The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast

In Part Two of our interview with Michael Luwoye, we hear some behind the scenes Hamilton stories including backstage pranks, being surprised onstage, and how Javier Munoz almost played King George III. Fascinated by Michael's voice? Us too! He tells us why he takes being as clear as possible so seriously, especially with Hamilton. Michael also talks about his time in Invisible Thread and blows us both away by saying some very lovely things about what The Hamilcast means to the Hamilfan community.    Track at the 5:30 mark is "No Regrets" by Aesop Rock. Album: Labor Days. Label: Definitive Jux.

Hello! Have you heard about @HappyBdayLin? Alicia, one of the creators of the fundraising campaign, sent us a message that we wanted to share with you. They are trying to raise money to not only help the wonderful Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, but it's also in the spirit of wishing Lin-Manuel Miranda a happy birthday. Even TeeRico is involved! I'll let Alicia tell it... 

Michael Luwoye helps us celebrate our 50th episode in style! Yes, you read that correctly: Michael Luwoye, the man who made history when he became the first actor to play both Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, is on the podcast. In Part One, Michael tells us about his complex audition process, if he prefers Hamilton or Burr, and blows our minds when he tells us that Theodosia is actually in the show. 

Grab your wig and your kitten heels because this week is all about King George III. Ashley Graffeo schools us on all things #KGIII: from his governing style, to his wonderful wife Charlotte, to his occasionally blue urine. Find out why Ashley thinks the Big Bad of Hamilton may just be a little misunderstood. 

Andrew Chappelle joins us this week and he went IN, friends! Grab the popcorn because we get some great behind-the-scenes tidbits. Andrew told us about #SwingLife and what it's like to have played Aaron Burr, King George III, George Washington, Mulligan/Madison, Lafayette/Jefferson, Laurens/Philip, James Reynolds, and Philip Schuyler in Hamilton. We talk about his favorite character to play, his recent trip to Europe, the wonders of Snapchat, and of course... Patti LuBone. 

The thing about the Reynolds affair is that it was bananas and there were so many people involved. This week, we tackle Ron Chernow's Chapter 21: "Exposure" which is "We Know" only with three entirely different dudes. The endless soap opera of Hamilton's bad decisions is even more convoluted than you think but Chernow reminds us that this is just the beginning. BA DA DA DA DUM.

Playbill's own Felicia Fitzpatrick joins us as we discuss every track on the #HamiltonMixtape. We go IN, so get ready! 

Mike joins us as we recap Lin Manuel Miranda's hilariously boozy "Drunk History" appearance. We also talk about our favorite "Drunk History" episodes, the stories we'd love to tell (Hamilton and non-Hamilton), our favorite reenactors, and start the #Grohl4Hamilcast movement. Plus! Gillian and Mike had a full on In the Heights moment while rehearsing for Mike's new play - in a basement, no less! 

We're back to talking Chernow this week and things are getting meaty, friends. We discuss the start of the two-party system, how the cabinet's fractured into factions, and get into how they smacked each other in the press (anonymously of course) and didn't print retractions. Oh, did we mention that Thomas Jefferson had a Burn Book about Alexander Hamilton? Because that was an actual thing. Daddy's callin'.

It's Thanksgiving week (here in the US at least) and we wanted to give thanks to you, our amazing listeners. You continue to blow us both away and we wanted to express our gratitude. We read some of your beautiful emails, and tell you about some of the incredible gifts we've received including a #HamilPillow and a #HamilFunkoPop - both of which have only been gifted to Hamilton cast members! What?! We still can't believe it. We love you all and we'll talk to you in 5 seconds on Twitter. 

The Hamilcast moves uptown to interview the one and only Patrick Hinds of the Theater People Podcast at his apartment in - wait for it - HAMILTON HEIGHTS! Patrick tells us some behind the scenes details from when he interviewed Hamilpeeps such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Tommy Kail. Plus! Get the inside scoop on his brand new podcast, Broadway Backstory, a documentary style podcast that tells the story of the Broadway shows you love told by the people who lived it. Oh and what show is featured in the first two episodes? Only a little show called In The Heights.

Our resident teacher Ashley Graffeo was lucky enough to participate in #EduHam and stopped by the very next day to tell us every single detail. We talk about the cast member Q&A, the mind-blowing student performances, seeing Hamilton (!!!), and to quote Ashley: “It was beautiful. This is Hamilton’s America. Get it.”

Happy #Hamilween, friends! Join us while we sit in a dark room lit only by candles and discuss haunted locations and spooky stories involving Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, and a special Abigail Adams mention. 

Hello, friends! This week we're unpacking the advanced screening of PBS' 'Hamilton's America' aka #HamilDocPBS and also dive into the fact that... and we can't believe it... we were lucky enough to see 'Hamilton' again. To say that we're overwhelmed with gratitude is an understatement. 

Zeke Stokes, Vice President of Programs at GLAAD, joins us as we go purple for #SpiritDay to support the LGBTQ community and take a stand against bullying. We discuss how Broadway has always been at the front of the line when it comes to acceptance, love, understanding, and allying with the LGBTQ community. And of course we bring it back to Hamilton! 

If The Hamilcast could get more Hamilton, we managed to accomplish it in this episode. Mike joins us to tell us about seeing Hamilton for the first time, Bianca talks about how her boyfriend Dan liked the show, and we gush over the new cast. But wait! There's more! We discuss Spamilton, Jeff Wilser's book Alexander Hamilton's Guide to Life, our experience speaking at the Dalton School about Alexander Hamilton, and we do describe ourselves in #3HamiltonCharacters. See? It's quite a HamilEpisode!

In 1806, Eliza Hamilton, Isabella Graham, and Johanna Bethune started the first private orphanage in New York City known as the Orphan Asylum Society. Over the last 210 years it has evolved into Graham Windham and this week we are proud to welcome President and CEO Jess Dannhauser to tell us all about Eliza's living legacy.   

Hello, hello, hello! Still mourning the end of the live #Ham4Ham? This might help: Howard Sherman, the unofficial (but still pretty official) #Ham4Ham videographer, stops by the room where the podcast happens to tell us about his experience recording these great performances. We braved the Heat Dome to talk about Lin-Manuel Miranda's generosity and genuineness, Howard's favorite #Ham4Hams, and why he thought they needed to be preserved and shared. Good luck with the lotto!

As dog obsessed people we were very excited to talk to Amber Feng, the genius behind @HamiltonAsDogs! Amber tells us all about how she does what she does, what it was like when Lin-Manuel Miranda started following her, and reads us her search history. And, of course, we gush about dogs. Extra special thanks to Matt Tamamini and James Marino from BroadwayRadio who helped us in our hour of need and patched us together to record the audio.

Here it is, friends! The start of Alexander Hamilton's affair with Maria Reynolds. We discuss Eliza's trip upstate and how Hamilton convinced her to stay away even longer, the fact that James Reynolds is a garbage person, and oh yeah! A.Ham wrote his Report on Manufacturers and started a brand new town that ended up a failure. Woof.