May 24, 2023 • 31 mins
It's the moment you've been waiting for! Let's give it up for the musical that revolutionized Broadway forever: Hamilton. The American Musical took the country and the world by storm, and Joseph and Lilliana are ready to discuss it all. From gushing about the musical itself to looking back on how it came to be, they're examining the legacy of Hamilton and how it cemented Lin-Manuel Miranda as one to watch!
Lilliana Vázquez and Joseph Carrillo are the hosts of Becoming an Icon with production support by Juan Carlos Arenado, Josie Meléndez, Daniela Sarquis, and Santiago Sierra of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network. If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show.
Follow Lilliana Vázquez on Instagram and Twitter @lillianavazquez
Follow Joseph Carrillo on Instagram @josephcarrillo
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
So when we last left him, Lynn was getting jobs
left and.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Right, and he was wrapping for Obama at the White House.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
For nine years, he had worked tirelessly to recreate his
neighborhood and to create a new kind of Broadway for
a new generation.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Soon he was known around town as a Broadway kid
who could wrap.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
He was working NonStop, But soon he was answering the
question that creatives hate the most.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Who are you wearing? No, not that one.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
They were asking what comes next?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Uh, let me live my life, not you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
But I'm sure Lynn kind of felt the same way.
His performance at the White House had peaked everyone's interest.
What was this play about a founding father and how
did hip hop fit in?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Originally it was just a concept album. No one knew
what Lynn had.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
When the Heights came around, he wondered how he had
beat everyone to the finish line by being the first
to include with salsa and hip hop in a stage musical.
Now he was going to make a musical about Alexander Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, but how do you get that sh money?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
On today's episode, we're going to revisit this seven year period,
tell you how it happened, and dive deep into why
it became such a cultural phenomenon.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Lynn was not throwing away his shot.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Today, it's all things Hamilton, an American musical and how
it'll turn Lin Mineral Miranda into an icon. I'm your host, Lilianavasquez.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon, a.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how
today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And given the world some extra le ale.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with whenas the chief.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Me and a lot of opinions as we relive their
greatest achievements on our journey to find out what makes
them so iconic. There's an important rule when it comes to.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Writing the Save the Cat beat sheet.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
You've read Saved the Cat.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I have a story to tell, Biac.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, the most important rule is to write what you know.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Okay, that was Toad's my second answer. But pause, I
can totally see it applying to In the Heights, but Hamilton.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Here's the origin story of Hamilton. After two years of
being on stage within the Heights, Lynn and his fiance
at the time go on a beach vacation.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It was one of those like lay around and do
nothing in the sun kind of trips.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I love those. Just worrying about which pool you're going
to go to every day and.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Making sure you get the chairs that face the beach. Yes,
it was that kind of trip. Most of us are,
you know, relaxing reading a little chick lit or a
steamy novel like Outlander. Wait is that just me? Okay?
But Lyn's beach read that week Alexander Hamilton by Ron Churnell.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Okay, I'm more of a Colleen Hoover type of guy.
It starts with me reading it and ends with me
reading it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So Lynn reads this seven hundred page biography of the
nation's first treasury secretary and sees a hip hop pioneer.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What how how does someone think of these two things together?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
That's what everyone kept asking. But we all know that
Lynn isn't just anybody. Alexander Hamilton, the chief aide to
George Washington, a founding father, a federalist, the first Secretary
of the Treasury, and a man on the ten dollars bill. Well,
he wraps some strong bars. Even Lynn acknowledges that the
(04:05):
pitch of the show is ridiculous. Here's what Lynn told NPR.
I understand how ridiculous the elevator pitch for the show is,
but in a way, that video is a microcosm of
the reaction the show has gotten. It sounds improbable, and
then once you start hearing about Hamilton's life story, it
sort of makes sense. The mode of storytelling makes sense
to the subject, and that was what grabbed me about it.
(04:28):
It was this guy who used words to get everywhere.
And what do my favorite hip hop artists do if
not write about their struggles their lives and then transcend
their circumstances by sheer virtuosity.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay, so rap artists write and rhyme their way out
of their circumstances of their life, and that's what Hamilton did. Okay,
I see now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
But making that connection between a historical biography and hip hop, well,
that's what makes Lynn the genius that he is. It
truly was like, wait, what, what's Hamilton really? He raps?
What was your reaction when you actually found out the
story of Hamilton and how it was going to be
(05:11):
presented on stage?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Honestly, I was like, bitch, ain't nobody got time for
that shit, Like at all? How are you going to
make this cool? I couldn't imagine what he was going
to do. I couldn't imagine people dressed like that, you know,
like how they were, how George Washington was dressed. I
don't know how to call that garb and rapping like
it just wasn't going to be fun. And look at
it now.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Everybody had a similar reaction. I didn't know a lot
about Alexander Hamilton. I think I had read a couple
of zero. I'm sure I had read a lot about
him at some point in high school when I was
learning about American history. But I can tell you that
I am certainly not an American revolutionary scholar.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Although you come off as when sometimes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
My friends do talk about the American Revolution dinner when
I'm with really smart people. No, I didn't know anything.
I mean, I know he was on the ten dollar bill.
When was the last time you had a ten dollar bill?
