Freestyle Love Supreme is an

improvisational Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

hip-hop (also known as

freestyle rap Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

) comedy musical group started by

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and '' In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animat ...

and Anthony Veneziale in 2004 and directed by Thomas Kail. In 2022, the group completed a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical run at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance ...

History

The idea for the project started during rehearsal breaks for Miranda's first Broadway musical, ''

In the Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of ...

''. During shows, the performers rap and beatbox, backed by keyboards. Unlike traditional, scripted musicals, the audience is intended to be engaged and participate in the show, providing suggestions and occasionally even being brought on stage. Before being performed on Broadway, there were performances at Ars Nova in 2004, 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005, as well as many other performances including Joe's Pub, Google Zeitgeist, Greenwich House Theater, Mo Pitkin's, and others. Members of the group appeared in several episodes of the 2009 ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

'' revival, on which Miranda, Sherman, Jackson, and Sullivan were regular music contributors. The group created an 11-episode television series that aired on

Pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body *Pivot turn, a dance move Companies *Incitec Pivot, an Austra ...

in 2014. Now available for a fee on Prime video and Youtube The group performed its Off-Broadway and Broadway shows in 2019–2020 in celebration of their 15th anniversary. The story of the group and musical is featured in the 2020 documentary ''We Are Freestyle Love Supreme'', directed by Andrew Fried, who began filming the group in 2005. The film contains footage shot over the 15 years of the group's history.

Cast and crew

Cast members have included the following, though other members have appeared, sometimes unannounced. The opening night performance on Broadway featured nine guest stars. ; Vocal performers The following performers have performed rap or

beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

on the show: *

* Anthony Veneziale - a.k.a. Two Touch * Chris Sullivan - Shockwave *

Utkarsh Ambudkar Utkarsh Ambudkar ( ; born December 8, 1983), also known by his stage name UTK the INC, is an American actor, rapper, and singer. He is known for his film roles including '' Pitch Perfect'' (2012), ''Game Over, Man!'' (2018), ''Blindspotting'' (20 ...

a.k.a. UTK the INC. * Chris Jackson a.k.a. C-Jack *

Kaila Mullady Kaila Mullady (born April 11, 1993) is an American beatboxer, beatrhymer, musician and actress. She won on Beatbox Battle World Championship 2015 & 2018 by category solo female. She is a former member of the Beatbox House crew. Kaila is a curr ...

a.k.a. Kaiser Rözé * Andrew Bancroft a.k.a. Jelly Donut *

Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...

James Monroe Iglehart James Monroe Iglehart (born September 4, 1974) He met his wife Dawn in the Mt. Eden High School show choirBlank, Matthew"The Genie of Broadways Aladdin James Monroe Iglehart"playbill.com, March 18, 2014 and they married in 2002. Filmography ...

a.k.a. J-Soul *

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

* Ashley Pérez Flanagan * Aneesa Folds a.k.a. Young Nees * Jay C. Ellis a.k.a. Jellis J * Morgan Reilly a.k.a. Hummingbird * Dizzy Senze * Mark Martin a.k.a. Mandible * Tarik Davis a.k.a. Tardis Hardaway * Gable Johnson III a.k.a. Honeycomb ; Keyboardists The following keyboardists have accompanied the vocal artists: * Arthur Lewis a.k.a. Arthur the Geniuses (Sings during "True") * Bill Sherman a.k.a. King Sherman a.k.a. And Bill * Ian Weinberger a.k.a. Berger Time * Kurt Crowley a.k.a. The Lord and Lady Crowley * Alan Markley * Richard Baskin Jr. a.k.a. Rich Midway * James Rushin a.k.a. Shifty Hills * Simone Acosta a.k.a. Sims * Victoria Theodore a.k.a. Gigawatts ; Crew * Cody Renard Richard, Production Stage Manager

Performances

''Freestyle Love Supreme'' was performed on Broadway at the Booth Theatre from October 2, 2019 through January 12, 2020. On October 7, 2021, the group began a three month limited run back at the Booth Theatre. After four months on Broadway, the show finished the Broadway run on January 2, 2022. ''Freestyle Love Supreme'' announced that they would do a National Tour, with stops in 11 cities. The tour will start on January 21, 2022 at the American Conservatory Theater, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The tour concluded at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

, in California on August 7, 2022. Their performances consist of freestyle "games" including: What Ya'll Know, On the Fence, True, Day in a Life, Foundations of Freestyle, Pet Peeves, Home, Second Chance, Deep Dive and more.

References

External links

Official website
{{Special Tony Award, state=collapsed Broadway musicals Off-Broadway musicals Musicals by Lin-Manuel Miranda 2019 musicals Musical groups established in 2004 2004 establishments in New York City