As far as I can remember, I've never participated on a live online discussion before, but that changed yesterday when
I appeared on HuffPost Live's daily segment to discuss
Lin-Manuel Miranda's remarkable new Broadway biomusical
Hamilton: An American Musical, which currently is playing at the Richard Rogers Theater.
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| The segment host |
A HuffPost producer,
Felicia Kelley, had read my
VICE review--praise song--of the musical, and invited me to join several veteran theater critics--
Jesse Green, senior theater critic for
New York Magazine;
Suzie Evans, senior editor at
American Theater; and journalist and playwright
Michelle Williams in discussing why Miranda's creation is so popular and important. We connected on
Google Hangout, which I've heard people mention before, but this was the first time I'd ever used it, and I highly recommend its simplicity and functionality.
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| The set-up in my office |
I was extremely nervous, though, and despite the fact that we'd been prepped a bit about the direction of the conversation, we had no idea what questions the segment host,
Caroline Modaressy-Tehrani, would ask. It also was live and unedited, so what we said was exactly what viewers saw and heard. I think I acquitted myself decently under the circumstances, and did remember to mention US history, immigration, race and casting, the musical's relevance in relation to the current presidential campaign, and the fact that it includes multiple styles of hip hop, including beat box, chopper and freestyle moments. Otherwise, it was a blur, but a fun one, and I loved hearing what the theater critics had to say about Miranda's masterpiece.
A few hours after that I gave an evening reading at the university, without a hint of nerves. I'll be posting on that tomorrow. Enjoy the discussion, and above all, if you can,
go see Hamilton!
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| My screen grab during the conversation |
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