SPEAKER 1: Please give a
warm welcome to our guests
from "Hamilton."
[APPLAUSE]
INTERVIEWER: Thank you.
Come on up.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
[LAUGHTER]
Wow.
It's standing room
only, this is crazy.
Everybody has been super excited
about having you guys here.
We bring in a lot of Broadway
shows into the Talks program
here in the office.
And everyone always asks me,
when are you doing "Hamilton?"
When are you bringing
in "Hamilton?"
And now finally,
today is the day.
Thank you all for
being here again.
LEXI LAWSON: Yay!
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Thanks for having us.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
INTERVIEWER: So let's
just kick it off.
Let's go down the line
and start with James here.
Tell us who you are and
what do you do in the show?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: I
am James Monroe Iglehart,
and I play Marquis de
Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.
[APPLAUSE]
LEXI LAWSON: Hi,
I'm Lexi Lawson,
I play Elizabeth Hamilton.
[APPLAUSE]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Hi,
I'm Anthony Lee Medina,
and I play John Laurens
and Philip Hamilton.
[APPLAUSE]
JOANNA JONES: Hi,
I'm Joanna Jones,
and I play Peggy Schuyler
and Maria Reynolds.
[APPLAUSE]
INTERVIEWER: Hi, I'm--
no, I'm just kidding.
[LAUGHTER]
I just got to ask real quick,
just to warm this up here,
how much of American
history did you
all actually know before
getting into the show?
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Ooh!
LEXI LAWSON: Ooh!
JOANNA JONES: Oh no.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Well, speaking
from a kid who graduated in
1992 in the wonderful American
school system--
[LAUGHTER]
--I knew that George Washington
might have chopped down
a cherry tree.
I knew that Martin
Luther King had a dream.
And then they let us go.
[LAUGHTER]
I mean, we knew
some of what it was.
But when you get into
something like this,
you start learning the
crust of a brother.
And so we learn the
crust of some of the guys
who helped make
this country great.
So we knew the overview
hero look of our country.
Like, ah, Thomas
Jefferson, third president,
Louisiana Purchase.
But we never knew cool things,
like him and Sally, his beef
with Hamilton, things like that.
So when you got into this
show, or even learned
about this show, it
made you just want
to go read about other people.
It made you want to read
about Andrew Jackson,
and him just shooting people
just because he felt like it.
It made you want to go
read about other folks that
made our country
what it is and just
learn that they were
real people too,
at least from my point of view.
LEXI LAWSON: Well said.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Thank you.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
I'm About the same.
I mean, like I remember
US history was a class.
I took it.
[LAUGHTER]
But it kind of disappeared
after high school.
And then it came back
when the show came.
I started having to
figure out what happened,
and why we're here.
And I'm still learning things.
Every day, I'm like, wait,
what did he just say?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yes.
LEXI LAWSON: Right.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Personally, I
knew I knew about Aaron Burr
only from the milk commercial.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yes!
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
There was a commercial?
INTERVIEWER: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh, I
did not remember this, no.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Oh, you're
going to find out that some
of the people in our cast
are a little bit
younger than me.
So there was a milk commercial.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Right.
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: And the guy
had his mouth full
of cookies, and he
was supposed to
answer a question, who
shot Alexander Hamilton?
And he goes,
(MUFFLED) Aaron Burr!
And the guy goes, oh, I'm
sorry, I can't understand you.
(MUFFLED) Aaron Burr.
And that was the joke, because
none of us knew who he was.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Leslie redid
that commercial, didn't he?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Yes, he did the--
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
That I've seen.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
He did the remake
of the original commercial.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: OK well, I
didn't know that was a thing.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm 28.
28, OK?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Ugh.
We tease each other
like that all the time.
INTERVIEWER: If those of you
in the room who don't know,
there you go.
[LAUGHTER]
So how did each of you get
connected to this production,
to "Hamilton", in
the first place?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Go ahead, Joanna.
JOANNA JONES: Well,
I had the opportunity
to see the show a
couple of years ago.
I didn't know a whole
lot about it at all.
And I was living in LA, and
I was in New York auditioning
for something else.
And I've known Leslie
for several years.
And I was like, hey, I'm
staying across from your show.
And he's like, OK, here's
some standing room tickets.
And I just walked in with no
idea what was about to happen
and just experienced
the whole thing.
And my mouth was just
agape the whole time.
And I was weeping through the
last 20 minutes of the show.
And so that was first
sort of introduction--
INTERVIEWER: Was that on
Broadway, or at the Public?
JOANNA JONES: On Broadway.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah?
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
I'm actually really
new to the show.
I've only been on for
about 3 and 1/2 weeks.
LEXI LAWSON: And killing it.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Every night.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Every scene.
LEXI LAWSON: Oh, she's great.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
She's amazing.
INTERVIEWER: I saw it
like, three weeks ago.
It must been like your
second day or something.
JOANNA JONES: Probably, yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: It was wonderful.
So I guess the rest
of you, real quick,
how did you get connected?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I
started going in for it
when it was the Mixtape,
before the Public,
and then at the Public.
And the only thing we had
got was like "My Shot."
So we had that, "I
imagine that so much it
feels more like a memory."
And everyone just did
that rap for them.
And then I didn't
know what it was.
And then it was
transferring to Broadway,
and everyone was
like, there's a guy
that looks like you who
has the same name as you,
and you're going
to play his part.
I was like, OK.
[LAUGHTER]
And then I spent an obscene
amount of money on a ticket.
It was like right
after they opened.
And I had like, four
cocktails before it started,
and I had no idea what
was going to happen.
And then I just wept
for 2 and 1/2 hours.
And then I was like, this is
going to be my Broadway debut.
And cut to like a year and a
half later, and here we are.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: That's incredible.
And then what about
the two of you?
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Loaded.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah, I know.
No.
My story is so long.
So I'm trying to
condense it all.
I saw this show right when
it opened on Broadway.
My friend Morgan Marcell
was one of the dancers in it
at the time.
And I also knew
Lin from "Heights."
And so when I saw it,
it was standing room.
It was sold out.
At this time, standing
room was even hard to get.
And my friend and I saw it.
I was living in LA at the time.
And I was like, oh my goodness,
I need to do this show!
And I'd stopped doing
theater, because I suffered
for a long time from anxieties,
like severe anxieties on stage.
After doing theater my
whole life, all of a sudden,
I got anxieties in 2011.
And so I stopped
and moved to LA.
And when I saw the show, I was
like, I have to do the show.
I have to figure it out.
I have to face my fear.
So I started
preparing for the show
before I even had an audition,
about six months before I even
got the call.
I put myself on
tape just in case
they weren't going to see me.
And it went from there.
I felt so connected to the show.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Mine's a little long too,
but I'll try to keep it short.
I've known the guys who created
the show for many years.
I'm part of a group
called Freestyle Love
Supreme with Lin, Chris
Jackson, Daveed Diggs
and a couple other brothers.
It's an improv hip-hop group.
And when Lin was
creating the show,
he did this concert
at Lincoln Center.
And he asked me to
be Lawrence Mulligan.
So the first guy to do
Lawrence Mulligan in public--
I mean, Lawrence Mulligan-- uh--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I was
like, who is he talking about?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Sorry.
The first to do Hercules
Mulligan was me.
And it was me, Mandy, Chris
Jackson, Utkarsh, all the guys
that Lin has around him.
