The Room Where It Happens comes from Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, which opened on Broadway in 2015. In the show, Aaron Burr narrates the private 1790 dinner-table bargain between Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison over the national capital and federal debt. The number became one of the musical's most quoted songs because its chorus captures the frustration of being outside a powerful decision. Online, short clips are now reused far beyond theatre fans, especially in political commentary, reaction videos and memes about deals made out of public view.