The AndyGram

“Lin-Manuel Miranda is a marvel, but nothing could have prepared us for the astonishing achievement of Hamilton,” said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “Alexander Hamiltonwas born in the West Indies, the only Founding Father who was an immigrant, and Lin’s genius is to tell the story of the birth of the United States as an immigrant’s story. The energy, the passion, joy, tragedy, and raw intelligence of this show are stunning.”

HAMILTON, featuring a cast of historical figures that includes George Washington, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, will begin performances on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 and run through Sunday, February 22, 2015. Miranda performed a song from HAMILTON for President Obama and the First Family at the White House in 2009 during its first-ever White House Evening of Poetry & Spoken Word. Watch it here http://1.usa.gov/1bGCQbh. Inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, HAMILTON is produced with the support of Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, and Jill Furman.

The Public Theater has a long history of developing new musicals, most notably A Chorus Line in 1975, which went on to win the 1976 Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as eight additional Tony Awards. Other musicals developed by The Public include The Pirates of Penzance; Two Gentleman of Verona; HAIR; The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Bring In ‘da Noise, Bring In ‘da Funk; Caroline, or Change; Passing Strange; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; The Total Bent; February House; Giant; Here Lies Love; Love’s Labour’s Lost; and Fun Home.

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA (Playwright/Alexander Hamilton) is the Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer-lyricist of Broadway's In the Heights. In the Heights received four 2008 Tony Awards (including Best Orchestrations, Best Choreography and Best Musical), with Lin-Manuel receiving a Tony Award for Best Score, as well as a nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Off-Broadway, In the Heights received nine Drama Desk Nominations (including Best Music, Best Lyrics) and an award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Additionally, Lin-Manuel received an Obie Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the show. In the Heights was also recognized as a Finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. He is the co-composer (with Tom Kitt), and co-lyricist (with Amanda Green) of Broadway’s Bring it On: The Musical (2013 Tony nom., Best Musical, 2013 Drama Desk nom., Best Lyrics in a Musical). Bring It On’s Second National Tour began in January 2014. As an actor, Lin-Manuel received a 2007 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance, and the 2007 Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performance courtesy of Actor's Equity Foundation for In The Heights. He appeared as Charley Kringas in the 2012 City Center Encores! production of Merrily We Roll Along,directed by James Lapine. His TV and film credits include “The Electric Company,” “Sesame Street,” “The Sopranos,” “House,” “Modern Family,” “Do No Harm,” “Smash,” “How I Met Your Mother,” The Sex and the City Movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and 200 Cartas. He is a co-founder and member of Freestyle Love Supreme, an improvisational hip-hop group that performs regularly in New York City. The group has also toured the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as the Aspen, Melbourne, and Montreal Comedy Festivals. Their first TV special airs on the Pivot network March 8. Lin-Manuel has contributed new songs to the revival of Stephen Schwartz' Working and worked with Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim on Spanish translations for the 2009 Broadway Revival of West Side Story. He previewed his upcoming work, Hamilton, at Lincoln Center Theater’s 2012 American Songbook Series and at New York Stage and Film’s 2013 Powerhouse Theatre Season at Vassar College.

THOMAS KAIL (Director) received a Tony nomination for his direction of In the Heights. His additional Broadway credits include the new plays Lombardi and Magic/Bird. Other credits include In the Heights (Off-Broadway - Callaway Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics nomination); Broke-ology and the world premiere of When I Come to Die at Lincoln Center Theater; The Wiz at New York City Center; the world premiere of The Tutors at Second Stage Uptown; the world premiere of Broke-ology at Williamstown Theater Festival; the world premiere of A.R. Gurney's Family Furniture at The Flea; the national tour of In the Heights; and Once on this Island at the Paper Mill Playhouse. He is the co-creator and director of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme, which played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Montreal Comedy Festival, and Melbourne Comedy Festival.  His television credits include directing episodes of 2 Broke Girls; Oprah Winfrey's 2010 Primetime Oscar Special for ABC; the pilot episode of Storymakers for AMC; as well as serving as the Executive Producer of TV Special Freestyle Love Supreme for Pivot; He was also the co-music director and consulting producer on first season of PBS show “The Electric Company.”He is a recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and a graduate of Wesleyan University.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the Constitution. As the first Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington, he was crucial in establishing a national bank, and became the leader of the Federalist Party. He also wrote 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers, documents that supported and helped ratify the Constitution, and which still serve as the most important source of Constitutional interpretation. Hamilton was born and raised on an island in the West Indies and arrived in the Thirteen Colonies in 1757 to further his education at King’s College, later named Columbia University. Hamilton passed away in 1804 after being wounded in a duel in New Jersey with Vice President Aaron Burr. Following his death on July 12 of that year, he was buried in the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in Manhattan.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER AT ASTOR PLACE    

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day.  Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues—including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe’s Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City’s five boroughs. The Public’s wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company’s dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, a new initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, including Public Lab; and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions.  The Public Theater is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and in October 2012 the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company’s core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. Key elements of the revitalization included infrastructure updates to the 158-year old building, as well as construction of new exterior entry stair and glass canopy; installation of ramps for improved accessibility; an expanded and refurbished lobby; the addition of a mezzanine level with a new restaurant lounge, The Library at The Public, designed by the Rockwell Group. The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater’s year-round activities.  www.publictheater.org

TICKET INFORMATION HAMILTON begins performance on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at The Public Theater at Astor Place and will run through Sunday, February 22, 2015. Public Theater Memberships guarantee early access to tickets and are available now for a $60 tax-deductible contribution. Please call (212) 967-7555 or visit www.publictheater.org for more information. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street.  

#   #   #