And we did the show.
And I was like, oh,
this is really cool.
But then "Aladdin" happened.
So I was like, great.
OK, cool.
"Hamilton's" "Hamilton,"
I'm in "Aladdin," great.
Then all of a sudden, while
I was in my third year,
they were like, hey, you want
to come back to the family?
And I was like, really?
Sure!
That sounds like fun.
And so that's how
I got back in it.
But I've been around
it for a long time.
INTERVIEWER: I imagine
you actually saying it
like that on the phone.
Sounds like fun!
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
No seriously--
That's what's really funny.
Because I didn't
take them seriously.
They're like, you want
to be a part of the show?
I was like, yeah, sure.
You don't mean that.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: And here you are.
So you're probably, I guess,
from the Broadway world,
a little more well
known originally
for originating Genie, right?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So did you
bring any of Genie with you
to do these tracks now?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: What's
really funny is I guess I did.
But it's not Genie that
I'm bringing with me,
I'm like this all the time.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: So that
silliness and that I'm kind
of just-- as my friends
like to call me--
being a friend with me
is like being a friend
with a person who's in 3D.
I'm that big all the time.
So I kind of just brought
that with me to "Hamilton."
And I was hoping it would work.
Because everybody in
"Hamilton" is so cool.
LEXI LAWSON: Thank you!
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
The original cast,
and even this cast,
everybody is so cool.
And I am like, just the biggest
Toys R Us kid in the world.
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: He is.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: So I
was like, I hope this works.
And so far, nobody's thrown an
apple at me while I'm on stage.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, I
thought it was wonderful.
And actually, I saw all of you,
like I said, a couple of weeks
ago.
But I had the pleasure too
of seeing the original cast
years ago before the
soundtrack was out, even.
And I remember I turned to my
wife, and I said, this is--
I knew nothing about it, right?
And I turned my wife and I
said, this is changing Broadway.
This is going to redefine
everything that we know.
And so the roles became iconic.
The show has become iconic.
What was it like for all of you
to step into these roles that
were already so well known?
LEXI LAWSON: I have to say, for
me, it was fairly challenging.
I was the first replacement
for one of the leads.
I replaced Phillipa Soo, who
was fantastic in the show.
And so I jumped into the
show when it was still--
it was right after the Tony's.
And so there was so
much hype and so much
pressure that I felt to have
to take over for this role.
And I was graced by our
wonderful creative team, Tommy
Kail, Alex Lacamoire, who gave
us the ability to find the show
and find the roles ourselves,
and that, we didn't necessarily
have to replicate or
duplicate their character,
but bring what we know, for me
as Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton,
to life.
So that was really easing for
myself to be able to do that.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: But we're all like
one big happy family backstage.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: So like the
hype is out in front of us,
the audience.
But when we're backstage,
we're all goofballs.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Completely.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Follow an Instagram story,
and you'll see
some weird things.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah, it
was kind of the same situation,
I think, for all
of us, probably.
They were very insistent
that we are not
the people we were replacing,
and that they wanted us to find
the roles within ourselves.
Yeah, I think my
first day, he was
like you're not Anthony Ramos,
you're not Jordan Fisher.
Don't be those people.
It was like, OK, cool.
I'll do a me version.
JOANNA JONES: It's a very
nurturing, supportive
environment
LEXI LAWSON: And you do it well.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Thanks, mom.
[LAUGHTER]
JOANNA JONES: Yeah, again,
I'm pretty new to the show.
But I would just say
that it was welcoming,
and a nurturing sort of
directing environment
from day one.
So I really felt supported
and able to sort of ease
my way in, and just bring myself
to it as much as possible.
And yeah, it's really wonderful.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, James
do they ever tell you--
you said, you're just
like this normally, right?
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: It's true.
LEXI LAWSON: It's true.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Do they ever tell
you like, too much, bring it
back?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
No, actually.
The fun part is--
I remember actually having
a very long conversation
with Daveed.
And Daveed said, no man, look,
bring your swagger to the show.
And I was like, are you sure?
He said, no, man, bring
what you do to the show.
And the one cool thing, I
do have a degree in acting.
So I know when not
to be an idiot.
So the first act, I am
the Marquis de Lafayette.
I am 19-year-old
Frenchman who comes here.
I do that.
And then I go on to
Thomas Jefferson.
And that's when I become the
absolute just purple craziness
that gets to go on stage.
It's so fun just to
bring that to the stage.
The one thing they
allowed me to do was--
I'm surrounded by tenors.
Almost everybody is a tenor.
And so I'm a baritone-- so I
was able to bring my baritone
voice to it.
And I think that's
one of the things
that the fans
noticed, was that--
oh, Jesus Christ, there's
a guy is talking real low,
and I have a whole
different base to my voice
when I play Jefferson
against Hamilton.
So they liked it.
It's cool.
So they never told
me to tone it down.
They actually said, no,
no, come up, come up.
I was like, but
this is "Hamilton."
No, no, no, come on.
Bring it.
Bring it.
Bring it.
And I was like, OK, fine!
And so here we are.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: That's awesome.
Lexi, you mentioned that
the show called to you.
Did this role
specifically speak to you?
When you put yourself
on tape ahead of time
before your audition,
did you know
this is who you wanted to be?
LEXI LAWSON: No, You know, no.
So I always play the sassy
kind of girl in all plays.
So I was thinking it was
going to be Angelica.
Because I resonated--
not that I resonated,
but it was easy for me to do.
Looking back, though,
when I did see the show,
"Helpless," and "Who Lives, Who
Dies, Who Tells Your Story?"
were the ones that
stuck with me.
When you are aligned with
something, it opens you up,
and those two songs did.
And so the reason why I
didn't necessarily associate
with Elizabeth Hamilton was
because I was fearful of it.
I was fearful that I wasn't
good enough to do the role.
And so that's why I
didn't think that role
was going to come with me.
And even when I
got the call that I
was going to play Elizabeth
Hamilton on Broadway,
I was like, aah.
And then I was like, oh my god!
I can't sing those notes!
I can't do that!
And I started talking
myself out of it, which
is a good lesson to learn.
Because come a year, nearly
a year and a half later,
and I could do it in my sleep.
And that goes to show your
growth, and how you can grow.
Even if you don't think you can
grow, you can grow, you know?
So now-- yes, I can't imagine
being any other role right now.
INTERVIEWER: What is
the Eliza project?
How'd you get involved?
LEXI LAWSON: I got
involved with that
because Phillipa Soo and Morgan
Marcell started this project.
What we do is that we go into
Graham Windham, the orphanage
that Elizabeth Hamilton started.
And we take a group of kids that
excel in their academics that
are interested in the arts.
We take about 17 to 20
of them, and we put them
in environments that
can inspire them.
So this year, I created--
not that I created,
I didn't create it.
I facilitated doing a workshop
in the same recording studio
that Cindy Lauper, and Bon
Jovi, and some really greats
recorded in.
So they had the experience to
come in with Anthony and Q.
And they taught them how
to write, and rap, and sing
a song.
And when I tell you this
song could be on the radio,
it really could.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
It's really great.
LEXI LAWSON: They are amazing.
They did it all on their own.
We also did a
project with dance.
We had one of our
Broadway performers,
Lauren, come in and
teach them that.
Our third week, we had a cooking
class with two of our people
on Broadway as well,
along with teaching them
how to write a movie script,
in the movie writing room.
