For years, the Freestyle Love Supreme experience was a “completely ephemeral” one, as founding member Thomas Kail puts it. Only those in the small, usually 99-seat, theaters who witnessed one of the hip-hop improv group’s shows live shared in the unique memory and magic of what they delivered. But through Andrew Fried’s documentary “We Are Love Supreme,” debuting on Hulu July 17, some of those performances have been given more permanence.
“It was like we were writing poetry and lighting it on fire. And later we ended up writing a couple of novels and people liked our novels,” Kail, who also executive produced the documentary, says of the difference between Freestyle Love Supreme’s shows and “In The Heights” and Hamilton.” “We thought, ‘Well, what if we go back and show them some of the poetry we wrote?’ It informed and infused the novels.”
As Freestyle Love Supreme founding...
“It was like we were writing poetry and lighting it on fire. And later we ended up writing a couple of novels and people liked our novels,” Kail, who also executive produced the documentary, says of the difference between Freestyle Love Supreme’s shows and “In The Heights” and Hamilton.” “We thought, ‘Well, what if we go back and show them some of the poetry we wrote?’ It informed and infused the novels.”
As Freestyle Love Supreme founding...
- 7/16/2020
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Utkarsh Ambudkar is probably best known as Donald from the Pitch Perfect franchise, the resident smooth-talkin’ beatboxer of the acapella group the Treblemakers. He also appeared in The Mindy Project as Mindy Kaling’s younger brother. His other film and TV credits include the comedy feature Brittany Runs a Marathon, the IFC series Brockmire and he lends his voice to the Disney Junior animated series Mira, Royal Detective. He also appears in a whole slate of films including the rom-com The Broken Hearts Gallery, the comedy action pic Free Guy alongside Ryan Reynolds and Disney’s Godmothered — but did you know that he played Aaron Burr in early workshops for Hamilton?
Even before Hamilton, he was part of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, the subject of the Hulu documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme which hits the streamer July...
Even before Hamilton, he was part of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, the subject of the Hulu documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme which hits the streamer July...
- 7/14/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos and Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s TV news roundup, Apple TV Plus released the trailer for its new drama series “Little Voice” and Hulu dropped a teaser for “The Handmaid’s Tale” upcoming fourth season.
Renewals
Quibi has announced that its LGBTQ+ comedy competition “Gayme Show” has been renewed for a second season. Hosted by Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni, “Gayme Show” pairs two straight contestants with a celebrity “life partner” to complete challenges in order to be crowned “Queen of the Straights.” “Gayme Show” is produced by Jax Media and executive produced by Rogers, Mizzoni, showrunner Genevieve Aniello, Brooke Posch, Séamus Murphy-Mitchell and Tony Hernandez.
Dates
Netflix announced Jim Jefferies’ fourth streaming stand-up special, “Jim Jefferies: Intolerant,” will premiere July 7. This time, the Australian comedian cracks jokes about things he just can’t tolerate, namely lactose, germaphobes and people with peanut allergies. Watch a trailer below.
Amazon Prime Video announced “World’s Toughest...
Renewals
Quibi has announced that its LGBTQ+ comedy competition “Gayme Show” has been renewed for a second season. Hosted by Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni, “Gayme Show” pairs two straight contestants with a celebrity “life partner” to complete challenges in order to be crowned “Queen of the Straights.” “Gayme Show” is produced by Jax Media and executive produced by Rogers, Mizzoni, showrunner Genevieve Aniello, Brooke Posch, Séamus Murphy-Mitchell and Tony Hernandez.
Dates
Netflix announced Jim Jefferies’ fourth streaming stand-up special, “Jim Jefferies: Intolerant,” will premiere July 7. This time, the Australian comedian cracks jokes about things he just can’t tolerate, namely lactose, germaphobes and people with peanut allergies. Watch a trailer below.
Amazon Prime Video announced “World’s Toughest...
- 6/24/2020
- by Klaritza Rico
- Variety Film + TV
The Andrew Fried-directed documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme produced by Hamilton icon Lin-Manuel Miranda has found a home at Hulu and will hit the streamer June 5.
