{"id":9853,"date":"2022-01-14T10:36:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T09:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=161983"},"modified":"2022-01-14T10:50:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T09:50:14","slug":"lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying\/","title":{"rendered":"Lin-Manuel Miranda on Sondheim, his love of G&S and wrestling with history in Hamilton: \u2018Anyone who tells you that Sondheim isn\u2019t an influence on their music or their work is lying\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Freya Parr\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 14 January 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

In my seventh-grade music class, we had to pick a composer to write a biography of. I picked Hector Berlioz because I thought he was Latino, because I\u2019d never met a non-Latino named Hector before. Thanks to this error, I ended up falling in love with his Symphonie fantastique<\/em> and the way he winds these themes around one another and keeps unravelling them. I remember hearing the drumroll at the end, which represents the head rolling away from the guillotine, and thinking, wow. I couldn\u2019t believe classical music could do that! I did a deep dive on his music at a very formative time. You care the most about music when you\u2019re 13.<\/p>\n\nThe musicals you\u2019re lucky enough to do at school become a part of you on a cellular level, because you rehearse them so intensely. I was lucky enough to be cast as the Pirate King in ninth grade, which means I got the job over a senior which was extremely validating. Someone is very mad at me for getting that role so young! To engage with Gilbert and Sullivan is to engage with a masterclass of lyric writing. The way the lyrics sit on top of the music is pretty exceptional. As someone who was listening to hip hop every minute he wasn\u2019t doing The Pirates of Penzance<\/em>, I saw the two as being quite similar. The joy of finding the right words in the right order to sit atop the music \u2013 that\u2019s a tradition as old as time. Seeing the Major-General working out how to rhyme \u2018strategy\u2019 with something else is so funny and exciting. The thing I love about the lyrical tradition of hip hop is the unexpected rhyme, not the pure rhyme. It\u2019s the left-field one, and they play with that and have fun with that.<\/p>\nI continue to find solace in the incredible Latin music I grew up with by artists like Rub\u00e9n Blades. He was a blessing and a curse in my family \u2013 a blessing, because his music taught me how much story you can get into the lyrics of a song, but also a curse because he\u2019d gone to law school, so my parents tried to persuade me to do the same! His use of lyrics was so clever though. It wasn\u2019t until I listened to \u2018El Padres Antonio \u2013 Y El Monaguillo Andres\u2019 about the 100th time that I realised it was about a priest getting killed, because I\u2019d danced to it at parties. He was able to marry this real-world poetry to this incredible danceable tune. You stop and listen to the lyrics and it\u2019s the story of Romero and his martyrdom and the lyrics are so gorgeous.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Spotify\" embed:=\"\" el=\"\" padre=\"\" antonio=\"\" y=\"\" monaguillo=\"\" andres=\"\" width=\""100%"\" height=\""80"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\""autoplay;\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" src=\""https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/2iyffU4KcLybIIn7MvkiuH?si=d8e85c0af8b74b70&utm_source=oembed"\"\/>\nAs I\u2019ve been mourning the death of Sondheim, I\u2019ve been listening to the music he loved. He talks a lot about Ravel and Debussy. All I know of Ravel is Bolero <\/em>\u2013 that\u2019s the hit single.<\/p>\nSondheim\u2019s score for Sweeney Todd<\/em> is a masterpiece. It\u2019s Sondheim doing his best homage to Bernard Hermann and the incredible horror scores he wrote. What\u2019s thrilling about the Sweeney score is that it zigs when you think it\u2019s going to zag. When Sweeney\u2019s about to cut Judge Trippin\u2019s throat, it breaks into \u2018Pretty Women\u2019, which is maybe one of the most beautiful ballads Sondheim ever wrote. There\u2019s a delicious tension created when he goes to beauty when you think he\u2019s going to horror and vice versa. The \u2018Johanna Quartet\u2019 in the second act is made up of some of the most stunning melodies \u2013\u00a0but takes place when Sweeney is literally slitting throats. When I heard it performed recently and I heard the Johanna reprise, the line \u2018We learn, Johanna, to say goodbye\u2019, I burst into tears. How many different ways did Steve teach us how to say goodbye? That will be here long after the rest of us have gone.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"'"Pretty\" women=\"\" sweeney=\"\" todd=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/omD3m-xwBWk?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\nAnyone who tells you that Sondheim isn\u2019t an influence on their music or their work is lying. They\u2019re either chasing him and emulating him or they\u2019re consciously running from him. That\u2019s how big his legacy is.