And then we put on a performance
for all their friends
and their families to come see.
And this year, it was a packed
house, which was so inspiring.
I mean, I don't know where
any of you come from,
but we all have our
own stories, right?
We all want to share
and tell our stories.
But what inspired me with
these children is that--
for instance, one girl
did not want to speak,
because she just wanted
her mother to be around.
And when she saw her mom walk
in, her whole aura changed.
She cried, and she got up on
stage, and she started rapping.
And she was inspired
that her mom was there.
And for me, I was always
supported by my mother,
so I don't know how that
feels to long for your mother.
And that inspired me.
And so let me get back to
what Graham Windham is.
It's a place where children
go when they're not really
gelling at home, whether
it's with their family,
or whether they're misbehaving.
It's a place for them to
get some extra nourishment,
let's say.
And so it really
inspired me, this one.
So yes, that's
the Eliza Project.
If you want to know about
it, go to grahamwindham.org,
or go to the Eliza Project.
Google Eliza Project.
Google Eliza Project.
[LAUGHTER]
And you can read more about it.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Nicely done.
LEXI LAWSON: Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Happy you
didn't say Bing, we're--
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Got to Bing.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Is that a thing?
INTERVIEWER: That's
what I said--
Joanna, you were recently
in NBC's "Hairspray Live,"
the first in their
series of these
live theater performances that
actually had a live audience.
Was that experience
weird for you?
It seems to me like it's
a staged studio audience.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: How was
that experience to you
compared to the live
theater experience?
JOANNA JONES: It's funny,
because in theater, you're
trying not to break the
fourth wall and stuff.
But with everyone
just watching you,
they're taking your
commercial breaks with you,
and they're seeing you stop the
dance and be like, oh my god,
that was so hard.
They see all the behind
the scenes stuff.
And also, their
reactions are kind of
influenced by their hype man,
who was like, clap really loud
right now, and stuff like that.
INTERVIEWER: Oh really?
JOANNA JONES: So yeah,
but it was exhilarating.
It was cool.
It was like they were a part of
the show that we were creating.
And I don't know,
it was really fun.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah,
that's interesting.
I always watch these, and
I think it's weird to me
because the timing is different.
Because you can't wait for
laughter, because you're
not hearing the laughter.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So
props to you, yeah.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: I want to
kind of switch gears
a little bit to talk about
the subject of the show,
or I guess, the genre
of the show is kind of--
it is unique and
previously undefined.
And it's knocked
down walls, and you
could say we've raised
the bar of theater,
or changed the bar
of theater, whatever
you want to say about it.
And the show is basically
an overnight smash hit,
hit the ground running,
hasn't stopped since.
I mean, what kind of barriers
for you all, personally,
has it affected any
barriers that you previously
encountered?
Or how has it
changed your careers?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I mean,
before this, I was mostly seen
as children, which is normal.
But then, it's like--
[LAUGHTER]
I'm still doing it.
But like, I have
played drug dealers,
and just straight off the
boat Latin American kids.
And I'm like, I'm--
[THUMPING]
--ooh, that's a mic.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
That's a microphone.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I
was born in New York,
I am Puerto Rican and Cuban.
I, of course, resonate with
Latin American culture.
That is who I am.
But I shouldn't be boxed into
this world where I can only
play things that are
straight off the boat,
or like some sort of
horrible stereotype.
This show is the first
time I got to see people,
not only playing characters that
were out of the norm of what we
get to play, but also
taking on characters that
aren't necessarily the race
that-- like Philip and John
Laurens are not
Puerto Rican-Cuban.
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Although, you couldn't tell that
to a high school now.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: No.
[LAUGHTER]
But that's the
most amazing thing.
I think that's the most
beautiful thing, is that--
I don't know, for me, growing
up, I didn't see a lot of me
on television or on stage.
It was a lot of these
very specific beautiful,
blond, tall girls, and
these Caucasian men
that looked a certain way.
And the roles weren't
in existence for me.
It didn't seem like there
was a possibility for that.
And it's so amazing
now to, after the show,
see all these kids come
on stage afterwards,
and to honestly be
like, I want to do this.
And they see it as
a possibility now.
And then on top of
that, also, they
see that, not only on a
performance side that you
can be anything and still
be a performer, but also
we're telling the story
of our forefathers
and that now they can
see that there is--
I mean, we had Barack Obama.
Praise.
[LAUGHTER]
But they're seeing now
that this story of America
is being told by
people of color,
and that they can be a part
of the story of America,
and they can go into
politics, and be elected,
and it is possible.
And I think that's the most
amazing turn around in my head,
and I think worldwide.
I don't know.
Country-wide, at least.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: I
also think that this show--
I've been blessed
for casting directors
and for shows to see me as not
just an African American man.
So this show didn't
do that for me.
But what I enjoyed that the show
did was this show seemed-- no,
not seemed, it did--
opened the mind of the
theater-going audience.
JOANNA JONES: Mm-hmm.
Oh yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: So
the theater-going audience
would go to a show and go,
oh, I know what this is about.
You're going to play this.
And now they see this, and
they're going, oh my god.
It was amazing.
It was like someone
had taken the box
and just pulled the walls off.
And everybody went, oh, you mean
everybody can play everybody?
You're like, yeah, everybody
can play everybody.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
And I think it kind of put the
audience on a level playing
ground.
I think all of us
can attest, there's
that moment where you look out
into the audience when we're
doing a song, and
you see the people
that look like they
would enjoy "Hamilton,"
that wonderful family of
color, whoever they are,
that looks like they
could enjoy "Hamilton."
And then there's the
Beaver Cleaver family
sitting right next to them.
And the wife is literally
like, (SINGING) I
am not throwing away my--
[LAUGHTER]
And you're like, where
did June Cleaver get
the ah, the two, and the four?
And they're just on it.
And you're like, holy
crap, this is for real.
JOANNA JONES: Oh, [? my god. ?]
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: And I think
that's amazing to see that
group of people all of a sudden
not realize they're
listening to hip-hop.
INTERVIEWER: Right.
[LAUGHTER]
Like, their child's
music comes on.
All of a sudden, they're
like, I get that reference.
If you don't know, now you know.
You're like--
[LAUGHTER]
They heard it in
"Hamilton" first,
and now, all of the sudden,
they know who Biggie Smalls is.
[LAUGHTER]
The show literally,
within a couple of years,
broke this barrier down, where
everybody who came to Broadway
went, oh, I get it.
I get it now.
And it's just permeating
through the nation.
And it's really,
really fun to see.
Because all of a sudden--
I mean, shows have had
diversity for years.
But I think it took
this show, the way
it was put together,
the way it was written,
the way it was cast-- sometimes
you just catch lightning
in a bottle.
And you can beat someone
over the head with the,
you need to be diverse,
you need to have diversity.
You need to beat them,
but they don't get it.
And then, something just
seeps in real smooth.
And they go, (GASPING) I get it.
Sometimes you just don't
need to hammer somebody
with a definition.
You just need to show
them a good story,
and just put people up there.
And then they go, bam.
So I think that's one of
those things this show did.
JOANNA JONES: Yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Thanks.
LEXI LAWSON: Thanks.
INTERVIEWER: You got
something to add?
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Thank
you, thank you.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Thank you.
Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Thank
you, and that's it.
Good night.
Yeah, that's really interesting.