The docu made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and spotlights the 15-year journey of the hip-hop improvisational group founded by Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale. The group called Freestyle Love Supreme was formed long before Hamilton and In The Heights hit Broadway. Fried began chronicling the group in the summer of 2005, documenting the early days of Freestyle Love Supreme beatboxing and rapping on the sidewalks. Fast forward 14 years later and Fried brings us to a reunion with a series of shows in New York City that led to a triumphant run on Broadway.
In addition to Miranda, Kail and Veneziale, the docu features Arthur Lewis, Christopher Jackson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chris Sullivan, Bill Sherman, James Monroe Iglehart and Andrew Bancroft.
The docu made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and spotlights the 15-year journey of the hip-hop improvisational group founded by Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale. The group called Freestyle Love Supreme was formed long before Hamilton and In The Heights hit Broadway. Fried began chronicling the group in the summer of 2005, documenting the early days of Freestyle Love Supreme beatboxing and rapping on the sidewalks. Fast forward 14 years later and Fried brings us to a reunion with a series of shows in New York City that led to a triumphant run on Broadway.
In addition to Miranda, Kail and Veneziale, the docu features Arthur Lewis, Christopher Jackson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chris Sullivan, Bill Sherman, James Monroe Iglehart and Andrew Bancroft.
- 4/30/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Wendell Pierce and Toby Jones are going head-to-head for best actor in this year’s Olivier Awards, while Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hayley Atwell, Juliet Stevenson and Sharon D Clarke have been nominated for best actress.
New musical & Juliet has nabbed nine nominations, Trevor Nunn’s Fiddler on the Roof has secured eight and Dear Evan Hansen has scored seven.
The UK awards, which celebrates the best theatre in London, will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on April 5.
Here’s the full list of play and musical nominations:
Best New Play
A Very Expensive Poison at The Old Vic
The Doctor at Almeida Theatre
Leopoldstadt at Wyndham’s Theatre
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at National Theatre – Dorfman
Best New Musical
& Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre
Amelie The Musical at The Other Palace
Dear Evan Hansen at Noel Coward Theatre
Waitress at Adelphi Theatre...
New musical & Juliet has nabbed nine nominations, Trevor Nunn’s Fiddler on the Roof has secured eight and Dear Evan Hansen has scored seven.
The UK awards, which celebrates the best theatre in London, will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on April 5.
Here’s the full list of play and musical nominations:
Best New Play
A Very Expensive Poison at The Old Vic
The Doctor at Almeida Theatre
Leopoldstadt at Wyndham’s Theatre
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at National Theatre – Dorfman
Best New Musical
& Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre
Amelie The Musical at The Other Palace
Dear Evan Hansen at Noel Coward Theatre
Waitress at Adelphi Theatre...
- 3/3/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
La Jolla Playhouse has announcedthe complete cast and creative team for its upcoming musical Fly, based on the J.M. Barrie novel Peter and Wendy, with book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph Playhouse's Guards at the Taj, Broadway's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo music by Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Bill Sherman music director for Sesame Street orchestrator for In the Heights lyrics by Obie Award winner Kirsten Childs The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin and Rajiv Joseph, direction by multiple Tony Award-winning producer Jeffrey Seller Hamilton, Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and co-choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler Hamilton, Bandstand and Stephanie Klemons In the Heights. Fly will run February 18 - March 29 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
- 1/9/2020
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Broadway’s Freestyle Love Supreme, co-created by Hamilton team Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, has recouped its investment after 14 weeks, making it one of the first shows of the season to recoup.
The improvisational production, which blends hip-hop and comedy, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, January 12 at the Booth Theatre. The show began previews on September 13, 2019 and officially opened on October 2. When it closes, Freestyle Love Supreme will have played 23 previews and 118 regular performances.
Directed by Kail, the production has a core group of performers – Andrew Bancroft, Aneesa Folds, Arthur Lewis, Kaila Mullady, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Veneziale and Utkarsh Ambudkar – that’s often been joined by special guests including Wayne Brady, Daveed Diggs, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, James Monroe Iglehart, Christopher Jackson, Alex Lacamoire, Sarah Kay, Bill Sherman, and Miranda. Surprise appearances have been made by Josh Groban, Jimmy Fallon, Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren.
