Lin-Manuel Miranda drops previously unheard ‘Hamilton’ track

So what exactly happened after Alexander Hamilton cheated on his wife in Broadway’s hit musical “Hamilton”?

Well, according to the show’s head-honcho, he went to speak with his friend and confidant George Washington about a little situation that we’re going to call the “Maria Reynolds dilemma.”

On Friday (March 13), Miranda decided to bring up the country’s morale by releasing a previously unheard track from his Tony-Award winning show. Titled “I Have This Friend,” the two-and-a-half-minute song follows Hamilton after his ongoing affair with Maria Reynolds.

Throughout the track, we hear the show’s protagonist refer to himself as “this friend” instead of outright admitting what he did. He also reveals that he’s pretty much being blackmailed by several men (a reference to “We Know”) and sets the stage for the big public reveal in “The Reynolds Pamphlet.” Washington also warns Hamilton to be careful of who he hurts, which, we assume, is a call to the track “Burn.”

The track features Miranda taking on both positions as Hamilton and Washington who was played by Christopher Jackson in the original cast.

You will also notice the usage of the line “the world turned upside down,” a direct reference to “Yorktown (World Turned Upside Down)” from the first act of the show as well as the ongoing “wait for it” line that can be found in several of the musical’s tracks.

“Wish I could send you peace of mind via this app,” Miranda tweeted to his legion of followers. “Alas. But I can send you music no one’s heard. Here’s a cut Hamilton/Washington tune called ‘I Have This Friend.’ No one’s heard it, not even Kail.”

“This was my first draft of the song before ‘The Reynolds Pamphlet,'” the singer reveals on Soundcloud.

“With Hamilton & Washington. I don’t think I even showed it to Tommy Kail. It would go where ‘Hurricane is now.’ Stay safe out there. Love you.”

Listen to the track above.

On Wednesday (March 12), it was announced that all Broadway shows would be suspended effective immediately until mid-April due to Coronavirus fears. “Hamilton” performances in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami have been suspended.

Want to be in ‘The Room Where It Happens’? The ‘Hamilton’ movie will do just that

Remember when Lin-Manuel Miranda told us to “Wait for It” because his “Hamilton” news was going to “Blow Us All Away“?

Well, guys. He was right.

On Monday (Feb. 3), the Jack-of-All-Trades announced that the “Hamilton” film was, in fact, happening in conjunction with Disney and gave us all an official release date.

“Disney presents: Hamilton. With the original Broadway cast. Filmed on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. In a theater near you. October 15, 2021,” Miranda posted on social media.

But before you assume that this just going to be Hollywood’s take on the Tony-Award winning show, you will be wrong.

As per Miranda and a press release for the upcoming flick states, “This movie transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. Combining the best elements of live theater and film, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience Hamilton.”

Filmed right before the original cast left the production, this will give fans the chance to see the original actors “One Last Time.”

The original cast of “Hamilton” featured Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan, and Anthony Ramos.

Odom, Jr., Diggs, and Goldsberry all won Tony Awards for their performances in the show.

Last month during an interview at the Sundance Film Festival, Miranda was once again asked about the musical making its way to the big screen. He teased that it will invade theaters “hopefully sooner than later.”

And he was right.

In case you didn’t read everything above and are thinking “What’d I Miss?,” “Disney Presents: Hamilton” is due out Oct. 15, 2021.

Jackie Evancho channels Elphaba’s somber in ‘I’m Not That Girl’

Musical theater fans rejoice because Jackie Evancho is back with another take on a Broadway staple. On Friday (Sept. 20), the songstress unleashed her version of “I’m Not That Girl” from the Broadway hit Wicked.

Originally sung by Idina Menzel (or Kristin Chenoweth if you’re listening to the reprise), the song keeps the somewhat somber feeling though the clip in a sense. Instead of watching our protagonist deal with her feelings of not being enough for a man, the video concentrates on a group of women who don’t feel like they are enough in general.

In a similar sense, the black-and-white footage reflects how these powerful women don’t feel like they’re enough for the world around them, but when they do make the realization that they are enough, splashes of color start to appear around them.

“In the video, I wanted to stand strong together with other strong independent women who show no signs of conforming to today’s society, embracing their uniqueness, and marching to the tone of their own beats,” Evancho said in a press statement about the inspiration behind the music video.