I love the juxtaposition,
like you were talking about,
the Beaver Cleaver family,
and your stereotypical--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Your hip-hop [? dudes. ?]
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, your
hip-hop dudes, right.
In terms of the age
difference, do you guys
notice any difference in the
audience feedback you get,
like from the high
school kids who
come versus like your elderly?
LEXI LAWSON: I mean,
for some people,
they bring their four-year-olds.
And the four-year-old
is rapping along.
I'm like, ooh!
And then you see-- what
really gets me-- oh,
it gets me every time is
during "Yorktown," at the end--
what's the last line
that we sing at the end?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Down!
LEXI LAWSON: Down!
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yorktown!
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: The
world turned upside down.
LEXI LAWSON: The
world turned upside--
it's one time, at
least, for me, where
I can see the full audience.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: And to see the
80-year-old woman and man
just--
ah, ah!
And I mean, it just-- sorry,
I keep slapping my mic--
but it just touches me, it
inspires me to see their face
light up like that.
I've never seen anything
like that before.
And then to see the
four-year-old doing the same,
it is so interesting,
and it is so beautiful.
And so that always
gets me every time.
I always go to Mandy and say,
do you see that guy, fourth row
mezzanine on the left?
I was like, he was so happy!
[LAUGHTER]
So yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: We won.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: We won.
INTERVIEWER: Spoiler, we won.
And he dies.
Oh.
[LAUGHTER]
(MUFFLED) Aaron Burr.
I keep going back to that.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm sorry, I'm in my
own mind right now.
[? JOANNA JONES: ?]
That's OK, we are too.
INTERVIEWER: Good.
Is there any particular
piece of audience feedback
that resonates, that has
stuck with you that any of you
have been told at the stage door
or through this social media?
Because you guys are so
interactive with your fans.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
We get it from A
to Z, I would say.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Yeah, there's
little bit of everything.
I mean, I think the most
amazing feedback we actually get
is probably--
I don't know if--
you haven't done
one of these yet, the EduHams.
JOANNA JONES: No.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: That
show is like a rock concert.
There's nothing like it.
We walk out, and you hear
bum, bum-bum-da-da-da-dum.
And it's like-- it doesn't stop.
They're rapping along with us.
They sing the
entire first verse.
And then afterwards, they like--
LEXI LAWSON: [INAUDIBLE].
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
After the show--
no, they're in.
I think most of them are in.
Then there's couple
that are-- you're like,
they're just like,
not here for this.
But afterwards, I think
the most hilarious thing
is there's school buses outside
to pick them up and bring them
back to school.
These kids run away
from the school bus
and start running
towards the stage door.
And I think like, the teachers
are going to get them.
No, the teachers run with them.
[LAUGHTER]
They're like, can you
please sign, take a picture,
oh, my god.
Like, we've been
studying US history,
we did a whole Alexander
Hamilton thing.
And they not only
know the musical,
but they know the history of
everything that's going on.
So they're able to
ask questions that I
don't have the answers to.
I'm like, I didn't read enough.
I'm so sorry.
But let me know.
What do you got?
Tell me the things.
INTERVIEWER: That's not my
track, I can't help you.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Yeah, I just play John.
That's it.
LEXI LAWSON: It's
fairly inspiring
to know that these
kids growing up--
I mean, from what
you were saying,
James, is that, in high school,
for me, my social studies
class--
sure, it was exciting,
and history teacher
was like, really cool--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
What class were you in?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
What class were you in?
LEXI LAWSON: No, I had a really
cool teacher, Mr. Harvey.
He was cool.
He played games, and he--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Shout out to Mr. Harvey.
LEXI LAWSON: Mr. Harvey.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Mr. Harvey.
LEXI LAWSON: But I
think it's really cool,
and it inspires me.
And it's something that I
can't necessarily relate to.
Like, these kids are
writing us, and saying
like, I got an A in history
last year because of "Hamilton,"
and like, history is cool.
And I'm like, wow!
It's just-- I'm sorry.
I get inspired a lot by
from a lot of people.
And so there's a part of me that
wishes I was them at this time.
Because growing up, Broadway,
for me, wasn't this.
And so good on Lin!
Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah!
LEXI LAWSON: Come on, Ham!
[APPLAUSE]
INTERVIEWER: That's a good segue
into my next question here.
I don't know if any
of you guys are aware,
we're celebrating Hispanic
Heritage Month, and honoring
contributions to Hispanic-Latino
Americans in the US culture.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Hola.
INTERVIEWER: That's right.
So the Google Cultural
Institute recently
launched an online
exhibition featuring exhibits
that showcase culture, and
art, and influential figures
throughout the history
of Latinos in the US.
As artists, why do you
all think it's important
that we elevate these
masterpieces, and not just
Latinos, but all communities
that have been historically
under-represented?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Because
this country is a melting pot.
You cannot have America without
all of the Americans who were
here, whether they came
over here voluntarily,
or whether they came
over here involuntarily.
America would not be what
it is without those pieces.
There are things in America
that we just take for granted.
There are rhythms in our music.
There are styles in our films.
There are strokes in our art.
There are sentences
and paragraphs
that have been written by people
that we just take for granted,
not knowing that they were
created by a person of color,
or take it for granted that they
were not written by a woman,
or take it for granted
that they were not written
by a poor Caucasian man.
There are certain things in our
country that are just inherent,
and have been there
from the beginning.
And for us to just gloss
over it, and say oh,
it's just America.
No, we need to
point out-- no, this
was a Latin man who did this.
This was a Latin
woman who did this.
This was a black woman.
This was a poor
white guy who was
struggling to get that
American dream he was promised.
So he wrote something,
and that happened.
One of the reasons we have
to elevate those people--
so that we can
educate everybody,
so that those kids who we want
to be inspired by can see--
look, there was this
Puerto Rican dude
who lived in New
York City who had
a dream of being on Broadway.
So because he didn't
get the roles he wanted,
he wrote a show called
"In the Heights."
Then he turned
around on vacation,
read a book about a white
man, and wrote a play about it
and put himself in it.
You understand what I'm saying?
I mean, we--
[CHEERING]
--need those things.
[APPLAUSE]
We need to know that
certain technology was
created by these black folks.
We need to know that mostly,
all of the great normal things,
the way we treat
people, were created
by the women in the
world that brought
these guys up and taught
them how to speak,
taught them how to
speak to people,
taught them how to act like a
man when the dad wasn't around.
We need to elevate those folks.
So why do we need that?
Because we need that.
Because if not, we are taught
this weird history of, oh,
yeah, these things just happen.
No, America didn't just happen.
Without those pieces,
without those Latin folks,
those black folks, those
Asian folks, the Indians,
without the women,
without those people,
that stuff wouldn't happen.
And also, we're also
getting to the point,
for those of us of color,
where we get just mad
at white people for no reason.
I'm sorry, there were white
people who came over here
who created this country.
And yes, there were some
horrible things that happened.
But if they hadn't
come over here first,
we wouldn't be sitting
at Google right now.
So we need to
elevate all of them,
but we definitely need to
elevate the folks of color.
Because their story
hasn't been told yet.
And so every time we
elevate someone else
we're letting some
kids see, oh, I
can do something else,
which is also pushing
something else in this country.
We have Google because
somebody thought of it.
Some kid's going to see this,
see this, see you, and go, oh,
snap, I want to make that.
