Day: December 4, 2008

Viewers of the Tony Awards this summer probably wondered why Lin-Manuel Miranda decided to ad-lib his acceptance speeches for "In the Heights." But that's where Lin-Man feels at home. Freestyling his lyrical rhymes. And he gets to go home again with his friends and colleagues in Freestyle Love Supreme, who host a sold-out celebration of hip-hop harmonies and humor every month at Comix – this coming Monday's shows (7 and 9:30 p.m., Dec. 8) will raise funds for the New Orleans VideoVoices Project, inspiring otherwise marginalized communities by gathering and celebrating their collective voices (tickets $50-60, but deep discounts for students). The cast of characters includes Lin-Man and fellow MC's Chris "C-Jack" Jackson, "UTK" Utkarsh Ambudkar, Bill "King Sherman" providing keyboard accompaniment, Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan throwing down the beats and sound effects, direction by "TK" Thomas Kail, and leading the proceedings, Anthony "Two Touch" Veneziale. Here is a promo video showing a taste of what you'll hear in an FLS show: Four of the guys met at Wesleyan University, where Lin-Man wrote the first draft of "In the Heights" — Two Touch helped make the show a reality, with TK directing, and Sherman winning a Tony for best orchestrations. C-Jack also plays Benny in the Broadway musical. Universal recently bought the movie rights. And last night, Lin-Man and Sherman saw their names added to the list of Grammy nominees....