<\/p>\nHis mentor and father figure Oscar Hammerstein once said to him, \u2018you\u2019re trying to write like me, but you\u2019re not like me. Your concerns are not my concerns. You\u2019ll be 90% ahead of everyone else if you can write like you rather than like me.\u2019 That was a really important message for me to hear. Dig down on what you \u2013 and only you \u2013 can bring to the table.<\/p>\nThe biggest thing I take from Sondheim\u2019s writing is the element of surprise and variety. There\u2019s not one score where there isn\u2019t incredible rhythmic and melodic variety. When I was working on Hamilton<\/em>, Steve really encouraged me to develop that piece, and I\u2019d occasionally be brave enough to send him demos. Every time, he\u2019d write back saying \u2018variety, variety, variety\u2019. The tricky thing about writing hip hop for the stage is when our head starts bopping, we stop paying attention to the lyrics. It\u2019s important to always surprise the audience \u2013 I really took that feedback to heart. He encouraged me, but he also encouraged Jonathan Larson, Jeanine Tesori, Tom Kitt, Dave Malloy and Jason Robert Brown and so many others.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-161999\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Alexander-Hamilton-Closing-Night-55a6edf.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""SAN\" juan=\"\" puerto=\"\" rico=\"\" january=\"\" lin-manuel=\"\" miranda=\"\" and=\"\" the=\"\" cast=\"\" of=\"\" title=\""Closing\" night=\"\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton<\/em> on the closing night at Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nRent <\/em>hit me in a much more profound way than just its score. Of course, it\u2019s a revolutionary score, but it hit me in a what-are-you-doing-with-your-life way. I saw myself in its plot. I wanted to make movies and write songs, just as the characters did. It had a diverse cast and was the most truly contemporary New York musical I\u2019d ever seen. When I was growing up, A Chorus Line <\/em>and West Side Story <\/em>were period pieces. It was the show that gave me permission to write musicals. It was when I went from liking musicals to think I could write one someday. It handed me a key in a very tangible way. There\u2019s a direct line between the characters in Rent <\/em>and in my musical In the Heights<\/em>: all the characters are fighting gentrification and struggling to stay in their neighbourhood. He was really open about bringing pop and rock influences into the musical arena, just as I later tried to do with bringing Latin and hip hop influences into In the Heights. <\/em>That was the thesis Jonathan threw down and which I believed in and wanted to advance.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=218%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=218%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=258%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=258%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=294%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=294%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=403%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=403%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=451%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=451%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=296%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=296%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=404%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=404%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-162003\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-eb15916.jpg?quality=90&resize=451%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""NEW\" york=\"\" ny=\"\" june=\"\" lin=\"\" manuel=\"\" miranda=\"\" is=\"\" seen=\"\" at=\"\" the=\"\" movie=\"\" set=\"\" of=\"\" tick...boom=\"\" on=\"\" in=\"\" new=\"\" city.=\"\" by=\"\" jose=\"\" perez=\"\" images=\"\" title=\""Celebrity\" sightings=\"\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Lin-Manuel Miranda on the set of tick, tick\u2026BOOM!<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nThe only thing I can have on while I\u2019m writing is tennis. It\u2019s rhythmic and they never have music on at any point, so there\u2019s no infecting the work.<\/p>\nI\u2019m very open about looking to my forebears and the ancestors when it comes to structure and the things you can learn from. Tommy (Thomas Kail) and I used to say that the grandparents of Hamilton<\/em> are Sweeney Todd<\/em>, Evita<\/em>, Les Mis <\/em>and Gypsy<\/em>. With Les Mis<\/em>, it\u2019s that notion of theme and variation \u2013 we\u2019re telling a story over a very long period over a hundred years. How do you bring themes back in surprising and meaningful ways? Plus, we were trying to wrestle with history and bring history to the stage \u2013 as is also the case with Les Mis.<\/em><\/p>\nWith Evita<\/em>, Sweeney<\/em> and Gypsy<\/em>, what you\u2019re looking at is the strong central character, who you need to get the f*** out of the way of. They\u2019re a life force. There\u2019s no negotiating with Gypsy Rose Lee. She\u2019s the hurricane around which everything happens. You see that propulsive Gypsy-like energy in Hamilton<\/em>, but you also see the influence of Sweeney in our prologue. Everyone on stage is tasked with telling that story. Whoever is close to the hurricane of Alexander Hamilton gets the mic and the spotlight. They\u2019re the shows we consciously learned from.