Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, producer Jeffrey Seller, The Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin, NYC Department of Education Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Gilder Lehrman Executive Director Lesley Herrmann announced an educational partnership that would provide 20,000 NYC public school students with the opportunity to see Hamilton on Broadway and integrate the show into their classroom studies. All of this is made possible through a $1.46 million grant by The Rockefeller Foundation.

This endeavor has been something near and dear to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s heart, as he has been asked by many fans on Twitter and at the stage door how Hamilton can be accessed by more students because it’s frequently sold-out and tickets are expensive. Seller agreed to sell the tickets for $70 each; the foundation will pay $60 toward each ticket and students will be charged $10. The logic behind this idea was having students pay a nominal admission fee would encourage them to take financial responsibility seriously.

Miranda added that, “It is a dream come true to have a program like this exist in connection to Hamilton. I can’t wait to perform for a theater full of students who are learning about our Founding Fathers in class and seeing how it still relates to their own lives on stage. They will see Hamilton’s story, and I’m hopeful that the stories will inspire in them; it will change our lives in ways we can’t even anticipate.”

Seller said that about 17,000 students would attend student-only Wednesday matinees starting April 13, 2016, supplemented by educational programming and meetings with cast members at the theater. Another 3,000 would join regular ticket-buyers at other Wednesday matinees, with the educational component presented back in their classrooms. The educational component will include an interactive website for students and teachers, and printed classroom materials will offer students a creative platform for developing and sharing their original ideas in response to what they’ve seen. The first group of participating high schools will be selected by the New York City Department of Education and will include schools across the five boroughs with large numbers of students eligible for free/reduced lunch.

I cannot stress the importance of something like this. As a teacher who sees first-hand how students easily distance themselves from something that doesn’t “fit” them or relate, an experience like Hamilton has the possibility to bring together both a newfound respect for history as well as theatre and the arts. Who knows, it may inspire some students to go out there and change the world.

The post Hamilton Will Be A Field Trip For 20K NYC Public School Students appeared first on Broadway Black.

It takes a real Queen to reduce a King to a quivering mass of shock and adulation. Beyoncé did just that when she approached Groff after the show to inquire about his phenomenally cocky royal walk during the scene where he bids a cheeky adieu to the colonies. Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda chronicled the exchange on Twitter.

Groff got embarrassed. But he said I could tell you. Next three tweets.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/659355089056976896https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/659355357521817600

2) Beyonce: When you turned away still facing the audience?
*BEYONCE DEMONSTRATES FLAWLESSLY*
Beyonce: You were your OWN turntable. Love it.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

3) And then, in Groffsauce's own words
"Then the ground swallowed me up and I died happy."
Thus endeth the meeting of Beyonce & Groffsauce.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

There is no straight-male equivalent for the ecstasy of Beyonce telling you
"I love your walk."
ESPECIALLY for Groffsauce, walk enthusiast.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

Bruce Lee: "Can you teach me that cool kick?"
That's the closest I can approximate to what happened to Groffsauce.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

We can’t even blame Groff for being floored by the compliment. How many people can actually say Beyoncé is stealing your sashay? Checkout a clip of Groff channeling his inner diva as he and fellow Hamilton actors Brian d’Arcy James, and Andrew Rannells lip-synch during Hamilton’s daily “Ham 4 Ham”,  an innovative mini show that gives fans a chance to enter a ‘day of the show’ lottery where winners receive Hamilton tickets for $10 .

They say imitation is the most powerful compliment and the love didn’t begin with Beyonce’s endorsement of Groff’s saucy promenade. Lin-Manuel Miranda had previously cited the other half of the power couple, Hip Hop phenom Jay-Z as one of his influences for the sound and flavor of the genre blending musical. Said Miranda,

In crafting the battles, I listened a lot to the Jay Z–Nas beefs. “Takeover” is such a systematic takedown of Nas; it’s “Here’s how many albums you put out. One of them is good.” It’s so clinical that it’s kind of devastating. And Nas’s response to Jay Z was no less brutal or enthusiastic. I listened to those a lot when it came to the battle raps; taking each other down but in an intelligent way. And there’s a little ode to 8 Mile in the way those scenes are structured.

This is the way good art is built. By the open acknowledgement of the talent of another. Taking a bit of this and a splash of that and reworking it into an updated remixed masterpiece. It speaks volumes when egos can be set aside to simply say, “I am impressed by the work you do.” Congratulations on the compliment to Jonathan Groff. It was well deserved. Now all we need to see is how Beyoncé spins that walk into a slaying saunter that is sure to set the Beyhive abuzz.

BONUS: The Queen recently let her powers show towards an assistant during a red carpet walk. It was so smooth and direct you probably don’t even notice her telling her to “stop it!”. The assistant was making more of a fuss over Beyonce’e clothes than she was! Also, it makes us so happy to hear the photographer in the back use the proper terminology when referring to her. For she is a Queen.