The...
The improvisational production, which blends hip-hop and comedy, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, January 12 at the Booth Theatre. The show began previews on September 13, 2019 and officially opened on October 2. When it closes, Freestyle Love Supreme will have played 23 previews and 118 regular performances.
Directed by Kail, the production has a core group of performers – Andrew Bancroft, Aneesa Folds, Arthur Lewis, Kaila Mullady, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Veneziale and Utkarsh Ambudkar – that’s often been joined by special guests including Wayne Brady, Daveed Diggs, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, James Monroe Iglehart, Christopher Jackson, Alex Lacamoire, Sarah Kay, Bill Sherman, and Miranda. Surprise appearances have been made by Josh Groban, Jimmy Fallon, Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren.
The...
- 1/7/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
La Jolla Playhouse has announced the choreographers and lead cast members for its upcoming musical Fly, based on the novel Peter and Wendy, by J.M. Barrie, with book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph Playhouse's Guards at the Taj, Broadway's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo music by Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Bill Sherman music director for Sesame Street lyrics by Obie Award winner Kirsten Childs The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin and Rajiv Joseph, directed by multiple Tony Award-winning producer Jeffrey Seller Hamilton, Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights. Fly will run in the Mandell Weiss Theatre February 18 - March 29, 2020.
- 12/17/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Egot — an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony — is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.
A select group of entertainers can round out their trophy cases with a competitive win from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Harry Belafonte (1927 – )
Emmy: Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, “The Revlon Revue” (1960).
Grammys (2): Folk Performance, “Swing Dat Hammer” (1960); Folk Recording, “An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba” (1965).
Tony: Supporting Actor in a Musical, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954).
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Emmy: 7 individual wins, including for “Omnibus” (1957 and 1958); “Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic” (1961); “New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts” (1965); “Beethoven’s Birthday” (1972); and “Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening” (1987).
Grammy: 16 wins, most for best classical album.
Tony: Best Musical, “Wonderful Town” (1953).
Jerry Bock
Martin Charnin
Cy Coleman
Fred Ebb
Cynthia Erivo (1987 – )
Daytime Emmy: On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program,...
A select group of entertainers can round out their trophy cases with a competitive win from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Harry Belafonte (1927 – )
Emmy: Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, “The Revlon Revue” (1960).
Grammys (2): Folk Performance, “Swing Dat Hammer” (1960); Folk Recording, “An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba” (1965).
Tony: Supporting Actor in a Musical, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954).
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Emmy: 7 individual wins, including for “Omnibus” (1957 and 1958); “Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic” (1961); “New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts” (1965); “Beethoven’s Birthday” (1972); and “Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening” (1987).
Grammy: 16 wins, most for best classical album.
Tony: Best Musical, “Wonderful Town” (1953).
Jerry Bock
Martin Charnin
Cy Coleman
Fred Ebb
Cynthia Erivo (1987 – )
Daytime Emmy: On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program,...
- 9/23/2019
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Lin-Manuel Miranda did two important things on Tuesday’s “Tonight Show”: participate in an epic freestyle-rap battle with The Roots’ Black Thought and he announced that he’s going be taking his talents back to Broadway this fall with “Freestyle Love Supreme,” the improvisational hip-hop group co-founded by Miranda in 2004.
“Before ‘Hamilton,’ before ‘In the Heights,’ my first time performing in New York was with a freestyle hip-hop group called ‘Freestyle Love Supreme,'” Miranda said, after finishing the rap competition on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show. “We are coming to Broadway this fall at the Booth Theater. It’s an entirely made-up Broadway show, you don’t know who is gonna show up. Black Thought might show up, I might show up one night, Chris Jackson might show up one night. You don’t know what’s gonna happen. Come see us in September!”
Miranda will co-produce the...