Did they even make those?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Dude? I just got one back today. I got eleven
dollars in change because I bought a burrito.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
You're lying they didn't give you a ten nice?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Well, I got eleven dollars. Yeah, I got a one
in ten Wow, and it was Hamilton. He's rare and
he sang to me he raped, he rapped.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
But the way that he was able to merge, like
you said, like George Washington, what did you call it,
George Washington garb, the way he was able to merge
George Washington speak and garb and language in modern day yeah,
and make history so accessible revolutionary, bitch, there you go,
(06:48):
that's a better word. Around the beginning, the musical was
initially referred to as the Hamilton Mixtape.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Ooh, I'm going to start calling all my work in
progress mixtapes.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Didn't Cardi be have a mixtape?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Actually, wasn't it called a mixtape?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I think that's what everyone calls them when they're like
about to get there, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah. I feel like Kanye had a mixtape, Cardi had
a mixtape, Lin Minimal Miranda had a mixtape. This project
was described as a hip hop concert album about the
life of America's first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I can totally imagine people wondering what was going on
through Lynn's head because this just sounds fucking crazy, and
I still can't let it go.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Well, neither could Lynn. He obsessed over these songs. The
show took seven years to write.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
My Man, he just can't write fast, Kenny.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Listen, greatness takes time. In the book Hamilton the Revolution,
Linn mentions that even on the day they were about
to open on Broadway, moments before the first performance, he
was still changing lyrics in line. Miranda even spent an
entire year writing just one song, Hey, I'm getting a theme.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
So Cardi b is described as a perfectionist. J Loo
is described as a perfectionist and bad money too. So
the key to being an icon is being a perfectionist.
And I am officially writing that down.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
See I'd like to reframe the word perfectionist because I
think sometimes that as a negative connotation. I like to
call it aspiring to excellence and can you can you
even blame them? Lynn wanted to get every single song perfect,
and he kept trying to make each rhyme even more clever.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Which is why I think so many fans became obsessed
with the songs. You can't hear everything in the first listen.
You need to listen over and over again to catch
each reference and rhyme.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
People that had never seen the show. Knew the songs
word for word. A they were, like you said, it
made history accessible and revolutionary. People just caught something that
felt so new and innovative and different. That's what makes
(09:14):
these people an icon. It's so hard to create something
that is truly original. Everything is a version of something else,
Everything is a reimagined or a reworked. But Hamilton is
truly an original work of art.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I think that there is, Like we keep saying every
single episode with everybody, we've talked about everything is so unique.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
What do you think is most unique about Hamilton?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
The visuals? Right there, it's like, what the fuck George
Washington is black? Only because I don't know how other
people were going to take it. So I was just
kind of shocked there. And then the black guy was
playing a white guy. I'm like, this is too much
for me brain right now, I cannot deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I think for me, it's yes, one hundred percent of visuals.
But I think it's the visuals in combination with the
historical accuracy that he incorporated the music, and how he
was able to really teach an entire generation of people,
(10:22):
multiple generations people about history. Everybody walked out of that
show smarter. I'm not saying that other shows haven't done that,
but I guarantee that everybody walking out of that theater,
that walked out of their car after they listened to
the album came away a little bit smarter, knowing a
little bit more about our country, which is always a
good thing. Let's always be learning. Now, do you have
a favorite Hamilton quote?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I'm not going to miss my shot.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I think that's a really good one.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I think that sound spoke to me because like when
you sit back too much, you feel like, when you
know you're not going to miss your shot, you just
go for it, you know, and then if you do
miss your shot, you don't I feel like you missed it.
Does that make sense? I do?
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I like that. I like the perseverance of that too.
I would say my favorite line only because I love
New Jersey. My husband's from New Jersey. Everything's legal in
New Jersey. I got such a kick cut of back
because again, this was like way back in the days,
and like now it's just it's it's true. Have y'all
ever been to New Jersey. Everything that took place in
(11:25):
New Jersey, the Jersey Shore took place in New Jersey.
It's still is true today. Everything y'all is legal in
New Jersey. I don't know, it's so stupid, but it's
just like one of those things that made me smile
every time. It just makes me smile every time I
hear it. For Lynn, hip hop has always been his
(11:54):
most powerful tool of expression, beyond being the only person
crazy enough to even think of all these ingredients mixing together.
He had experienced bringing wrap to the stage, yes within
the Heights, but also with Freestyle Love Supreme.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Freestyle Love What.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Freestyle Love Supreme. It was actually a group that Linn
started with Anthony Veneziali back in two thousand and four
when they were rehearsing for In the Heights. It was
like a no ensemble group that wrapped, freestyle, wrapped, improv
and did comedy all at the same time.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So kind of like wild and out but really improvised.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yes, like it's kind of more like whose line is
it anyway? But like that's really selling it short, because
it's genius on stage is exactly what it is. And
when I saw the show, I knew it was going
to be amazing because friends had talked about it, but
actually being in the audience and the fact that every
single show is different, and every night is different, and
(13:01):
the performers are different and they change. They literally make
this like an interactive theatrical experience.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Sorry for clarity, it's for Freestyle of Supreme.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yes, yes, Freestyle of Supreme is the show. It had
a pretty limited run on Broadway. It's going to be
I think in residency in Las Vegas. It's this like
improv troup. But again that is underselling their talents because
these people are like comedic geniuses, their wordsmiths, their rappers,
their singers, they're actors, they are entertainers, they are literally everything.
(13:32):
Because each show is built around improvisation. So every night
they kind of have like a structured arc of what
the show will be, and then the audience really drives
the content because you get to shout out words, they
ask for audience involvement and interaction, and they literally make
it up on the fly. And when you sit in
the audience, you realize the genius of Linna Miranda is
(13:55):
that that is how his mind works. It works that fast,
he's that witty, he's that quick, and everyone he surrounds
himself with is exactly the same. In an article from
The New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote this preceding the
Hamilton Mixtape was an anthology of hip hop classics, assing
me by Juicy, Yuanna, Killer and Renegade. That mister Miranda said,
(14:18):
form the DNA of my brain. If you listen really
closely to Hamilton, you can hear all of those songs referenced.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And hip hop was born in New York City, so
it's a theme with Lynn.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So it's twenty twelve, and Lynn has been developing the
Hamilton Mixtape for years, and he starts performing in around town,
and soon Broadway producers start hearing it and.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
It starts making its way to Broadway.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Miranda wrote the musical, and then he gave himself the
titular role, which you played for almost a year.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I mean riespect because I would have done the same.
Bitch knew that he had something really special cooking up
and put me under all those spotlights.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
But wait, if you ask camel fans, a lot of
people think that Aaron Burr is actually the best role
in the musical, played by the incredible Leslie odom Jo.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Hot So had so hard.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Why do you think Lynn didn't give himself the role?