The post Beyoncé Plans to Steal & #Werk Groff’s Hamilton Walk appeared first on Broadway Black.

Opening night, featuring fireworks in the middle of Manhattan, was reminiscent of a hollywood premiere. Living up to the hype of “the most exciting and significant musical of the decade” as proclaimed by Wall Street Journal, the stars keep supporting far past it’s beginning on the Great White Way.

Much of the show’s success is credited to Manuel’s way of adding life– vibrant and rhythmic, to a story that to many, might bring back memories of a history class–dry and boring. An avid hip hop fan, Manuel has brought hip hop to the world of musical theatre. This idea is sparking the interests of those who love hip hop and keeping the interests of traditional theatre goers. The success is not going unnoticed.

President Obama and Michelle Obama joined the revolution, Obama even giving a standing ovation and praising it’s brilliance on The Daily Show with John Stewart.

Most recently, Miranda retweeted Alicia Keys’ admiration for the show. Selfies and photo collages line the internet via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook  showing the stars intermixed with the cast of Hamilton. We’ve seen photos with Pharrell, Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Queen Latifah, Laverne Cox, Busta Rhymes, Questlove, Yvette Nicole Brown, Wayne Brady, and Capetha Jenkins.

Be part of history. Because Broadway is cool again. Well, it’s always been cool!

Snag your tickets at hamiltonbroadway.com

Hamilton is currently on an open run at Richard Rodgers Theatre. It began previews on July 13, 2015 and opened On August 6, 2015.

The post Who Hasn’t Seen Hamilton? appeared first on Broadway Black.

The way my high school history books were written, every single one of those historical figures was white. Manuel did something here. He could have maintained historical “accuracy.”  However, this musical wasn’t about that. He threw out the typical format and hired people of color to fill these roles and guess what? It didn’t matter. Hamilton became an instant hit and no one is criticizing it for its colorblind casting because it’s just that good. The actors make these characters believable regardless of their skin color. What Manuel wanted to create was art, and art doesn’t have a race. It has an impact.

I remember going to see Keke Palmer in Cinderella back in 2014, looking around the theatre, and being brought to tears. I cried because I saw hundreds – and I’m not exaggerating — of young Black girls in tiaras and pretty dresses in the theatre. They were there to see Keke and to experience theatre, some for the very first time. And there was a Black girl playing the princess on the stage. I was so overcome with happiness and joy because it was so important for them, and me, to see. When I was leaving the theatre, a little girl said, “Mommy, I want to do that!” And she can!

What if this could happen all the time? I know we have shows like The Color Purple and Motown, which have no choice but to cast Black actors. However, those shows come and go (that’s another article, for another time). What I’m talking about is something a little different. Oftentimes when I’m catching a show on Broadway, I rarely see faces of color on the stage in lead or featured roles. Sure, I usually can spot them in the ensemble or they may be the understudy, but where’s our full-time Black Elphaba? Does Captain Hook have to be white? Aren’t there Black LGBTQ youth too? Black people go to Paris, right? I’m sure there are tons of Black girls and boys that never want to grow up, so where is their Finding Neverland?

There’s a term in theatre and film called “non-traditional” casting. That term is basically code for non-white actors. For the life of me, I’ve been trying to figure out why they call actors of color “non-traditional.” Are our stories and lives not “traditional?” Do we lack a certain trait to make us “traditional?” What does this even mean?

The answer is something I’ve been trying to discern but, at this point, I don’t think it matters. In the past three years I’ve seen more actors of color in roles that for so long have been cast with predominately white actors. Taye Diggs as Hedwig? Norm Lewis as The Phantom? Condola Rashad as Juliet? Even Trip To Bountiful, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof cast all Black actors during their Broadway runs. When I see that, it’s a great feeling. My question, then, is why doesn’t it happen more? Is it so far off to believe that as people of color we, too, can live these experiences?

I say these things with a spirit of hope, as I was once a young Black girl attending the theatre. I know the impact of seeing actors on stage that look like you. I also know what it feels like to be automatically ruled out of a role based on the color of your skin. Even now as a Performing Arts teacher, I want to be able to take my students to shows where they can look at that stage and turn to me and say “Ms. Harper-Davis, I’m gonna do that.”

Yes, scholar. Yes, you will.

UPDATE: ***In the featured photo: All black cast of “Oklahoma!” at Portland Center Stage from 2011. A fantastic cast and production, and one of their best selling shows ever. In the photo are Jarran Stepney-Muse as Will Parker and Joy Matthews as Aunt Eller

The post Hamilton To Hedwig: When “Non-Traditional” Casting Becomes Traditional appeared first on Broadway Black.