And they're going to make
something even greater
20 years from now.
So we need to
elevate these people
so that this country can
keep being the great country
that it is.
[APPLAUSE]
LEXI LAWSON: I'm
going to quote you.
INTERVIEWER: One of my
favorite lines in the show
is, "immigrants-- we
get the job done."
[? LEXI LAWSON: ?] Doo,
doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
INTERVIEWER: Yep.
[LAUGHTER]
And there's always a
huge roar of applause.
Does the reaction ever
change from night to night,
or is it always there?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: OK.
LEXI LAWSON: Sometimes this is--
[LAUGHING]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: I
think I've figured it out.
Usually, it's a great
big roar every night
if we get the slap right.
[LAUGHTER]
This is terrible to say.
But everybody is so
hyped about the line,
but they also know
that after we say it--
"immigrants-- we get
the job done"-- smack.
If the smack is off, the
audience goes-- ah-- oh.
[LAUGHTER]
And 99.9% of the time, we
get that bad boy right.
And they're, like,
yeah, immigrants!
But if we go, "immigrants, we
get the"-- they're like, yay--
oh, come on, man.
[LAUGHTER]
Get the slap right.
And then we know--
they always know if
it's down, they're like,
James and Javier messed up.
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: Backstage,
we're all like--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yep.
There's no applause,
that's what happened.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: We
messed up the slap, damn.
INTERVIEWER: So I think we have
just one microphone over here.
If anybody in the audience,
you have questions for anybody
up here, please line up.
Oh, we got one already, Yeah?
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah, get it, girl.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: No, I just thought
of it when you said that.
But thank you guys
so much for coming,
and for the amazing
work that you do.
I'm super excited.
But my question is--
I know we were just
talking about the lines.
And there are so many
incredible lines in this.
I don't think I've ever
memorized a whole album before.
But what are your guys' all
favorite lines from the show?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Ooh.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Ooh.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: History
has its eyes on you.
I think that is like
a mantra in itself.
Everything you do,
you're being watched.
And you're going to change
things no matter what you do.
I think that's the
best, personally.
LEXI LAWSON: Include women
in the sequel, [? word. ?]
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
That's a good one.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: It is.
JOANNA JONES: I really
like, who lives,
who dies, who tells your story?
And at the very end of the show,
we say who tells your story?
And I love looking
out into the audience,
and just thinking about what
our purpose all is here,
and what we're going to leave
behind, and what people will
remember us for, and
the good that we do,
and just to make the most of the
time that we're on this earth.
Yeah.
I think it's an
impacting line for me.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: You're going
to have to help me with this,
because I know the first part.
I don't know the second part.
Legacy, what is a legacy?
JOANNA JONES: Oh.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Planting seeds--
ALL: --in the garden
you never get to see.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: The reason
why that line is cool to me, is
not because of the line itself.
As a rapper, to put
what is a legacy?
A legacy is a--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Planting seeds
in a garden you're
never going to see.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Planting seeds
in a garden you
never get to see.
Lin as one of the dopest
lyricists in the world.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: He's insane.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
On the Mixtape,
he has a song with
other rappers.
And what's really
fun to me is, here
are these guys who make
a living being rappers.
And here's this musical
theater guy who eats them up--
[LAUGHTER]
--in the rap.
That line, the way it's written,
the way the rhyme scheme is,
the way it comes in, the fact
that legacy and never get
to see--
legacy is a word, never get to
see-- that's a couple of words,
that he put that together.
That is one of the
coolest lines in the show.
To be just, as a
writer, you're just
like, that is just amazing.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Yeah, next question.
AUDIENCE: So you're
doing did this
show many days a week, for
many weeks, for many months
sometimes.
It's obviously an
amazing show, but how do
you kind of keep
your job interesting?
Do you guys ever
get bored of doing--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Well, number one--
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
There's, literally, there's
many ways we keep
our jobs interesting.
LEXI LAWSON: There's
so many, yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Number one, I think,
honestly, the thing that
keeps you on your toes
and invested
constantly is that--
INTERVIEWER: The
double turntable.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
The double turntable.
JOANNA JONES: Oh!
LEXI LAWSON: Of course.
You get used to that, though.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
The turntable, yeah.
That suddenly becomes nonsense.
But this show is hard.
And because of that,
there's a rotating cast.
Like I was out last night.
I'm probably going
to be out tonight.
I have a [? messed ?] up knee.
But it makes you have to
work with someone new that
has a different
interpretation of the role.
So constantly, I'm looking--
my mom is a different
person sometimes.
I'm like, all right, what
are you going to do, mom?
And this mom doesn't go to the
left, she goes to the right.
And she doesn't want to
conduct, she just punches me.
JOANNA JONES: (LAUGHING) Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: And I'm
like, Syndee used to punch me.
[LAUGHTER]
Like, it keeps you invested.
And then off-stage, we're
a bunch of goofballs.
There's no one serious
in that building at all.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: I don't
know what you all are doing.
I'm very serious.
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: Oh no.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Look, in
a purple velour pimp suit,
there is nothing
serious about this man.
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
And plus, we have a lot
of lines to deliver.
There's no way you can become--
what is it called when--
JOANNA JONES: Complacent?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Checked out?
LEXI LAWSON: Like, checked out.
Some people, they're
doing eight shows a week,
it's robotic for them.
You can't do that
with this show.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Not this show.
LEXI LAWSON: We must deliver--
I mean, how many
words are in our show?
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Ridiculous.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: And we
get eaten up sometimes, too.
Sometimes, the words
start coming out,
and then you start saying
things about bananas,
and you don't know what--
LEXI LAWSON: Right,
it's happening.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
It just happened.
Not me.
Not one of anyone of us.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
How dare you?
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: None of us.
JOANNA JONES: It wasn't even us.
No.
LEXI LAWSON: I think we're
very alive and present.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: And
especially because we're
telling a story that
needs to be told,
there's no room to
become complacent.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Also,
every night, is a new audience.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: I mean, we
do have repeat
people who come back.
But most the time, it's a
brand new group of people.
And these people paid
their hard-earned money
to come see the show.
So you really want to give
them the best show possible.
We know how we would
feel if we paid a hundred
some-odd dollars to see a show.
We don't want people coming
in, just be like phone
it in, like, yeah, it's cool.
You're like, yeah, I'mma
just phone this in, you know.
And people are laughing because
I said a hundred some-odd.
They're like--
[LAUGHTER]
They're like, wait,
wait, where'd you
get your tickets from?
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
$100?
That is not what I paid!
[LAUGHTER]
Talk to my broker
about that one.
But yeah, you want
to give the audience
the best show possible.
And when those people pay
astronomical amounts of money
to see the show, you want to
give them everything you can.
Because folks-- don't get
me wrong, they love us.
But if you've waited
a year, you don't
care if somebody is sick
or hurt, or something.
You're like, I want
to see "Hamilton."
It better be good too.
So that's what we
try to give them.
INTERVIEWER: You mentioned
Barack Obama came.
Who was your favorite
celebrity or well-known figure
that has come to see the show?
ALL: Oh.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: James Comey.
That was biza-- It was
like the craziest--
well, the craziest--
LEXI LAWSON: He is so tall!
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Because--
OK.
So wait.
LEXI LAWSON: Oh my gosh!
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: So no one
tells us James Comey is here.
There's this, obviously,
just one tower in the house.