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=265%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=265%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=315%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=315%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=359%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=359%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=492%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=492%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=551%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=361%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=361%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=493%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=493%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-162000\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Andrew-Garfield-on-set-Tick-Tick-Boom-New-York-City-d000149.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""NEW\" york=\"\" ny=\"\" june=\"\" andrew=\"\" garfield=\"\" alexandra=\"\" shipp=\"\" and=\"\" lin=\"\" manuel=\"\" miranda=\"\" are=\"\" seen=\"\" at=\"\" the=\"\" movie=\"\" set=\"\" of=\"\" tick...boom=\"\" on=\"\" in=\"\" new=\"\" city.=\"\" by=\"\" jose=\"\" perez=\"\" images=\"\" title=\""Celebrity\" sightings=\"\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp and Lin Manuel Miranda on the set of the tick, tick\u2026BOOM!<\/em> in New York City<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nI don\u2019t see a huge amount of live music. Shows are different, but I\u2019m usually just happy to stay home and listen to music on CD. The exception to that rule is \u2018Weird Al\u2019 Yankovic, because that dude has a four-octave range and has to impersonate Madonna and <\/em>Nirvana over the course of a night. In a lot of instances his work has outlived the person he\u2019s spoofing, and he puts on a hell of a show.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Weird\" al=\"\" yankovic=\"\" polka=\"\" power=\"\" live=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lqW1WOPZPsY?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\nI remember seeing him at the Beacon Theatre in New York City when I was a teenager and my friends and I had balcony seats right at the back and we screamed \u2018Yoda\u2019 and he played it as his encore. We couldn\u2019t believe it. To grow up loving Weird Al Yankovic is to grow up appreciating all styles of music, because there\u2019s no genre that\u2019s safe from him for parody. You learn to understand that we\u2019re all taking the same 12 notes from a piano and everything else is just harmonics and elasticity. I\u2019m really grateful that he was one of my heroes growing up because it allows me a certain amount of flexibility when it comes to what you can do with genre.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-162004\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2022\/01\/Lin-Manuel-Miranda-Red-Carpet-7f6e27a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""HOLLYWOOD,\" california=\"\" november=\"\" note:=\"\" image=\"\" has=\"\" been=\"\" converted=\"\" to=\"\" black=\"\" and=\"\" white.=\"\" lin-manuel=\"\" miranda=\"\" attends=\"\" the=\"\" afi=\"\" fest=\"\" opening=\"\" night=\"\" gala=\"\" premiere=\"\" of=\"\" netflix=\"\" title=\""2021\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Lin-Manuel Miranda attends the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix\u2019s tick, tick\u2026BOOM!<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n\u00a0Lin-Manuel Miranda has recently made his directorial debut in the Netflix film adaptation of Rent creator Jonathan Larson\u2019s semi-autobiographical musical, tick, tick\u2026 BOOM!, which is available now to stream on <a href=\"\/\/www.netflix.com\/gb\/title\/81149184"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Netflix<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Freya Parr Published: Friday, 14 January 2022 at 12:00 am In my seventh-grade music class, we had to pick a composer to write a biography of. I picked Hector Berlioz because I thought he was Latino, because I\u2019d never met a non-Latino named Hector before. Thanks to this error, I ended up falling in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9854,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/lin-manuel-miranda-on-sondheim-his-love-of-gs-and-wrestling-with-history-in-hamilton-anyone-who-tells-you-that-sondheim-isnt-an-influence-on-their-music-or-their-work-is-lying-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Freya Parr Published: Friday, 14 January 2022 at 12:00 am In my seventh-grade music class, we had to pick a composer to write a biography of. I picked Hector Berlioz because I thought he was Latino, because I\u2019d never met a non-Latino named Hector before. Thanks to this error, I ended up falling in…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/9853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}