Of Aaron Burr.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I think that he knew his star was still so
really bright, you know. I don't I think that he
could have given that big role away just because it
wasn't to I don't think that's what he even he
was looking for.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I think it just shows the generosity of spirit of
who Lynn is. And I think it's also so self aware,
like you know when you're casting something like this, like
I think nobody knows your strengths and weakness is better
than you, and you know when you if you talk
to I feel like anytime I've interviewed like really great
directors and producers, they're really self aware. The good ones
(15:56):
are really self aware. In Leslie, I think Lynn recognized
like the greatness that is Leslie and could see how
that would fit into Aaron's character. And like I said,
it just shows his generosity and he's such a team player.
I know that there's titular roles and he played the
name of the musical, but when you watch the show,
like every single person on that stage carries that show.
(16:19):
It is truly the definition of an ensemble cast, like
they are a famaly.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And speaking of family, Lynn cast all people of color
to play historically white characters, every single one. Why do
we think he did that?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I think that for Lynn, maybe he just wanted it
to feel real as he was acting it, and he
could do it with all his people. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
And I also think that, you know, as somebody who
grew up listening and loving Broadway, he was also fixing something.
He had the power to fix something right. And if
you have that power and you don't use it, then
what does that say about you. So props to Lend
because it's completely transformed Broadway and how we see characters
and who can play what characters. I'm not saying there's
(17:08):
still not a lot of work to be done, both
in film and television and Broadway, but I do think
it's shifted for us culturally how we see characters being played,
and we're like, wait, but you can see past the
color because they're just playing a role like you. No
idea is can't we act like anybody?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I just saw Frozen on Broadway and it was there
were people of color and I just remember them coming
out and I never saw that before, and now after
I'm just kind of like, oh wow, you know, like
Elsea's sister or it's just an all different type of cast.
It's not an all white cast anymore, and you're just
kind of a little like five percent distracted, and then
(17:45):
you forget.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Yeah, and they're incredibly talented, yes, very When Hamilton opened
on August sixth, it became the hottest ticket in town.
On the first side of previews, seven hundred people lined
up for lottery ticket. It's on the first night of
its previews. So for you non New Yorkers listening, every
show does a lottery to give away cheap tickets every
(18:07):
single night. Sometimes they're standing room only.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
And good thing too, because girl, those Hamilton tickets were
more expensive than my freaking fendy.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Resellers were charging up to ten thousand dollars for tickets
to see the show.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Shut your butt. Did people really pay that much? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Some rich people.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I quit. I'm done what.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Lynn wanted everyone to see the show, but he knew
he couldn't beat the bots that buy up all the
tickets for resale.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
The bots stay undefeated. I'm still trying to get my
Tata tickets.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Best of luck to you. Hamilton turned the lottery into
an event. Their lottery was soon known as ham for
ham So in order to win Ham for Ham tickets,
you had to line up in front of the Richard
Rogers Theater on the day of the show to put
your name in a drawing. Then right before the drawing,
cast members would come out and perform and make a
little show for everyone that had lined up. But you
(19:06):
can still catch on their official YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
First of all, I freaking love that. And second, why
the elf was it called Ham for Ham?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
If you won the lottery, you paid ten dollars for
the show.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Oh, Ham for a Ham.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Bitch, Joe, So I feel like the light just went on.
It's so right, you're glowy. Soon the word got out
and every week hundreds of people would line up outside
the theater to block traffic to watch the Ham for
Ham show.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
So they had to stop, damn popo.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yeah, but they still honor this tradition though. You can
still enter the lottery for a chance to win ten
dollars tickets, but it's all online now.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
On Broadway, a show can do well and say bye
bye Bertie in like a month or two. Hamilton is
still run.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
The love for the show didn't stop at the Richard
Rogers Theater. It made its way to Radio City Music
Hall for a show stopping awards ceremony. Once the show
got going, it was a cultural phenomenon. The official cast
recording album went to the top of the Broadway.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Charts Hobby and it also.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Made its way to number two on the Rap albums
and number three overall. Fans were listening over and over
and over again. It's the eleventh biggest album of the
twenty tenths, and that's unheard of for a Broadway cast album.
Last episode, we told you Lynn had grown up listening
to cast albums, so he wanted his cast albums to
(20:42):
be perfect. So get this. Most cast albums take about
two days to record. Hamilton took two weeks.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
He just had to get it perfect. And when you
listened to the album, you feel like you're there totally.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think that goes back to how he experienced musicals
in his home. You know, with ticket prices in the
thousands of dollars, the world wasn't going to get to
see Hamilton like this thing that he was so passionate
about and driven by to create, was not going to
see the audience that he wanted for. But that album,
(21:20):
anybody could download that right right, So it was his job,
almost redestined to create an album that let you feel
and hear, but most importantly see what was actually happening
on stage.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I wonder if he knew that maybe people weren't because
the tickets were so insane, people weren't going to be
able to see it. That he knew early on to
start recording it.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
When he was in previews in New York. I think
there's articles of him talking about him kind of knowing
this right when he's developing Hamilton and showing it off Broadway,
like he is not a stranger to this business. He
knows right, and he knows what he has right. He
saw the reaction. I mean, if you remember that clip
from the White House of him rapping, that clip went viral.
Everybody saw that clip. You knew instantly he had something.
(22:09):
You know, they talk about X factor and you never
know what it's going to be, but when you hear
it or see it, you just know he just knew.
So why not create art that the entire world can
consume for a download? I mean, I don't even know
how much the album costs a download, but whatever it was,
it was way less than a Hamilton ticket unless you
won the lottery fingers crossed. The next year's Tony's Well,
(22:42):
they were more of a coronation than a ceremony. It
practically swept every award it was nominated for.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
It was nominated for sixteen Tony Awards, and it won eleven.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical.