LEXI LAWSON: I got to--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
You're like, what is this?
LEXI LAWSON: Hold on, I'm sorry.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
He's like this.
LEXI LAWSON: He's
like this tall.
JOANNA JONES: Oh my god, Lexi!
Oh, my god.
LEXI LAWSON: No lie.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: And I'm
just like, I'm doing my,
the ten dollar, I'm
like, what is that thing?
[LAUGHTER]
And then I'm doing
the show, and I'm
like, whoever's sitting
behind that person
must feel so shitty,
because they're not
seeing "Hamilton" tonight.
JOANNA JONES: Oh, no!
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: It's
not going to happen.
JOANNA JONES: Oh, no.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: And
neither is the other person
behind that person.
No one's seeing it.
JOANNA JONES: That's sad.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: But
then I find out it's him.
And then I spent the
whole show thinking,
what is he
experiencing right now?
Because it was right
after he got fired.
So it was this like, mind--
I'm not going to curse.
Mind--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
You already did.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I did?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Whoops.
[LAUGHTER]
Mind--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: There's
a child in the audience, man.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Sorry, hi!
ALL: Hi.
[LAUGHTER]
It just messed with my mind,
to like, spending the entire--
I'm thinking, like,
what is he experiencing
watching this show?
And then Sanjay
Gupta was there too.
I didn't say that right.
But then, we had a conversation
about what he experienced
probably watching the show.
And it was just like, god, being
in American politics, watching
American politics, the
history of America politics--
oh, god, it was awesome.
[LAUGHTER]
So cool.
That was my favorite.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
That's a good one.
I mean-- ooh, jeez.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Go Lexi.
LEXI LAWSON: Every time.
We get a lot of
celebrities and people.
I don't know who.
I really enjoyed when
Hillary Clinton came.
That was my second show.
[CHEERING]
JOANNA JONES: Whoa.
[APPLAUSE]
My second show was her.
And I was like, ah, but she's
fantastic, and she's amazing.
And you know--
OK.
I'm not going to elaborate.
[LAUGHTER]
But that was something else.
That was something else,
and really special.
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Do you
have a favorite?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
I do, but it's
because it's going
to sound really bad.
JOANNA JONES: Oh, no.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
I don't get tripped out
by regular celebrities.
I don't get tripped
out by politicians.
I'm like, yeah, whatever.
I am a certifiable nerd.
And I am a huge comic book nerd.
I am a huge musical nerd.
And I'm a huge professional
wrestling nerd.
Yes.
I said it.
[LAUGHTER]
And the former United States
WWE champion, Kevin Owens
came to the show, and I lost it.
[LAUGHTER]
Because he's an amazing
heel/villian on the WWE.
And everybody knows
how horrible he is
and what he does,
blah, blah, blah.
And he comes to this
show with his wife,
and he's the nicest guy.
And he's like, oh, my god.
How do you do that?
You're jumping off a table.
You're going around a circle.
And I'm like, you fell
off a cage last night!
[LAUGHTER]
What are you talking about?
Like, I've met some
of the guys before,
and they come to "Hamilton,"
and they literally trip out.
They're like do you
guys do this every week?
I mean, how does it happen?
And I'm looking at
them like, I literally
saw you step on
a man last night,
and you are amazed
by what we're doing?
And so we just had a great
nerd-to-nerd relationship.
Like, he loves musical
theater, I love wrestling.
So we just had a great time.
So people were like, James.
James Comey's here!
I was like, yeah,
yeah, what's up, dude?
You got fired.
Cool.
[LAUGHTER]
And other people come, I'm
like, oh, Shaq, what's up, bruh?
Hey, bruh, cool-- you
know, WWE comes up,
I'm like, (YELLING) I love you!
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: You
have a favorite?
JOANNA JONES: I don't know.
I mean, I've only been
there a few weeks.
There's been some dope
people coming through.
Chance the Rapper, everyone
was really excited--
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh my god!
JOANNA JONES:
--about him coming.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh yeah.
He was there.
JOANNA JONES: And Shaquille
O'Neal was there last night.
That was fun.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Now, see.
That's a big dude.
Shaquille is bigger
than James Comey.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh, my god.
JOANNA JONES: By height?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Shaquille is 7'.
And Shaquille--
LEXI LAWSON: I don't know.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
--touched my hand,
and literally, the
brother's fingers were here.
[LAUGHTER]
It was like, you know when
men try to shake hands,
we try to be cool.
We don't want to be too
bad, we want to be manly.
Be like, yo man, what's up?
He was like, yo,
dude [INAUDIBLE]..
[LAUGHTER]
All right, dude.
Cool.
It's like, you can't be
too manly around him.
You're like, you're so big.
[LAUGHTER]
(LAUGHING) I wish you
could have seen it.
JOANNA JONES: Dude, it was wild.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: All the
dudes kept walking away going,
do you feel small?
[LAUGHTER]
I know I am 275 pounds,
but I feel little.
JOANNA JONES: Oh my god.
INTERVIEWER: That's good.
Let's take another
question here.
AUDIENCE: All
right first of all,
thank you all for
coming very much.
ALL: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: My wife and I love to
rap to the instrumental album.
And it is hard,
between some of rhythms
and the amazing stuff Lin did
together, it is so incredible.
Especially "Lafayette," how fast
some of those lines come out.
And I'm not even thinking about
facial expressions, and stage
positioning.
So I have to wonder--
I'm sure it's never happened.
But should you fudge a
line or just come out--
[LAUGHTER]
--how do you recover, given
how fast-paced the show is?
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
You're right.
You're right.
It's never happened to me.
Right!
[LAUGHTER]
You know what's funny?
There's this old, old
saying on Broadway,
"The show must go on."
I have honestly, only messed
up "Guns and Ships" once.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: And
I say once because I never
wanted to do it again.
JOANNA JONES: Oh, no.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: And
it sounded as if someone
had skipped the record.
So I said, I'm
taking this hook--
I'm taking this hook--
I'm taking this hook--
I'm taking this hook-- and
I never going (SPUTTERING)
and I went on.
And you could see
the dancers going--
[LAUGHTER]
JOANNA JONES: Oh no!
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
And basically,
once my brain rebooted, you
just have to keep going.
There is no stop.
And also, the way
our band works,
they just have to keep going.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
You're on a train.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Literally, you
are on a musical train.
It just goes.
So once I messed up, I
got it and kept stepping.
So we've all had
some kind of flubs.
And the crazy thing
is, with most musicals,
most people don't
know all the lyrics.
This is "Hamilton."
Everybody knows every lyric.
So you can see
the whole audience
do this collective, huh?
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: Huh?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: So you
just get back on it and go.
And then we have this great
thing on Instagram called
#burrscorner.
So if you guys want to go
to it, #burrscorner, you
get to see all of us
discuss our mess-ups.
Because the "Hamilton"
fan family is so big,
the last thing you
want is for someone
to go out and start scooping
you on your own story.
Tweeting, ooh, Lafayette
messed up tonight.
So we quickly go backstage
and tell the fans,
yo, we messed up,
this is what happened.
They're like, oh,
that's so funny.
We're like, oh good,
we got in front of it,
we got in front of it.
[LAUGHTER]
That's basically what it is.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah that
happened recently.
INTERVIEWER: The rest
of you are all perfect.
Let it lay.
LEXI LAWSON: No, definitely not.
