The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast

Here it is! The third and final (sad face!) episode with Solea Pfeiffer and Ryan Vasquez. We talk a lot about James Reynolds, praise costume designer and genius Paul Tazewell, and Ryan and Solea talk about what they've learned about themselves and each other thanks to their experience working together in Hamilton. And as Solea says, we're taking it to the streets and calling out Neil Haskell to be on the podcast! #GoNeilOrGoHome

Solea Pfeiffer and Ryan Vasquez are back and this week we hear about Ryan's crazy audition story (and his ability to avoid the Hamilton album... except for Eliza's tracks and oh yeah THE TONY AWARDS), and both Ryan and Solea talk about their first time performing together as Hamilton and Eliza. There's also lots of love for other Hamilton company members and Solea talks about how meaningful the role of Eliza was to her.  All things Gavin Creel: http://www.gavincreel.com/ https://www.instagram.com/gavincreelofficial/ Some information on Loud Nite, the Gavin Creel project Ryan and Solea talked about:  https://publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/Joes-Pub/2018/G/Gavin-Creel/      

Solea Pfeiffer and Ryan Vasquez are here! Solea originated Eliza on the First National Tour of Hamilton aka The Angelica Tour. On that same tour Ryan covered Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, James Reynolds, Philip Schuyler, and The Doctor. Ryan is now in Hamilton's Broadway company covering those same roles and this amazing couple came over to talk to me about their relationship, careers, and what it was like for a real life couple to play Hamilton and Eliza on stage.  @HamiltonAsDogs tweets:  https://twitter.com/hamiltonasdogs/status/947214093936615424 https://twitter.com/hamiltonasdogs/status/851516338673598464 https://twitter.com/hamiltonasdogs/status/845067399724359681 https://twitter.com/hamiltonasdogs/status/818906991267459072   Bedknobs and Broomsticks - "Portobello Road" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYBECKl0zFo   Phillipa Soo - "No One Else" from Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Original Cast Recording): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF8ta_5D7og

Wallace Smith is back for round two and this week we take a deep dive into Wallace's audition story (and how Lin-Manuel Miranda speCIFICALLY REQUESTED THE YORKTOWN RAP AHHHH) and the Madison/Jefferson dynamic. We also sing the praises of so many Hamilton peeps including James Monroe Iglehart, Tommy Kail, Alex Lacamoire, Chris Lee, Paul Tazewell, Karen Olivo, and more!

Wallace Smith, Hamilton Broadway's Hercules Mulligan/James Madison is on the pod this and next week! In this episode Wallace tells me about coming to the Broadway company from the Chicago cast, how he first heard about Hamilton to begin with, and we give a lot of much deserved love to the badass teachers out there. Oh, and apparently there were three random gummi bears on the stage the night before he came over? I will never stop laughing about it. Enjoy!

I had a blast hanging with original Chicago company member Gabriella Sorrentino! Gabby joins me to talk about the suuuuper intense job of being a dance captain, her recent Broadway debut, and her work with Katie's Art Project. Ya know, just two New York City gals bonding and talking about Hamilton LIKE YA DO!   Gabby performing on The Tony Awards with On Your Feet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5LfltUNyIQ Choreographing 'Hamilton': The Meaning Behind the Moves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmYTsOrnWP0 Bernstein: West Side Story - 13. Scherzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BXq-IbYddY Katie's Art Project: https://www.katiesartproject.org/ Buy "It's Beautiful" performed by Gabriella Sorrentino and Jimmie Jeter (Hamilton Chicago): http://bit.ly/itunesitsbeautiful   Stephanie Klemons talking about Katie's Art Project and Hamilton:  https://www.thehamilcast.com/episode-110-its-a-dream-and-its-a-bit-of-a-dance/

Hamilton West End's very own Jamael Westman (Alexander Hamilton) stopped by the podcast during a very quick trip to New York City! This was a last minute recording and unfortunately happened during a hundred degree heat (Seriously. Please excuse the noise of the fan.), but when A.Ham comes from all the way across the sea, you record with him! Jamael is so kind and funny and we had the best time. Jam does his first ever Burr's Corner and talks about some of the mayhem that has occured on stage! Plus we talk about the differences between US and UK audiences, legacies, and the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda.    Three Lions - “Football’s Coming Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJqimlFcJsM   RADA - Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (dahling) https://www.rada.ac.uk/

