Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail Present Freestyle Love Supreme Return Engagement
(© Tricia Baron)
Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon Steingart, and Jill Furman have announced a strictly limited return engagement of Freestyle Love Supreme, a high-energy show that is a blend of hip-hop, improvisational theater, music, and vocal stylings, all backed by live music from keyboards and beats. Conceived by Kail, Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale, Freestyle Love Supreme begins previews on January 30, with an official opening on February 12 at the Greenwich House Theater.
Freestyle Love Supreme features Andrew Bancroft, a.k.a. Jelly Donut; Arthur Lewis, a.k.a. Arthur The Geniuses; Bill Sherman, a.k.a. King Sherman; Chris Sullivan, a.k.a. Shockwave; Anthony Veneziale, a.k.a. Two-Touch; and Utkarsh Ambudkar, a.k.a. UTK. The six performers spin cues from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers.
"When Lin and I were developing In the Heights, our friend Anthony kept grabbing Lin during breaks from rehearsal and freestyling," said producer and director Thomas Kail. "When I heard them, I knew they were on to something special. We spent years crafting the show after that, and many of our favorite, and most hilarious memories, are from Freestyle Love Supreme shows. We've been waiting for just the right moment to bring the show back to New York. It's time!"
"Freestyle Love Supreme is the most exciting thing I've ever been a part of in my life," said producer Lin-Manuel Miranda. "There is nothing like a live hip-hop show that is improvised from the first moment till the final curtain, and the skill set required to pull it off has introduced me to this deep bench of multi-hyphenate, genius-musician emcees. No two shows are the same, each show its own experience. I'm so thrilled to get the band back together; and even though I'm a coproducer this time around, I selfishly hope they let me jump onstage a couple of times over the course of the run. FLS for life."
Special surprise guests are planned for select performances during the run which could include, in addition to Miranda, FLS members Chris Jackson, James Monroe Iglehart, and Daveed Diggs. All audience cell phones will be checked at the door for a truly memorable and personal experience.
The 80-minute show is directed by Thomas Kail and features set design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Lisa Zinni, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Nevin Steinberg. General management provided by Baseline Theatrical.
