Famed guitarist Steven Van Zandt accused the cast of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” of bullying Vice President-elect Mike Pence after a cast member addressed the conservative from the stage during Friday night’s curtain call.

“A guy comes to a Broadway show for a relaxing night out. Instead he gets a lecture from the stage! Not a level playing field. It’s bullying,” Mr. Van Zandt, of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, wrote in a series of tweets on Saturday. “You don’t single out an audience member and embarrass him from the stage. A terrible precedent to set.”

Cast member Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays former Vice President Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” delivered a statement as Mr. Pence was exiting the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, the Asbury Park Press reported.

“Vice-president elect Mike Pence, we welcome you and truly thank you for joining us at Hamilton American Musical,” Mr. Dixon said. “We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Saturday morning that Mr. Pence was “harassed” and called on the cast to apologize. Mr. Pence, however, said he was not offended.

“I did hear what was said from the stage, and I can tell you I wasn’t offended by what was said. I’ll leave to others whether that was the appropriate venue to say it,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Mr. Dixon also defended the stunt, telling “CBS This Morning” Monday that “there’s nothing to apologize for.”

Mr. Van Zandt said it was unfair to launch a political attack on a captive audience member.

“When artists perform the venue becomes your home,” the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee tweeted to his 154,000 followers. “The audience are your guests. It’s taking unfair advantage of someone who thought they were a protected guest in your home.

“The statement is beautiful. And completely inappropriate at that time. And I would defend the cast’s right to be inappropriate forever,” he wrote. “That statement may prove to be correct for these men in their new positions, we’ll see. But that doesn’t mean we have to lose our civility.”

E Street Bandmate Nils Lofgren disagreed and defended the cast for seizing upon the opportunity to address Mr. Pence directly.

“It is ok to disagree,” Mr. Lofgren tweeted. “The audience had the freedom to boo. The statement was truth to power. Any chance you get to speak truth to power right now, you have to take it.”

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.