Watch the music video for “I’m Not That Girl” above.

“I’m Not That Girl” is featured on Evancho’s recently released Broadway-inspired album, The Debut.

The Debut features some newer Broadway classics like “Requiem” from Dear Evan Hansen, “Once Upon A December” from the recently closed Anastasia, and “Burn” from Hamilton (which Evancho released the music video for in April) as well as classics like “Somewhere” from West Side Story, “Whispering” from Spring Awakening, and “Another Day (No Day But Today)” from Rent.

For those not familiar with Wicked, the show tells the story of Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (later changed to Glinda) when they were frenemies at Shiz University. They eventually become best friends (after Glinda realizes she’s a snotty brat) but like with most stories, things take a turn for the bad which inadvertently results in the story we all know from “The Wizard of Oz.”

The production was based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Jackie Evancho channels Eliza Schuyler’s heartbreak in ‘Hamilton’ cover

Jackie Evancho won the hearts of music lovers when she was just ten years old and has managed to make the graceful jump from cute “child prodigy” to a full-fledged talented adult vocalist. With her new studio album just a few hours away from being released, the singer has gifted fans the music video for one of the tracks on the album. On Thursday (April 11), Evancho released the music video for her take on the Hamilton track, “Burn.”

The music video for the song finds Evancho playing the part of the heartbroken girlfriend after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Like Eliza Schuyler (Alexander Hamilton’s wife), Evancho has to watch as her significant other’s infidelity is plastered all over the place for everyone around her to see. As she gets sympathetic looks from those around her, the line “the world has no right to my heart” seals that the relationship is over.

Evancho’s video plays homage to how Eliza dealt with the news of her husband’s infidelity in the musical after he publicly revealed his affair in The Reynolds Pamphlet (he did this to avoid having his political reputation tarnished). Eliza goes into hiding to avoid the sympathetic looks but eventually has to put that aside and live her own life.

The almost-four-minute clip was directed by Kamp Kennedy. Watch the music video for “Burn” above.

“Burn” is featured on Evancho’s upcoming Broadway-inspired album, The Debut. The Debut is due out this Friday, April 12, through Vydia. Pre-orders are still available for the record on Evancho’s website.

The Debut features songs from some of Broadway’s current hit musicals like Dear Evan Hansen (“Requiem”), Anastasia (“Once Upon a December”), Wicked (“I’m Not That Girl”), The Greatest Showman (“A Million Dreams”), and more.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt unleash March for Our Lives ‘Hamildrop’

Every single month without fail (since December 2017 that is), Hamilton head honcho Lin-Manuel Miranda has been releasing new versions of his songs from the hit Broadway show. On Monday (March 19), Miranda released his monthly Hamildrop to patiently awaiting fans, but this time, he decided to keep it all in the Broadway family. For March, Miranda teamed up with former Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt to give the world a mash-up featuring a song from each Broadway musical.

The song, “Found/Tonight” fuses together “The Story of Tonight” from Hamilton and “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen. The accompanying black-and-white music video for the song was filmed while both Miranda and Platt were recording the track at Atlantic Records’ studios. In the room (where it happened), fans can spot Hamilton director Thomas Kail as well as Justin Paul, one-half of the Dear Evan Hansen songwriting team Pasek and Paul, watching the show unfold.

According to Miranda, the song is dedicated to the hardworking student organizers who have worked tirelessly on this upcoming weekend’s March for Our Lives event. The march – which will take place this Saturday, March 23 – will find hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children gathering in cities across America, and the world, to call for an end to gun violence.

“In the wake of Parkland, I was awestruck by the strength and leadership of the students and their ability to speak truth to power,” Miranda said in a press statement.

He continues: “In the midst of their grief, they mobilized the youth of our nation and created a movement. This is their moment. Not just for themselves, but for all of us. This song is my way of helping to raise funds and awareness for their efforts, and to say thank you, and that we are with you so let’s keep fighting, together.”

Platt adds: “When Lin called me to be a part of this mashup, I couldn’t say no. Better gun control is something that all Americans should be passionate about. These students are paving the way for future generations and it’s so inspiring to see young people standing up for what is probably the most important cause right now in this country, and demanding action. I hope that this song can play some small part in bringing about real change.”

Watch the music video for “Found/Tonight” above. The song is currently available for download here with a portion of proceeds going to March for Our Lives.