AUDIENCE: Thanks for having
this conversation with us.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Of course.
AUDIENCE: Several of
you have mentioned
it's important to change the
mind of people in the theater
about who can play what.
And we've talked about learning
about the women behind the men
throughout history, and
anyone can play anyone.
So how about women
playing male roles?
LEXI LAWSON: Well yeah,
I've been saying that
from the beginning.
Go ahead.
[INAUDIBLE]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
So I have a dream--
LEXI LAWSON: OK.
OK.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: --that one
day, Uzo Aduba will be Burr.
Because that would be the
most incredible thing.
INTERVIEWER: Oh that
would be amazing.
She--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: She
has to fight Cynthia Erivo.
Cynthia wants it really bad.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Look they
can both do it back to back.
[INAUDIBLE]
But you know, four shows
each, six months each.
Whatever you want, I'm
down to watch, just
be at the gospel, that
would be that experience.
Because hell yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: I think
it's going to happen.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
It'll happen, I think.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
I think it will.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
I'm not Bethany Knox
from Telsey Casting.
But if you are Bethany
Knox from Telsey Casting--
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: All right.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: You know.
AUDIENCE: I would
second, hell, yeah.
ALL: Hell, yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
INTERVIEWER: Yeah?
AUDIENCE: Hey.
You all kind of touched on
this a little bit already,
but I was wondering
if you could talk
about what it's like interacting
with the fans of this show
and how it's, maybe, different
from other shows you've done,
or if it's not different?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh, my god.
JOANNA JONES: I think
it's really beautiful when
you meet people and you
hear how long they've
been waiting to see the show.
And you don't know what
they did to get there
and what it means to them
personally and stuff.
So getting to talk
to those people,
and just see the
light in their eyes,
and see what it means
to them specifically
is just so rewarding.
And I also love talking
to the little children.
They're just so adorable.
And I want to know what they're
seeing when they see the show.
I loved this one time when I
met this little 7-year-old boy.
And I was like, hey,
did you like the show?
And he was like, well, I liked
Act I. I was like, oh my god,
what do you mean?
[LAUGHTER]
He was like, Act
II was really sad.
I was like, (LAUGHING)
I know it was.
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: That's awesome.
I think what's interesting,
with our fans, that's
different from any other show
is this new idea of fanart.
I've never experienced fanart
in any of my other shows
where they draw you.
And it's interesting,
because, let's say, I
put up a picture
with Joanna and Mandy
Gonzalez, who plays Angelica.
A week later, comes this
beautifully drawn art
of the picture, and it's good.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: I mean, you
could buy these pictures
and blow them up and
put them on your wall.
And I'm like--
I don't know how--
does anybody know how
to draw in here really well?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: This
is Google, are you serious?
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: Drawing for me is--
I don't know how it works.
I can't wrap my head
around it and how you
can be so precise and perfect.
And they're just fantastic.
This new generation
of children have
been birthed knowing
how to draw, apparently.
[LAUGHTER]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
It's amazing.
And so the girls share a suite
with three different rooms
where our dressing rooms
are, and we have a hallway.
And so that's where we put
all of our fanart there.
So we have a fanart wall,
which is really beautiful.
INTERVIEWER: They'll actually
mail in the pictures?
LEXI LAWSON: They
mail in the pictures.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Or they come
to the stage door with them.
LEXI LAWSON: Or they come
to the stage door with them.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
There's a girl that has--
LEXI LAWSON: Alexis
[? Ledger. ?]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Is that
the girl that I'm thinking of?
LEXI LAWSON: I don't
know, but she's fantastic.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Are we
thinking the same thing?
LEXI LAWSON: Probably.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: There's
this girl that literally-- she's
so sweet.
I think she's from
Czechoslovakia?
LEXI LAWSON: OK, no.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
She comes with this--
I'm talking like, I'm
going to blow up the art.
I want it, it's amazing.
And I was like,
you're an artist?
She was like, no, I'm
studying medicine.
I was like, what?
[LAUGHTER]
JOANNA JONES: Wow.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
What do you mean?
And I guess the fact that
your hand has to be so--
I don't know.
The preciseness of
surgery and art?
I don't know.
But the art is incredible.
LEXI LAWSON: No, it's amazing.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: But I
think the most incredible thing
is that our fan has no
face or age or race.
It's just like a conglomerate
of any type of person.
And there are people
celebrating their 90th birthday
at the show, and they're
celebrating their 7th birthday.
And you're on the same
line, and both of them
ready to do "My Shot" with us.
That's awesome.
Where do you get that?
I haven't been in a show that
has had that experience before.
LEXI LAWSON: No.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Amazing.
Yeah, all right.
Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Take a
last question over here.
AUDIENCE: All right,
last question.
Hi, thank you so
much for being here.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: Thank you.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Oh, she said no.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: One more.
One more.
OK, so I'll try to
make-- mine is quick,
but it's kind of two parts.
First part is, you've have
this amazing experience now
that has really elevated
the voice, the perspective
around theater.
Given your backgrounds, given
the diversity of the cast,
being a Latina in
tech, sometimes I
feel like, because
I'm under-represented
in an environment
like this, that I
have a sense of
responsibility, which I do.
Showing up authentically,
showing up with a purpose,
unapologetically,
but at the same time,
having to be perfect.
Do you get this same sense?
Do you have those
sentiments when
you go and you are performing?
Do you have this sense
of responsibility
and a sense of
having to be perfect?
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah, I 100% do.
But I also think the
ideal expectation
of wanting to be perfect
is also your demise.
It's also your downfall.
And I've learned that
with this show, that,
when I took a backseat to
not having to show up and try
to be perfect, but just try
to do the best that I can
every day.
And then that's
when I realize life,
and that fears have
subsided, and then I
can be who I am
without necessarily
being apologetic or feeling that
I have to represent something
a specific way every day.
Because we're all human,
and we all make mistakes.
And even though
I'm of color, I'm
trying my best to represent
who I am with knowing
that I am not perfect.
So that's my advice, at least
for this, is that I come and do
"Hamilton," I tell this story,
I do it to my best ability,
because I know that this
message has to get there.
But I'm the messenger, you know?
AUDIENCE: Thank you,
[INAUDIBLE] So now
that we've talked about how
this experience has really
elevated, what's next for you?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Oh, my god.
AUDIENCE: Now that you have this
experience, after "Hamilton,"
let's say, do you have
any idea in mind what
you want to do next?
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
The sky's the limit.
ALL: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
But I think we all
have aspirations for
more TV and film.
And I will say this.
The thing that is
really weird is
that now, reading a script,
when it comes to me, if it's
a theater script,
I go oh, but this
isn't as good as
"Hamilton," so now what?
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
And everything
has to rise to the occasion.
And it's both
amazing and horrible.
Because now I'm
judging everything
in a very different way.
But it's just because
Lin wrote a dope musical.
And like, why would I
want to not do this?
Now my aspiration is I want
to escape into other roles.
When are you bouncing?
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON: But I also
think, as a society,
and what's going on
right now in the world--
and I feel like it's important
to say this, is that,
the reason why there's five
companies of "Hamilton"
that's going--
there's one that's
coming up in London.
And there's another second
tour that's coming out--
is that this message
of the show needs
to be told, especially
with the times
that we're living in right now.
And so if you're not
familiar with "Hamilton,"
then I suggest that
you buy an the album
and listen to the
political views.
