Desmond Sean Ellington spent five years on tour with Hamilton as a Standby and recently made his Broadway debut in Hell’s Kitchen, after starting with the show down at The Public. 

Desmond’s story is so interesting because it’s a case study in what can happen when you make the hard decision to leave something behind that you know deep down isn’t meant for you - even if it’s terrifying! In Desmond’s case, he left college without a plan and even though he had no interest in theatre at the time, he always knew he “was going to be a star.” Once he walked away from what didn’t serve him, the whole world opened up. And to be fair, Desmond has an uncanny ability to speak what he wants into existence, like when he gave himself two years to be cast in Hamilton and found himself on tour with the show two months later. 

From performing in Atlanta (shout out to The Alliance Theatre) to seeing the world as a background vocalist for renowned gospel/R&B recording artists, to being bit with the Broadway bug when he saw his first Broadway show at 33 years old, Desmond brings his life experiences to every creative thing he does. 

Desmond Sean Ellington on Instagram

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Award-winning and prolific Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller has finally made it to the podcast! Jeffery has produced Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, Hamilton, The Cher Show, and revivals of West Side Story and Sweeney Todd, just to name a few. Altogether his shows (currently) have 22 Tony Awards, and he's the only Broadway producer to have put up two Pulitzer Prize winning musicals: Hamilton and Rent.

Jeffrey is the author of Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, which the New York Times describes as “a combination coming-of-age and rags-to-riches story that is unsparing in its description of his colorfully challenged-and-challenging father, unabashed in its description of his sexual awakening, and packed with behind-the-scenes detail, especially about the birth of Rent.” Not to mention the audiobook is voiced by a stellar cast of Broadway voices, and talking about them gives Jeffrey an idea *in real time *during our recording. 

In our hour-long conversation, Jeffrey expands on his experience producing Rent with Jonathan Larson, including an emotional retelling of what it was like working on the show after Jonathan’s tragic and unexpected death. He also discusses working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, expounds on Hamilton’s social and political responsibilities (rejecting the current administration's hostile takeover of The Kennedy Center, for example), discusses ways around Broadway’s current ticket prices, and candidly opens up about Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party and The Last Ship with Sting in never-before-heard specificity. 

Plus, Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme, the power of writing a letter to get what you want, and how when it  comes down to it... it’s all about making shows with your friends. 

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JeffreySeller.com

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In Nevin Steinberg's second episode, the award winning Broadway sound designer gives even more insight to some of your favorite Hamilton moments including The Yorktown dance break and the stuttering gunshots heard throughout the show. And get ready to have your mind blown as Nevin shares the evolution of the Satisfied rewind, from Lin-Manuel Miranda's very first demo to the layered masterpiece we all know and love today anddddddd he shares a secret (and creepy! and awesome!) Easter egg that I promise you don't know about.

While taking questions from the Patreon Peeps, Nevin talks a lot about how each sound is specifically chosen to tell a story, and even accents like cannon explosions and snare drums each have "their own personality."  

Plus, Nevin talks about the steam whistle in 2023's Sweeney Todd revival, shares his thoughts on new cinema sound, explains his fascination with what it takes to be a great leader, and why when it comes down to it Nevin is only in it for the banter.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on Soundcloud

The Town Hall in New York City

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Award winning sound designer Nevin Steinberg has made it to the pod! Nevin is such a captivating storyteller and everything he talks about is infused with gorgeous detail and a palpable feeling of both awe and gratitude. You know how they say "how can you not be romantic about baseball?" How can you not be romantic about sound design?! That's what I say, anyway.

In his first episode, Nevin walks us through his early career from working all night editing reel to reel tape with nothing but the ghost light and a healthy fear of the shadows (This is so fascinating and cinematic!! He can still taste the metal of the razor! That will make sense when you listen, I promise! I love it so much!) to dinner theatre and Sunset Boulevard and eventually a chance meeting on 42nd Street when he heard about a project called In the Heights. 

Nevin has the most beautiful things to say about his experience working on Hamilton, including how it saved his career and reinstalled his faith in art and the people he gets to make it with. 

Plus, Nevin explains audio details in songs like "Wait For It", "My Shot", "Yorktown", and "Satisfied" including how they changed from the workshops to what you hear on stage today (no matter where you see the show).

The Wrong Man

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After a quick detour talking about the magic of Rush, Jonathan Dinklage is back for round two and we’re diving into his Hamilton story. After participating in that reading he almost didn’t go to, Jonny says it was all over for him. He knew Hamilton was phenomenal and now he gets to be a part of it. From working with Alex Lacamoire to perfect the material, to getting the now legendary group of musicians together, Jonny is still not over how awesome it is that he gets to do this for a living. 

This week, Jonny talks about why the Hamilton arrangements are so perfect, what it was like playing with legends like Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga, and explains why karaoke is just the best, especially when Paul Rudd is involved. 

UPTOWN MAMAS: A BENEFIT FOR MOMS IN NEED Comes To The Green Room 42 In May

King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King

One More Once - No Middle Ground

Jonathan Dinklage

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Grab your Rush t-shirt and your record collection because Jonathan Dinklage, Hamilton Broadway’s concertmaster, is here to blow your mind. He’s one of the coolest dudes ever and has stories for days, so buckle up.

