming known as police sifted through the wreckage.