“Before ‘Hamilton,’ before ‘In the Heights,’ my first time performing in New York was with a freestyle hip-hop group called ‘Freestyle Love Supreme,'” Miranda said, after finishing the rap competition on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show. “We are coming to Broadway this fall at the Booth Theater. It’s an entirely made-up Broadway show, you don’t know who is gonna show up. Black Thought might show up, I might show up one night, Chris Jackson might show up one night. You don’t know what’s gonna happen. Come see us in September!”
Miranda will co-produce the...
- 6/19/2019
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Freestyle Love Supreme, the hip hop theatrical improv show co-created by Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2004 and staged intermittently since, will make its Broadway debut in September, producers – including Miranda – have announced.
The show, which recently completed an Off Broadway run, will begin previews at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on Friday, September 13, with an official opening on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The strictly limited 16-week run concludes Sunday, January 5, 2020.
The show combines singing, rapping, comedy, beat-boxing and human percussion, with the performers taking suggestions from the audience to create “humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers.”
The production’s core company will be Andrew Bancroft Aka “Jelly Donut,” Arthur Lewis Aka “Arthur The Geniuses,” Bill Sherman Aka “King Sherman,” Chris Sullivan Aka “Shockwave,” Anthony Veneziale Aka “Two-Touch,” and Utkarsh Ambudkar Aka “Utk.” Special unannounced guests are planned for select performances during the run, including Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, and James Monroe Iglehart,...
The show, which recently completed an Off Broadway run, will begin previews at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on Friday, September 13, with an official opening on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The strictly limited 16-week run concludes Sunday, January 5, 2020.
The show combines singing, rapping, comedy, beat-boxing and human percussion, with the performers taking suggestions from the audience to create “humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers.”
The production’s core company will be Andrew Bancroft Aka “Jelly Donut,” Arthur Lewis Aka “Arthur The Geniuses,” Bill Sherman Aka “King Sherman,” Chris Sullivan Aka “Shockwave,” Anthony Veneziale Aka “Two-Touch,” and Utkarsh Ambudkar Aka “Utk.” Special unannounced guests are planned for select performances during the run, including Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, and James Monroe Iglehart,...
- 6/19/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Hamilton maestro and overall modern-day renaissance man Lin-Manuel Miranda took to Twitter earlier today and teased that he would be announcing some news. From the forthcoming Mary Poppins Returns to the developing In The Heights film adaptation to the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, Miranda has a lot of plates spinning so the news could have been a number of things. But his recent announcement doesn’t have anything to do with the big screen but more of his pre-Hamilton days. Miranda revealed that he is reviving his hip-hop improvisational hip-hop group and show Freestyle Love Supreme for an Off-Broadway run.
Miranda will co-produce the show and be an occasional guest performer of the show which will run from January 30 to March 2 at the Greenwich House Theater in New York for 32 performances. The regular cast will include Anthony Veneziale, Andrew Bancroft, Arthur Lewis, Bill Sherman, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Veneziale,...
Miranda will co-produce the show and be an occasional guest performer of the show which will run from January 30 to March 2 at the Greenwich House Theater in New York for 32 performances. The regular cast will include Anthony Veneziale, Andrew Bancroft, Arthur Lewis, Bill Sherman, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Veneziale,...
- 10/30/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
A jukebox musical based on the music of Max Martin looks to be heading to London’s West End next year. The Swedish writer-producer, who is behind some of the biggest pop hits of the past 20 years, working with artists such as Adele, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift, is now collaborating on the show, whose title has not been revealed.
An open casting call for the musical was put out this week by Stuart Burt Casting. The call says the show is being “created with Max Martin” and “uses his incredible catalog of songs as inspiration” – a catalog that includes such hits as Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The project is “in final stages of development,” the casting notice said, and is expected to launch in July 2019 outside of London before moving to the West End.
An open casting call for the musical was put out this week by Stuart Burt Casting. The call says the show is being “created with Max Martin” and “uses his incredible catalog of songs as inspiration” – a catalog that includes such hits as Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The project is “in final stages of development,” the casting notice said, and is expected to launch in July 2019 outside of London before moving to the West End.
- 8/3/2018
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
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