It was also during these tony Is that Lynn gave
one of his most powerful speeches. The night before the show,
the world had been horrified to learn of the mass
shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Lynn, accepting
as Tony for Best Score, with tears in his eyes,
(23:14):
wrapped a refrain that we can still hear, echoing, love
is Love is love is love is love.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
It was really beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Hamilton would go on to win Best Musical that night,
making Lin Manuel Miranda the first person to ever take
home Tony's biggest prize for his first two Broadway musicals.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
And the awards didn't stop there.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Lynn went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
for the musical.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Bring On That Pegot.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
The cast album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical
Theater Album. Then Lynn received the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
During their acceptance speech, they waived a Porto Rican flag, and.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Of course, in true Miranda fashion, he wraps the way through.
Then it all came full circle when Miranda performed freestyle
raps with President Barack Obama in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I just got an idea, should we freestyle?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I think I speak for all of America when I
say no.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Well, let's talk about these awards. Then, what are your thoughts?
My thoughts are brav I mean you are a number one? Yeah, Lynn,
Miranda Fad, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
The number one.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I just know when and where to show respect. I
have worked in the entertainment industry for going on there
and hundreds and hundreds of years. I have worked in
George Washington.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
She knew.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
I dressed George Washington for the inauguration. And what I
have learned is that people are talented for different reasons. Okay,
I'm not going to go into the talent versus talentless conversation.
In this life that he has built and in this
art that he has made, he is winning because nobody
(25:02):
deserves to win more than him. Not only does he
win for his shows and his writing and producing and
all of it. But then when he gets up to
accept the award, he wins again, showing you and proving
why there is no better person to win this award.
This man never stops in his pursuit of excellence. He
(25:23):
is just one of those people that is born to win.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Hamilton was on top of the world, standing in the
eye of a hurricane of success.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
But somewhere else there was a catastrophic hurricane wreaking havoc.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
In twenty seventeen, Hurricanes Idma and Madia happened. We talked
about Bad Bunny's involvement in helping Puerto Rico during this time,
but there was someone else who wanted.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
To help to lin Manuel Miranda jumped at the opportunity
the only way he knew how Remember, people were willing
to pay ten thousand dollars for a ticket when it opened.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
It was a highly in demand show.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
So he brought it to Puerto Rico to help raise
funds for the island as it was recovering. The musical
was staged at the Centro de veas Artists Luis a
fere in January twenty nineteen, running from the eleventh through
the twenty seventh.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Didn't it sell out in like a couple of hours.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yes, the only tickets left were for the lottery. Lynn
reprised his role as Alexander for the first time since
leaving the Broadway production back in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
I remember that Jimmy Fallon went to the island and
everything to promote it. Right. It was like the first
time he did it outside of the studio.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
It was a very big deal and he was back
with his favorite Puerto Rican Blenn.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Bad Bunny, Babe, blah blah bub ba.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
The show had a successful run. The production raised funds
for the restoration of arts and cultural programs in the
aftermath of Hurricanes Edma and Maria. These were a combination
of box office revenue, humanitarian grants, sponsorship, and other donations.
There's nothing like seeing the show live and in person,
but most people have seen the original cast performance in
(27:09):
a different way on Disney Plus.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
That's how I saw it.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
During the show's original run, Lynn performed and recorded the
entire show shot over the course of two days. Lynn
filmed it with an eye towards making you feel as
if you were right there in the theater, and three
years later, Lynn sold it for seventy five million.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Dollars shut Up for Real, one of.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
The biggest film acquisitions ever. It premiered on Disney Plus
during the pandemic on July third, twenty twenty, with the
original cast, and that weekend viewership on the platform jumped
seventy four percent.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Years have passed and the Hamilton craze seems to have
died down, but its legacy is undeniable. The musical success
stopped the US Department of the Treasury from redesigning the
ten dollars bill with plans to replace Hamilton with a
woman from the American history.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Lynn saved Alexander Hamilton from being canceled.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
It's got a lot of power that lived, and instead,
Hamilton stayed on the bill and they decided to replace
Andrew Jackson on the twenty with Harriet Tubman. The show
even got its own interactive museum with Hamilton the Exhibition.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
And let's not forget the time Vice President Mike Pence
walked out.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Ooh child yeahs. For those that don't remember or care
to remember, he was in the audience. On November eighteenth,
twenty sixteen, Brandon Victor Dixon playing Aaron Burr at the
time addressed Pence from the stage. The statement was reportedly
written by the cast Lynn Manuel and the show's producer,
Jeffrey Seller. Here's what he said, Vice President Elect Pence.
(28:46):
We welcome you, and we truly thank you for joining
us here at Hamilton an American musical. We really do 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
inaliable rights. Sir, But we truly hope that this show
has inspired you to uphold our American values and to
(29:09):
work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again,
we truly thank you, truly for seeing the show, this
wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men
and women of different colors, creeds, and orientation.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Damn the chilled bitch.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
I love this cast.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
I'm having heart palpitations. I don't know if it's the
coffee here or if that statement really just got me.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
It got you, because imagine delivering that on a Broadway stage.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Imagine being there and you're kind of like just even
kind of around pens and you're just kind of like
I would have serious anxiety.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Well, if I was with Pens that night and he
was sitting next to me, I would do one of
those like slow leans away, like bow your head down,
and you're like, I don't, I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I don't know you, I don't know her. Sorry to
this man, I'm kind of weird about that Pence would
have gone to this type of play.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Well, listen at the core, the show is about American history.
