Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Website Design
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Template
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023
      Recent

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023

      Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on ‘Five Days at Memorial’, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People

      January 11, 2023

      Interview: David Christopher Wells on His Role in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Being an Understudy and Getting His MFA

      December 27, 2022
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Theatre » BroadwayCon 2016: ‘History is Happening In Manhattan: The Hamilton Panel’
    Theatre

    BroadwayCon 2016: ‘History is Happening In Manhattan: The Hamilton Panel’

    Chris McKittrickBy Chris McKittrickJanuary 23, 2016Updated:June 27, 2019No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin

    hamilton
    Just three hours before the cast of Hamilton would take the stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, the entire cast appeared at BroadwayCon to talk about the show that has taken over all of Broadway. To say that the Hamilton panel was one of the most anticipated events of BroadwayCon is an understatement. The panel was held in the convention’s largest hall — the Main Stage, capable of holding all attendees — and took place after a star-studded opening that included special appearances by Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel (via video), Tommy Tune, and Ben Vereen, and even the excitement for those Broadway favorites didn’t match the enthusiasm for the Hamilton cast: including Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), Reneé Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), Jonathan Groff (King George), Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Aaron Burr), Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton), and creator/Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

    Anthony Rapp introduced the cast by noting that Hamilton represents the type of diverse, ground-breaking theater that Rent creator Jonathan Larson dreamed would be created. The fascinating and often-hilarious was then moderated by Blake Ross, Editor-in-Chief of Playbill.

    First the cast spoke about how they each got involved in the production, and most were hand-picked by Miranda (although some admitted they initially thought it sounded like a terrible idea). The only exception is Goldsberry, who was the only cast member who had to audition. Sounding a little annoyed, she remarked that unlike he co-stars, “no one called me and offered me a job!”

    The cast also spoke about interesting facts they have learned about history since starring in the show. Miranda and Diggs spoke about Thomas Jefferson’s idiosyncrasies, and then Miranda said that “You could write three other musicals about Alexander Hamilton with different facts about his life” (of course, many in the audience begged him to do just that). Ross asked Miranda how it felt to have the rap community to embrace Hamilton. He responded that it was gratifying, but noted that he felt a majority of people don’t simply listen to one genre of music, saying, “There’s the rest of us that just like good shit.” The group then spoke about how proud he was that the cast was asked to record a Cypher for the BET Hip-Hop Awards, which led to Miranda freestyling a rap about BroadwayCon. The impressive display hilariously ended with a joke about the venue’s closed-caption typer, who previously forgot the second “p” when spelling “rapping” a few minutes earlier.

    The show’s monumental success and influence came up and Miranda noted that one aspect that intrigues him is how many issues America faced in Hamilton’s time are still issues America faces today. For example, Miranda pointed out that many characters in Hamilton die by gun violence, adding, “That’s not going away anytime soon unless someone does something.” That led to a discussion about the politicians and celebrities who have come to see the show, including President Obama and Vice President Biden. It was revealed that Biden came because he had lunch with Obama after the President had seen Hamilton and he would not stop raving about it, which Miranda took a lot of pride in.

    The panel wrapped up by going full circle in talking about the influence of Rent on Hamilton because it has become a similar influential phenomenon. Miranda spoke about appearing in the Encores! Off-Center 2014 production of Larson’s Tick, Tick… Boom! and Goldsberry spoke about starring in the cast of Rent when it closed on Broadway in 2008.

    After that, the cast was escorted offstage so they could make showtime at the Rodgers Theatre as the crowd of BroadwayCon sang along to the cast recording of Hamilton. If anyone in the house hadn’t heard of the musical before (and who couldn’t have?), it was likely they were now huge fans of the cast.

    Related

    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    Previous ArticleBroadwayCon 2016: ‘Something Wonderful: A Look Behind The King and I”
    Next Article James Wolk Talks ‘This is Happening’, His Worst Audition and Coming to Set Prepared

    Related Posts

    Tom Hanks on His Career and the Valuable Lessons He Learned Along the Way

    October 4, 2022

    Ethan Hawke, Peter Dinklage, Winona Ryder and Others Perform for Eric Bogosian’s ‘100 (Monologues)’

    August 19, 2022

    Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom, Jr. on Their Broadway Breaks

    June 28, 2022
    Add A Comment

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, Masterclass, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.