Concertmaster is a very fancy way of saying that he’s the first violinist in the pit and he’s the direct liaison between the musicians and the conductor. Jonny tries to downplay it (and yes, the term “concertmaster” sounds stuffy and has a lot of weight to it because it’s from the 1870s) but it’s a VERY important role. It’s a gig he almost didn’t take because when Alex Lacamoire called him to do a reading Jonny was like, “I don’t know, man, a reading?” But Jonny heard something in Alex’s voice that made him think that this was something he shouldn’t pass up. 

In addition to Hamilton, Jonny’s a world class musician, arranger, composer, and producer. He’s worked on Broadway for over 30 years - both in the pit and on original cast recordings, he has about a zillion film and tv credits, and he’s played all over the world with legendary musicians, including and most importantly: Rush.

Imagine really, really loving a band for your entire life, spending hours rocking out in your living room (or in the woods with a boombox), fantasizing about being on stage with them, and then one day… there you are… on tour with your idols, ACTUALLY living out your dream. It is the coolest story and like most cool stories, Paul Rudd is involved. 

Van Halen - Eruption

The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

Rush - The Spirit of Radio

Rush - Limelight

Rush - La Villa Strangiato

Jonathan Dinklage

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Manny Schvartzman (Hamilton Music Director and Conductor) wraps up his episodes with some of the best questions he's ever been asked thanks to the Patreon Peeps. Manny discusses his favorite musical moments from the show, little details we should all look for, how he's still learning things even after performing the show over 1,000 times, and why seeing Hamilton is like going to an amazing restaurant.

Plus, his favorite composers, why drummers are the heartbeat of a band, secrets about Hamilton's Exit Music, and the importance of staying curious and always striving to be better than yesterday. Oh, and we're still an Alex Lacamoire Appreciation Podcast :)

Manny on Instagram

REMASTERED: Yunchan Lim 임윤찬 – RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30

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Manny Schvartzman (Hamilton Music Director and Conductor) is back for round two as he continues discussing his experience putting up Rent in Cuba with Andy Señor, Jr in 2014. The whiplash of going from the shiny, multimillion dollar On Your Feet to a space with daily power outages and a lack of running water was an intense, rewarding, and life changing experience. It taught Manny that anything was possible, and theatre could truly be done absolutely anywhere. If he could do that, he could do anything.

After Rent in Cuba and successfully adapting Gloria Estefan's music to a Broadway stage, Manny made his way to Hamilton, which he was a fan of "from day zero." Manny knew about Hamilton before any of us did, and being able to be a part of the show - and to work with his hero Alex Lacamoire - was beyond a dream come true.

In this episode, Manny breaks down his super detailed job of Hamilton's music director (and conductor and keyboard player) and it takes us no time at all to become an Alex Lacamoire Appreciation Podcast, a very familiar topic on The Hamilcast.

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"Revolution Rent" Documentary directed by Andy Señor, Jr. 

Carmen La Cubana: First Look! Hamilton's Alex Lacamoire Adapts Carmen For the Modern World

Alex Lacamoire on The Hamilcast

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I hope you're ready for a deep dive on Team Music because Manny Schvartzman is here! Manny is the music director, conductor, and keyboard one player on Hamilton's Angelica Tour.

In his first episode, Manny walks us through the early stages of his career, which started at around eight years old, when he started teaching himself to play piano and read music with the goal of being a classical pianist. By the time he was a freshman in high school, the word was out in Miami about kid from Buenos Aires who could play piano like nobody's business. Manny was like Schroeder - all about the classical music - and he couldn't be bothered with musicals like Fiddler on the Roof. But once he got a taste of the collaboration and storytelling involved in the theatre world, he never looked back. 

Being his high school's music director at 14 years old was a formative experience and then you combine it with Manny's inherent curiosity, kindness, and relentless work ethic? He's unstoppable. 

Manny was summoned to New York to work on On Your Feet (with the legendary Gloria Estefan) and was simultaneously making history in 2014 when he was part of the team that brought Cuba its first Broadway musical in 50 years: RENT.

Manny on Instagram

"Revolution Rent" Documentary directed by Andy Señor, Jr. 

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Robbie Rozelle wraps up his episodes with the moment we've all been waiting for: Stephen Sondheim stories!! Robbie talks about extensively working so closely with the legend he calls a "deity" and why you always, always (always!) sing what Sondheim wrote on the page. 

Robbie also takes us through creating his cabaret shows and explains why it's all about storytelling. Celebrities? Boring. What do YOU have to say? Let's find out what that is and then find ways to lift people up and make good art with and for the ones we love.

Oh and we are all over the place so buckle up! We're talking Housewives, Taylor Swift, Scandoval (Team Ariana!), The Traitors (Gabby Windey 4eva we heart you Gaggy), the invisible string theory, and our TikTok FYPs.

Robbie Rozelle

@DivaRobbie 

Robbie Rozelle - Songs from Inside My Locker (Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below)

Gabby Windey on TikTok - Gaggy to u

Fairuza Balk

Taylor Swift - tolerate it

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