He's the vice president elect of America. It is a
show that is necessary for him to see. I just
think that this version of America and this version of
American history is maybe just not one that he wants
to subscribe to. But when you look at the impact
of this musical, to me, this is exactly the America
(30:28):
that we all subscribe to. So sorry, dude, you're the
odd man out. This is America he left.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah by Hamilton fulfilled its purpose.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
It revolutionized musical theater and changed the lives and careers
of everyone involved. Miranda quickly became one of the highest
earning celebrities.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It also got him the attention of a.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Mouse, Yes, the big mouse himself.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Disney came a Collin Lynn has been writing for them
ever since, cleaning lamps for them, writing animated classics, including
a musical about Bruno. We don't talk about Bruno.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
No no, there really is no limit to how far
he'll go. Next up, we'll be culminating Lynn's career with
his professional work related to Disney, the film adaptation of
his first ever musical, and his directorial.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Debut on the next Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Duda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
So when we last left him, Lynn was getting jobs
left and.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Right, and he was wrapping for Obama at the White House.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
For nine years, he had worked tirelessly to recreate his
neighborhood and to create a new kind of Broadway for
a new generation.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Soon he was known around town as a Broadway kid
who could wrap.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
He was working NonStop, But soon he was answering the
question that creatives hate the most.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Who are you wearing? No, not that one.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
They were asking what comes next?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Uh, let me live my life, not you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
But I'm sure Lynn kind of felt the same way.
His performance at the White House had peaked everyone's interest.
What was this play about a founding father and how
did hip hop fit in?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Originally it was just a concept album. No one knew
what Lynn had.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
When the Heights came around, he wondered how he had
beat everyone to the finish line by being the first
to include with salsa and hip hop in a stage musical.
Now he was going to make a musical about Alexander Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, but how do you get that sh money?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
On today's episode, we're going to revisit this seven year period,
tell you how it happened, and dive deep into why
it became such a cultural phenomenon.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Lynn was not throwing away his shot.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Today, it's all things Hamilton, an American musical and how
it'll turn Lin Mineral Miranda into an icon. I'm your host, Lilianavasquez.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon, a.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how
today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And given the world some extra le ale.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with whenas the chief.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Me and a lot of opinions as we relive their
greatest achievements on our journey to find out what makes
them so iconic. There's an important rule when it comes to.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Writing the Save the Cat beat sheet.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
You've read Saved the Cat.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I have a story to tell, Biac.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, the most important rule is to write what you know.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Okay, that was Toad's my second answer. But pause, I
can totally see it applying to In the Heights, but Hamilton.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Here's the origin story of Hamilton. After two years of
being on stage within the Heights, Lynn and his fiance
at the time go on a beach vacation.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It was one of those like lay around and do
nothing in the sun kind of trips.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I love those. Just worrying about which pool you're going
to go to every day and.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Making sure you get the chairs that face the beach. Yes,
it was that kind of trip. Most of us are,
you know, relaxing reading a little chick lit or a
steamy novel like Outlander. Wait is that just me? Okay?
But Lyn's beach read that week Alexander Hamilton by Ron Churnell.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Okay, I'm more of a Colleen Hoover type of guy.
It starts with me reading it and ends with me
reading it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So Lynn reads this seven hundred page biography of the
nation's first treasury secretary and sees a hip hop pioneer.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What how how does someone think of these two things together?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
That's what everyone kept asking. But we all know that
Lynn isn't just anybody. Alexander Hamilton, the chief aide to
George Washington, a founding father, a federalist, the first Secretary
of the Treasury, and a man on the ten dollars bill. Well,
he wraps some strong bars. Even Lynn acknowledges that the
(04:05):
pitch of the show is ridiculous. Here's what Lynn told NPR.
I understand how ridiculous the elevator pitch for the show is,
but in a way, that video is a microcosm of
the reaction the show has gotten. It sounds improbable, and
then once you start hearing about Hamilton's life story, it
sort of makes sense. The mode of storytelling makes sense
to the subject, and that was what grabbed me about it.
(04:28):
It was this guy who used words to get everywhere.
And what do my favorite hip hop artists do if
not write about their struggles their lives and then transcend
their circumstances by sheer virtuosity.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay, so rap artists write and rhyme their way out
of their circumstances of their life, and that's what Hamilton did. Okay,
I see now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
But making that connection between a historical biography and hip hop, well,
that's what makes Lynn the genius that he is. It
truly was like, wait, what, what's Hamilton really? He raps?
What was your reaction when you actually found out the
story of Hamilton and how it was going to be
(05:11):
presented on stage?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Honestly, I was like, bitch, ain't nobody got time for
that shit, Like at all? How are you going to
make this cool? I couldn't imagine what he was going
to do. I couldn't imagine people dressed like that, you know,
like how they were, how George Washington was dressed. I
don't know how to call that garb and rapping like
it just wasn't going to be fun. And look at
it now.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Everybody had a similar reaction. I didn't know a lot
about Alexander Hamilton. I think I had read a couple
of zero. I'm sure I had read a lot about
him at some point in high school when I was
learning about American history. But I can tell you that
I am certainly not an American revolutionary scholar.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Although you come off as when sometimes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
My friends do talk about the American Revolution dinner when
I'm with really smart people. No, I didn't know anything.
I mean, I know he was on the ten dollar bill.
When was the last time you had a ten dollar bill?
Did they even make those?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Dude? I just got one back today. I got eleven
dollars in change because I bought a burrito.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
You're lying they didn't give you a ten nice?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Well, I got eleven dollars. Yeah, I got a one
in ten Wow, and it was Hamilton. He's rare and
he sang to me he raped, he rapped.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
But the way that he was able to merge, like
you said, like George Washington, what did you call it,
George Washington garb, the way he was able to merge
George Washington speak and garb and language in modern day yeah,
and make history so accessible revolutionary, bitch, there you go,
(06:48):
that's a better word. Around the beginning, the musical was
initially referred to as the Hamilton Mixtape.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Ooh, I'm going to start calling all my work in
progress mixtapes.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Didn't Cardi be have a mixtape?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Actually, wasn't it called a mixtape?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I think that's what everyone calls them when they're like
about to get there, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah. I feel like Kanye had a mixtape, Cardi had
a mixtape, Lin Minimal Miranda had a mixtape. This project
was described as a hip hop concert album about the
life of America's first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I can totally imagine people wondering what was going on
through Lynn's head because this just sounds fucking crazy, and
I still can't let it go.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Well, neither could Lynn. He obsessed over these songs. The
show took seven years to write.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
My Man, he just can't write fast, Kenny.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Listen, greatness takes time. In the book Hamilton the Revolution,
Linn mentions that even on the day they were about
to open on Broadway, moments before the first performance, he
was still changing lyrics in line. Miranda even spent an
entire year writing just one song, Hey, I'm getting a theme.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
So Cardi b is described as a perfectionist. J Loo
is described as a perfectionist and bad money too. So
the key to being an icon is being a perfectionist.