Hamilton Broadway's Sean Green Jr. (Ensemble, Mulligan/Madison, Washington, Burr) is back for round two! This week, Sean tells us how the badass women in his life shaped who he was and helped him get to Broadway. He also gets super honest about blowing off his very first Hamilton audition (I KNOW), why Aaron Burr is so his vibe, how everything in his life led him to Hamilton, and oh yeah how there's a book of 19th century erotica that the ensemble members read on stage during the shOW IT IS BANANAS!!! 

Hamilton Broadway's Sean Green Jr. (Ensemble, Mulligan/Madison, Washington, Burr) is full of energy and honesty and we go in on all the things! Sean tells a *crazy* story about going on for Mulligan/Madison for the first time and how it resulted in a bad injury, a month off, overwhelming anxiety, and lots of self-reflection. Sean also talks about growing up in Philly, plays audio messages from his Dad, and gets a surprise FaceTime from an old friend. We had a blast!

Hamilton set designer David Korins stops buy to drink martinis, eat olives, do headstands, talk about the upcoming #Hamiltent exhibition (OH MY GOD YOU GUYS IT SOUNDS AMAZING), why the original turntables had to recently be replaced, and why The Cabinet™ can only get nicer and more generous. But David isn't just about Broadway so we talk about many of his other projects and he gives a *lot* of excellent advice.  http://www.davidkorinsdesign.com/ https://www.bond45ny.com/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ent-hamilton-exhibit-postponed-0717-story.html

The final installment of #LasVegust with Hamilton's Philip Company! Here's the second half of my hang with cast members Nik Walker, Kyle Scatliffe, Shoba Narayan, Ta'Rea Campbell, Elijah Malcomb, Tyler McKenzie, Conroe Brooks, and Abby Jaros, as well as musicians Austin Burket, Buffi Jacobs, and Lily Ling. I miss Vegas already! Massive thank you to the Neiman Marcus Cafe on Las Vegas Blvd!

#LasVegust continues with Hamilton's Philip Company! This week is the first part of my hang with cast members Nik Walker, Kyle Scatliffe, Shoba Narayan, Ta'Rea Campbell, Elijah Malcomb, Tyler McKenzie, Conroe Brooks, and Abby Jaros, as well as musicians Austin Burket, Buffi Jacobs, and Lily Ling. This was so fun! Massive thank you to the Neiman Marcus Cafe on Las Vegas Blvd!

Welcome to three weeks of Hamilton's Philip Company! I took Mike, my Right Hand Man, to Las Vegas and we had the best time. We saw Hamilton, talked to the cast and musicians, and I have three weeks of recordings for you!  First up, Fergie Philippe (Mulligan/Madison) comes back to The Hamilcast for a solo recording. Fergie is the one of the main reasons I went to Vegas (Tyler McKenzie and Julian Ramos helped), and he unfortunately couldn't make the big recording with members of the Philip Company. Since Fergie is the nicest, he asked if he could still be part of #LasVegust (Get it? Because the Las Vegas episodes are airing in August?) and offered to come to hang in our hotel room and chat about Hamilton and tour life.  Check out Fergie's first appearance on The Hamilcast (with Julian Ramos) in these episodes:  https://www.thehamilcast.com/episode-107-we-tell-your-story/ https://www.thehamilcast.com/episode-108-we-tell-your-story-part-two/ Stay tuned next week for the first half of my chat with Nik Walker, Kyl

In Alex Lacamoire's third episode Alex talks about how electronic sounds are used in Hamilton, why the orchestrations of It's Quiet Uptown destroy us every single time we listen to it, more musical themes, and finally... we do Barbershop Beastie Boys. Alex, please come back! (It's Quiet Uptown is discussed and played from 12:00-14:45 and again from 16:30-21:05) Will Wells:  http://willwellsmusic.com Aesop Rock - 1,000 O'Clock:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-qrvz_tA_k The Beatles - Fixing a Hole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPBd8eHQqIw