Because although we
are a Broadway show,
we are talking politics.
And I think it's a
really wonderful idea
that, as actors, we've
had the ability to be
able to use "Hamilton"
as a platform to share
our personal views on politics.
And you can very much see
how we feel on Twitter
about a lot of things and
to be able to have the voice
to be able to share what maybe
you all are thinking as well.
And you all may not necessarily
have the voice to do that.
And that's why I feel like
things like with the NFL,
and things like
that are going on--
and I won't get into
that-- but that's
why I think "Hamilton's"
really important,
so that we can share this
message across the world.
And so what's next
is that I hope
to continue sharing messages
that will uplift and encourage,
inspire in any way or
any capacity, someone
to be their better selves.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: And
also, the main message,
at least what I
take from the show,
is history has its eyes on you.
LEXI LAWSON: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: What
are you going to do with that?
As a person-- you say
that as a Latina woman,
you feel that you have to
come in here and be perfect.
Just be you.
Just being--
AUDIENCE: Pave the way.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Well, of course.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Yeah.
LEXI LAWSON: Yes!
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Yes.
LEXI LAWSON: Paving the way.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Paving
the way for other folks.
But what's funny is history
does have its eyes on you.
And it sees what you're doing.
And the way folks see you and
what you bring to the table,
they go, oh, cool, I
met a girl like that.
That's cool, that they
see someone else that
maybe looks similar or
has your personality.
They can go, oh,
yeah, you know what?
Yes, you know what I mean?
So I feel that that's
what the show says.
The show says what
you're doing is not
just not being seen by people.
When you come to work,
you're representing yourself,
but also, you're bringing
your heritage with you.
You're bringing your style.
You're bringing your mom's
views, your dad's views,
your family's views.
And those positive things
are going to touch folks.
And I think the reason
why the five shows go out,
they let people know look,
hey, you may disagree with me,
but it's how you respond
to the disagreement
that people are going to
remember, not the fact
that we had a disagreement.
It's going to be how
you responded to it.
Are you going to do
something positive,
or are you going to go
out there and act a fool?
History has its eyes on you.
Folks are watching.
LEXI LAWSON: And at Google--
I mean, Google and "Hamilton"
correlate very well together.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
They're like sisters.
LEXI LAWSON: You guys are
at the top of your game,
and so are we.
I would work for Google.
I'm ready to come work for you.
[LAUGHTER]
[INAUDIBLE]
[APPLAUSE]
I want to be here.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
You want get the one more?
INTERVIEWER: Yeah.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: You
wan to get that one more?
She's got one more.
Come on.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, let's do
one more question over here.
AUDIENCE: Thank you, guys,
so much for being here today.
JAMES MONROE
IGLEHART: No problem.
AUDIENCE: So I want to ask--
so growing up, studying
theater, and even up until now,
who have you looked up to,
or who has influenced you
and what did you learn
from them, or whatever,
how did you bring
that into your role?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
I have a few folks.
First, I got to say my mom was
a music teacher for 38 years.
She's retired now.
And my dad was an
actor in the '70s.
So I always had this
around the house.
The way I act--
just imagine a cookout.
A bunch of Igleharts just
all doing characters, being
ridiculous, and being stupid.
That was my household.
But there were certain
people in musical theater
that I looked up to.
There was a guy
named Ted Ross, who
was the original Lion in
"The Wiz," who won the Best
Featured Actor Tony in 1979.
Then there was Chuck
Cooper who won,
I think, in 1996, he
played "In the Life."
And then there was
Brian Stokes Mitchell,
Norm Lewis-- all those guys.
And what's funny is
three of those guys,
I'm actually friends with, which
is weird, to be in college,
and listen to the CDs
and go, oh my gosh,
it'd be so cool to
sing like those guys,
and then be next to
them, and talk to them,
and have them talk to me.
So they were great influences
on what I do on the stage.
But also guys I never thought--
I didn't get to
meet them-- but I
got to meet a couple my heroes,
Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal.
And I didn't get to
meet Robin Williams,
but I met folks that knew him.
And folks that came
to see "Aladdin"
told me that he saw the clips.
And he-- meet a
lot of the heroes
that I grew up looking up.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: I think the
most influential, growing up,
was John Leguizamo for me.
The things he did, and the
things he still continues to do
are insane.
There's nobody, there's
no reincarnation of him.
It won't happen.
He is a master at what he does.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: The
best solo performer, period.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: If you have
not seen him do a solo show,
I think HBO right now
has-- is HBO affiliated?
I don't know.
HBO has "Ghetto
Clown" right now.
And "Ghetto Clown"
is phenomenal.
He just tells the story
of him growing up.
But he plays every single
person in his life.
And it's on like, on
the snap of a-- or drop
of a-- what is the phrase?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Yeah, drop of a dime.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
Drop of a dime.
He's his mother, and then
he's his grandfather,
and then he's himself again,
and then, he's his girlfriend.
And it's insane.
And I think watching him--
all of his films, growing up--
my parents, for some reason,
let me watch his films.
Which I was like,
what are you doing?
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: Right.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: But
like, 15-year-old watching
"To Wong Foo," I was like,
I'm going to be in drag one
day and do that.
I need to do that.
He is--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: You
realize when that musical comes
out, you just [? cast ?]
[? yourself. ?]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: From your
mouth to everybody's ears,
please!
I'm ready!
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah, he's the one for me.
Yeah.
JOANNA JONES: I
think maybe vocally,
like in musical theater, I'd
have to say Audra McDonald
and Barbra Streisand are the
most striking and just really
affected me growing up, the
sounds and the excellence
with which they work at.
They're just the top for me.
And Dame Judi Dench,
oh my goodness.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
[? Word. ?] Yes, yes.
That was nice.
Britney Spears-- I'm
just [INAUDIBLE]..
[LAUGHTER]
LEXI LAWSON:
(SINGING) I did it--
[LAUGHTER]
You know, when I was growing
up, my parents, they were lucky.
I didn't bother them.
I kind of just like--
they were.
It was interesting.
They'd give me "Sound of Music."
And I'd put "Sound
of Music" on repeat,
and do everything that
Julie Andrews was doing.
And then I'd throw
on "Mary Poppins"
and do the same exact thing.
And then I'd invite my friends
over, and get in costume,
and do them, but
reenact everything.
And that was me as a kid.
And growing up
multiracial, Mariah Carey
was also super cool for me.
But that was my thing.
I've just been a Broadway
gal since I was little.
I didn't even know
what Broadway was.
I was like, oh,
they do what I do?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
[LAUGHTER]
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA:
So it's just--
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
That does not shock me.
LEXI LAWSON: [INAUDIBLE]
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you so much.
So we're a little bit over time,
so we'll wrap this up here.
Visit them online,
hamiltonbroadway.com Tickets
are on sale now,
beginning in March 2018.
[LAUGHTER]
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART:
Everybody knows that.
JOANNA JONES: Is that real?
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, that's real.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: See
you in eight months.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: Well, that's
at least with the website.
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART: $100?
What?
No.
INTERVIEWER: [? Correct ?]
me if I'm wrong, anybody.
Yeah, Instagram and
Twitter, @HamiltonMusical.
They're at the Richard Rodgers
Theater, 226 West 46th Street.
I cannot thank you all enough.
Thank you.
ANTHONY LEE MEDINA: Thank you.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
[APPLAUSE]