And I am officially writing that down.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
See I'd like to reframe the word perfectionist because I
think sometimes that as a negative connotation. I like to
call it aspiring to excellence and can you can you
even blame them? Lynn wanted to get every single song perfect,
and he kept trying to make each rhyme even more clever.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Which is why I think so many fans became obsessed
with the songs. You can't hear everything in the first listen.
You need to listen over and over again to catch
each reference and rhyme.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
People that had never seen the show. Knew the songs
word for word. A they were, like you said, it
made history accessible and revolutionary. People just caught something that
felt so new and innovative and different. That's what makes
(09:14):
these people an icon. It's so hard to create something
that is truly original. Everything is a version of something else,
Everything is a reimagined or a reworked. But Hamilton is
truly an original work of art.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I think that there is, Like we keep saying every
single episode with everybody, we've talked about everything is so unique.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
What do you think is most unique about Hamilton?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
The visuals? Right there, it's like, what the fuck George
Washington is black? Only because I don't know how other
people were going to take it. So I was just
kind of shocked there. And then the black guy was
playing a white guy. I'm like, this is too much
for me brain right now, I cannot deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I think for me, it's yes, one hundred percent of visuals.
But I think it's the visuals in combination with the
historical accuracy that he incorporated the music, and how he
was able to really teach an entire generation of people,
(10:22):
multiple generations people about history. Everybody walked out of that
show smarter. I'm not saying that other shows haven't done that,
but I guarantee that everybody walking out of that theater,
that walked out of their car after they listened to
the album came away a little bit smarter, knowing a
little bit more about our country, which is always a
good thing. Let's always be learning. Now, do you have
a favorite Hamilton quote?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I'm not going to miss my shot.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I think that's a really good one.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I think that sound spoke to me because like when
you sit back too much, you feel like, when you
know you're not going to miss your shot, you just
go for it, you know, and then if you do
miss your shot, you don't I feel like you missed it.
Does that make sense? I do?
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I like that. I like the perseverance of that too.
I would say my favorite line only because I love
New Jersey. My husband's from New Jersey. Everything's legal in
New Jersey. I got such a kick cut of back
because again, this was like way back in the days,
and like now it's just it's it's true. Have y'all
ever been to New Jersey. Everything that took place in
(11:25):
New Jersey, the Jersey Shore took place in New Jersey.
It's still is true today. Everything y'all is legal in
New Jersey. I don't know, it's so stupid, but it's
just like one of those things that made me smile
every time. It just makes me smile every time I
hear it. For Lynn, hip hop has always been his
(11:54):
most powerful tool of expression, beyond being the only person
crazy enough to even think of all these ingredients mixing together.
He had experienced bringing wrap to the stage, yes within
the Heights, but also with Freestyle Love Supreme.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Freestyle Love What.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Freestyle Love Supreme. It was actually a group that Linn
started with Anthony Veneziali back in two thousand and four
when they were rehearsing for In the Heights. It was
like a no ensemble group that wrapped, freestyle, wrapped, improv
and did comedy all at the same time.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So kind of like wild and out but really improvised.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yes, like it's kind of more like whose line is
it anyway? But like that's really selling it short, because
it's genius on stage is exactly what it is. And
when I saw the show, I knew it was going
to be amazing because friends had talked about it, but
actually being in the audience and the fact that every
single show is different, and every night is different, and
(13:01):
the performers are different and they change. They literally make
this like an interactive theatrical experience.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Sorry for clarity, it's for Freestyle of Supreme.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yes, yes, Freestyle of Supreme is the show. It had
a pretty limited run on Broadway. It's going to be
I think in residency in Las Vegas. It's this like
improv troup. But again that is underselling their talents because
these people are like comedic geniuses, their wordsmiths, their rappers,
their singers, they're actors, they are entertainers, they are literally everything.
(13:32):
Because each show is built around improvisation. So every night
they kind of have like a structured arc of what
the show will be, and then the audience really drives
the content because you get to shout out words, they
ask for audience involvement and interaction, and they literally make
it up on the fly. And when you sit in
the audience, you realize the genius of Linna Miranda is
(13:55):
that that is how his mind works. It works that fast,
he's that witty, he's that quick, and everyone he surrounds
himself with is exactly the same. In an article from
The New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote this preceding the
Hamilton Mixtape was an anthology of hip hop classics, assing
me by Juicy, Yuanna, Killer and Renegade. That mister Miranda said,
(14:18):
form the DNA of my brain. If you listen really
closely to Hamilton, you can hear all of those songs referenced.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And hip hop was born in New York City, so
it's a theme with Lynn.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So it's twenty twelve, and Lynn has been developing the
Hamilton Mixtape for years, and he starts performing in around town,
and soon Broadway producers start hearing it and.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
It starts making its way to Broadway.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Miranda wrote the musical, and then he gave himself the
titular role, which you played for almost a year.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I mean riespect because I would have done the same.
Bitch knew that he had something really special cooking up
and put me under all those spotlights.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
But wait, if you ask camel fans, a lot of
people think that Aaron Burr is actually the best role
in the musical, played by the incredible Leslie odom Jo.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Hot So had so hard.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Why do you think Lynn didn't give himself the role?