Alex Lacamoire is back to blow our minds once again which is crazy because I'm still not over last week's episode. This week we dive into Lin-Manuel Miranda's favorite arrangements and how Alex came to make them: Yorktown (YAASSSS!!!), Wait For It (SRSLY YOU'RE NOT READY), One Last Time ("f@%k you strings!"), and That Would Be Enough (Alex brought something that even Lin hasn't heard yet - yes, there were tears). Oh! AND! Alex plays an exclusive track you can't hear anywhere else called "Hamilton Finale Idea" and while neither Alex, LMM, nor Thomas Kail remember exactly what it was for I can promise you that your world will never be the same.  Andrés Forero Episodes:  Episode #118: When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again // Part One Episode #119: When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again // Part Two That Would Be Enough musicians (Hamilton quartet from The Philip Tour - @hamiltourquartet) Concertmaster/Violin I: Austin Burket Violin 2: Hayden Oliver Viola: Sarah Haines Cello: Buffi Jaco

Sir Alex Lacamoire is here! For THREE EPISODES! Get ready, you guys, your minds are about to be blown. Mike joins me for #JuLac and Alex was kind enough to bring an electric piano and play us ALL THE THINGS. In this first episode, Alex tells us all about The Schuyler Sisters, the song that went through the most changes. But he doesn't just tell us... he brought all the demos so we get to HEAR the evolution of the song. We also play a little game I like to call "In the style of..." and Alex plays his favorite Hamilton song in the style of Billy Joel, Rush, Fiona Apple, and Tori Amos. This episode is packed. We had the most fun ever and I hope you love it.    How a Miami musician overcame hearing loss to help create the music to ‘Hamilton’: https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article107866077.html First Burn #Hamildrop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ys-AimNbE Alex Lacamoire on Shockwave’s Shock and Awesome Podcast: https://headgum.com/shock-and-awesome/lacamoire-the-room-where-it-happens Mike Elizondo

Hamilton director Tommy Kail is back again this week and I am reminded, by Tommy, that no one thinks I'm laid back. In this episode Tommy talks about the casting process including how Hamilton has the feeling of a family reunion, and he gives his opinion on what happens in the very last moment of the show. In non-Hamilton related topics, Tommy tells the story of how he and Lin-Manuel Miranda ended up in the Sex and the City movie, his experience directing Grease LIVE!, and why "Mona Lisa" by Slick Rick is a defining song for him.  The West Wing Weekly: Hamilton Special (with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail) Grease: Live Is The Word Grease LIVE! Freddy My Love Slick Rick - "Mona Lisa"

That's Thomas as in KAIL. YES! TOMMY. KAIL. CAME. OVER. It was super fun and we are naturally at 1.5x speed. Tommy tells me all about the upcoming Hamilton exhibition in Chicago, opening this November, and how the job of a director changes (or doesn't) as a production evolves. We bond over It's a Wonderful Life, Tommy reminds cast members who are alums of The Hamilcast that he *does* hear the stories they tell, I teach him the correct names of Hamilton songs, and Tommy confirms that he is not in fact Alex Lacamoire. OR IS HE??? He's not, you guys, they just both have really fantastic hair.  Have I mentioned that Hamilton and In The Heights director and all around excellent human Thomas Kail hung out with me for a few hours? Because it still feels ridiculous.  Freestyle Love Supreme at Joe's Pub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_MLXaP2q1M Choreographing 'Hamilton': The Meaning Behind the Moves: https://youtu.be/VmYTsOrnWP0  

Hamilton dresser Chris Leary is back to tell us all about why we should all go to Puerto Rico on our next vacation (or help any way we can), how the energy at Hamilton is always changing, and that one time the turntable broke during My Shot and wasn't fixed until after You'll Be Back, and about a million other things. Hooray! http://hispanicfederation.org/donate/

Chris Leary, dresser at Hamilton on Broadway, and I laugh our way through ALL THE THINGS. Chris gives backstage details from a dresser's perspective, explains how he almost didn't go to the opening night of Hamilton, and proudly declares himself a Tonya Harding truther. We also discuss how excellent he is at Halloween, why I'm #TeamJoanna Jones when it comes to pranks, and we get on the phone with the one and only Lexi Lawson.