Of Aaron Burr.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I think that he knew his star was still so
really bright, you know. I don't I think that he
could have given that big role away just because it
wasn't to I don't think that's what he even he
was looking for.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I think it just shows the generosity of spirit of
who Lynn is. And I think it's also so self aware,
like you know when you're casting something like this, like
I think nobody knows your strengths and weakness is better
than you, and you know when you if you talk
to I feel like anytime I've interviewed like really great
directors and producers, they're really self aware. The good ones
(15:56):
are really self aware. In Leslie, I think Lynn recognized
like the greatness that is Leslie and could see how
that would fit into Aaron's character. And like I said,
it just shows his generosity and he's such a team player.
I know that there's titular roles and he played the
name of the musical, but when you watch the show,
like every single person on that stage carries that show.
(16:19):
It is truly the definition of an ensemble cast, like
they are a famaly.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And speaking of family, Lynn cast all people of color
to play historically white characters, every single one. Why do
we think he did that?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I think that for Lynn, maybe he just wanted it
to feel real as he was acting it, and he
could do it with all his people. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
And I also think that, you know, as somebody who
grew up listening and loving Broadway, he was also fixing something.
He had the power to fix something right. And if
you have that power and you don't use it, then
what does that say about you. So props to Lend
because it's completely transformed Broadway and how we see characters
and who can play what characters. I'm not saying there's
(17:08):
still not a lot of work to be done, both
in film and television and Broadway, but I do think
it's shifted for us culturally how we see characters being played,
and we're like, wait, but you can see past the
color because they're just playing a role like you. No
idea is can't we act like anybody?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I just saw Frozen on Broadway and it was there
were people of color and I just remember them coming
out and I never saw that before, and now after
I'm just kind of like, oh wow, you know, like
Elsea's sister or it's just an all different type of cast.
It's not an all white cast anymore, and you're just
kind of a little like five percent distracted, and then
(17:45):
you forget.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Yeah, and they're incredibly talented, yes, very When Hamilton opened
on August sixth, it became the hottest ticket in town.
On the first side of previews, seven hundred people lined
up for lottery ticket. It's on the first night of
its previews. So for you non New Yorkers listening, every
show does a lottery to give away cheap tickets every
(18:07):
single night. Sometimes they're standing room only.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
And good thing too, because girl, those Hamilton tickets were
more expensive than my freaking fendy.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Resellers were charging up to ten thousand dollars for tickets
to see the show.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Shut your butt. Did people really pay that much? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Some rich people.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I quit. I'm done what.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Lynn wanted everyone to see the show, but he knew
he couldn't beat the bots that buy up all the
tickets for resale.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
The bots stay undefeated. I'm still trying to get my
Tata tickets.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Best of luck to you. Hamilton turned the lottery into
an event. Their lottery was soon known as ham for
ham So in order to win Ham for Ham tickets,
you had to line up in front of the Richard
Rogers Theater on the day of the show to put
your name in a drawing. Then right before the drawing,
cast members would come out and perform and make a
little show for everyone that had lined up. But you
(19:06):
can still catch on their official YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
First of all, I freaking love that. And second, why
the elf was it called Ham for Ham?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
If you won the lottery, you paid ten dollars for
the show.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Oh, Ham for a Ham.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Bitch, Joe, So I feel like the light just went on.
It's so right, you're glowy. Soon the word got out
and every week hundreds of people would line up outside
the theater to block traffic to watch the Ham for
Ham show.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
So they had to stop, damn popo.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yeah, but they still honor this tradition though. You can
still enter the lottery for a chance to win ten
dollars tickets, but it's all online now.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
On Broadway, a show can do well and say bye
bye Bertie in like a month or two. Hamilton is
still run.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
The love for the show didn't stop at the Richard
Rogers Theater. It made its way to Radio City Music
Hall for a show stopping awards ceremony. Once the show
got going, it was a cultural phenomenon. The official cast
recording album went to the top of the Broadway.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Charts Hobby and it also.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Made its way to number two on the Rap albums
and number three overall. Fans were listening over and over
and over again. It's the eleventh biggest album of the
twenty tenths, and that's unheard of for a Broadway cast album.
Last episode, we told you Lynn had grown up listening
to cast albums, so he wanted his cast albums to
(20:42):
be perfect. So get this. Most cast albums take about
two days to record. Hamilton took two weeks.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
He just had to get it perfect. And when you
listened to the album, you feel like you're there totally.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think that goes back to how he experienced musicals
in his home. You know, with ticket prices in the
thousands of dollars, the world wasn't going to get to
see Hamilton like this thing that he was so passionate
about and driven by to create, was not going to
see the audience that he wanted for. But that album,
(21:20):
anybody could download that right right, So it was his job,
almost redestined to create an album that let you feel
and hear, but most importantly see what was actually happening
on stage.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I wonder if he knew that maybe people weren't because
the tickets were so insane, people weren't going to be
able to see it. That he knew early on to
start recording it.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
When he was in previews in New York. I think
there's articles of him talking about him kind of knowing
this right when he's developing Hamilton and showing it off Broadway,
like he is not a stranger to this business. He
knows right, and he knows what he has right. He
saw the reaction. I mean, if you remember that clip
from the White House of him rapping, that clip went viral.
Everybody saw that clip. You knew instantly he had something.
(22:09):
You know, they talk about X factor and you never
know what it's going to be, but when you hear
it or see it, you just know he just knew.
So why not create art that the entire world can
consume for a download? I mean, I don't even know
how much the album costs a download, but whatever it was,
it was way less than a Hamilton ticket unless you
won the lottery fingers crossed. The next year's Tony's Well,
(22:42):
they were more of a coronation than a ceremony. It
practically swept every award it was nominated for.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
It was nominated for sixteen Tony Awards, and it won eleven.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical.
It was also during these tony Is that Lynn gave
one of his most powerful speeches. The night before the show,
the world had been horrified to learn of the mass
shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Lynn, accepting
as Tony for Best Score, with tears in his eyes,
(23:14):
wrapped a refrain that we can still hear, echoing, love
is Love is love is love is love.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
It was really beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Hamilton would go on to win Best Musical that night,
making Lin Manuel Miranda the first person to ever take
home Tony's biggest prize for his first two Broadway musicals.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
And the awards didn't stop there.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Lynn went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
for the musical.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Bring On That Pegot.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
The cast album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical
Theater Album. Then Lynn received the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
During their acceptance speech, they waived a Porto Rican flag, and.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Of course, in true Miranda fashion, he wraps the way through.
Then it all came full circle when Miranda performed freestyle
raps with President Barack Obama in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I just got an idea, should we freestyle?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I think I speak for all of America when I
say no.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Well, let's talk about these awards. Then, what are your thoughts?
My thoughts are brav I mean you are a number one? Yeah, Lynn,
Miranda Fad, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
The number one.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I just know when and where to show respect. I
have worked in the entertainment industry for going on there
and hundreds and hundreds of years. I have worked in
George Washington.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
She knew.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
I dressed George Washington for the inauguration. And what I
have learned is that people are talented for different reasons. Okay,
I'm not going to go into the talent versus talentless conversation.
In this life that he has built and in this
art that he has made, he is winning because nobody
(25:02):
deserves to win more than him. Not only does he
win for his shows and his writing and producing and
all of it. But then when he gets up to
accept the award, he wins again, showing you and proving
why there is no better person to win this award.
This man never stops in his pursuit of excellence. He
(25:23):
is just one of those people that is born to win.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Hamilton was on top of the world, standing in the
eye of a hurricane of success.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
But somewhere else there was a catastrophic hurricane wreaking havoc.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
In twenty seventeen, Hurricanes Idma and Madia happened. We talked
about Bad Bunny's involvement in helping Puerto Rico during this time,
but there was someone else who wanted.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
To help to lin Manuel Miranda jumped at the opportunity
the only way he knew how Remember, people were willing
to pay ten thousand dollars for a ticket when it opened.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
It was a highly in demand show.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
So he brought it to Puerto Rico to help raise
funds for the island as it was recovering. The musical
was staged at the Centro de veas Artists Luis a
fere in January twenty nineteen, running from the eleventh through
the twenty seventh.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Didn't it sell out in like a couple of hours.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yes, the only tickets left were for the lottery. Lynn
reprised his role as Alexander for the first time since
leaving the Broadway production back in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
I remember that Jimmy Fallon went to the island and
everything to promote it. Right. It was like the first
time he did it outside of the studio.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
It was a very big deal and he was back
with his favorite Puerto Rican Blenn.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Bad Bunny, Babe, blah blah bub ba.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
The show had a successful run. The production raised funds
for the restoration of arts and cultural programs in the
aftermath of Hurricanes Edma and Maria. These were a combination
of box office revenue, humanitarian grants, sponsorship, and other donations.
There's nothing like seeing the show live and in person,
but most people have seen the original cast performance in
(27:09):
a different way on Disney Plus.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
That's how I saw it.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
During the show's original run, Lynn performed and recorded the
entire show shot over the course of two days. Lynn
filmed it with an eye towards making you feel as
if you were right there in the theater, and three
years later, Lynn sold it for seventy five million.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Dollars shut Up for Real, one of.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
The biggest film acquisitions ever. It premiered on Disney Plus
during the pandemic on July third, twenty twenty, with the
original cast, and that weekend viewership on the platform jumped
seventy four percent.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Years have passed and the Hamilton craze seems to have
died down, but its legacy is undeniable. The musical success
stopped the US Department of the Treasury from redesigning the
ten dollars bill with plans to replace Hamilton with a
woman from the American history.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Lynn saved Alexander Hamilton from being canceled.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
It's got a lot of power that lived, and instead,
Hamilton stayed on the bill and they decided to replace
Andrew Jackson on the twenty with Harriet Tubman. The show
even got its own interactive museum with Hamilton the Exhibition.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
And let's not forget the time Vice President Mike Pence
walked out.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Ooh child yeahs. For those that don't remember or care
to remember, he was in the audience. On November eighteenth,
twenty sixteen, Brandon Victor Dixon playing Aaron Burr at the
time addressed Pence from the stage. The statement was reportedly
written by the cast Lynn Manuel and the show's producer,
Jeffrey Seller. Here's what he said, Vice President Elect Pence.
(28:46):
We welcome you, and we truly thank you for joining
us here at Hamilton an American musical. We really do 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
inaliable rights. Sir, But we truly hope that this show
has inspired you to uphold our American values and to
(29:09):
work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again,
we truly thank you, truly for seeing the show, this
wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men
and women of different colors, creeds, and orientation.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Damn the chilled bitch.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
I love this cast.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
I'm having heart palpitations. I don't know if it's the
coffee here or if that statement really just got me.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
It got you, because imagine delivering that on a Broadway stage.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Imagine being there and you're kind of like just even
kind of around pens and you're just kind of like
I would have serious anxiety.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Well, if I was with Pens that night and he
was sitting next to me, I would do one of
those like slow leans away, like bow your head down,
and you're like, I don't, I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I don't know you, I don't know her. Sorry to
this man, I'm kind of weird about that Pence would
have gone to this type of play.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Well, listen at the core, the show is about American history.
He's the vice president elect of America. It is a
show that is necessary for him to see. I just
think that this version of America and this version of
American history is maybe just not one that he wants
to subscribe to. But when you look at the impact
of this musical, to me, this is exactly the America
(30:28):
that we all subscribe to. So sorry, dude, you're the
odd man out. This is America he left.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah by Hamilton fulfilled its purpose.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
It revolutionized musical theater and changed the lives and careers
of everyone involved. Miranda quickly became one of the highest
earning celebrities.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It also got him the attention of a.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Mouse, Yes, the big mouse himself.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Disney came a Collin Lynn has been writing for them
ever since, cleaning lamps for them, writing animated classics, including
a musical about Bruno. We don't talk about Bruno.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
No no, there really is no limit to how far
he'll go. Next up, we'll be culminating Lynn's career with
his professional work related to Disney, the film adaptation of
his first ever musical, and his directorial.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Debut on the next Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Duda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Lilliana Vazquez
Joseph Carrillo
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