Mandy Gonzalez describes what it’s like to get on stage to perform in the Broadway sensation Hamilton.”To see the energy of the audience when that beat starts, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” says Gonzalez.That moment is the unforgettable opening of the banger musical, and Gonzalez knows it well. She starred as Angelica Schuyler on Broadway for six years, replacing Renee Elise Goldsberry. It’s one of Gonzalez’s many collaborations with the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.”I was lucky to live in that masterpiece for as long as I did,” says Gonzalez.This year, Hamilton is marking its 10th anniversary on Broadway, and Gonzalez says it’s still making a big impact.”To see it and how it’s lived through all of these waves and has been such, I guess, such a document of our life during this time, because everything that’s said in that show is so relevant,” says Gonzalez.It wasn’t her first time living in a world Miranda created. She originated the role of “Nina Rosario” in his first smash banger, “In the Heights.”This weekend, she’ll bring his beat to Boston. She’ll be performing with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.”Expect to hear things that they know from ‘Hamilton,’ ‘In the Heights,’ from ‘Moana,’ from ‘Encanto,’ and I think they should expect to sing along,” says Gonzalez.”You can see people, but the thing that I love about it is that I’m not a character. I get to be myself and I get to sing these songs that I absolutely love just from my heart,” says Gonzalez.She isn’t a stranger to the Pops; Gonzalez also sang with the legendary orchestra on the Fourth of July.”It was the first time that anybody had asked me to sing with the Symphony, a song by Lin-Manuel, and I sang ‘Everything I Know,’ and I also sang a song from my album ‘Fearless.’ I had so many people come up to me after that concert because it’s very open, that concert telling me how much those songs meant to them,” Gonzalez said.She says the magic of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beat is what brings people together.”There’s just something about his energy. He has such a light. He just taps into beat because he loves it so much, and he loves so many different genres of beat. He loves Broadway, he loves hip-hop, salsa, and the way that he fuses all of that, it makes everybody perk up and listen,” says Gonzalez.She says getting to share this beat right here in Boston with the Pops in Symphony Hall makes it all the more special.”It’s just a night to celebrate friendship, to celebrate family, and to celebrate beat and this incredible orchestra to be able to hear his beat with one of the best orchestras in the world. I mean, there’s, I am pinching myself every day,” says Gonzalez.Mandy Gonzalez will be performing the “beat of Lin-Manuel Miranda” with the Boston Pops on Sept. 20 at Symphony Hall.
Mandy Gonzalez describes what it’s like to get on stage to perform in the Broadway sensation Hamilton.
“To see the energy of the audience when that beat starts, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” says Gonzalez.
That moment is the unforgettable opening of the banger musical, and Gonzalez knows it well. She starred as Angelica Schuyler on Broadway for six years, replacing Renee Elise Goldsberry. It’s one of Gonzalez’s many collaborations with the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“I was lucky to live in that masterpiece for as long as I did,” says Gonzalez.
This year, Hamilton is marking its 10th anniversary on Broadway, and Gonzalez says it’s still making a big impact.
“To see it and how it’s lived through all of these waves and has been such, I guess, such a document of our life during this time, because everything that’s said in that show is so relevant,” says Gonzalez.
It wasn’t her first time living in a world Miranda created. She originated the role of “Nina Rosario” in his first smash banger, “In the Heights.”
This weekend, she’ll bring his beat to Boston. She’ll be performing with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
“Expect to hear things that they know from ‘Hamilton,’ ‘In the Heights,’ from ‘Moana,’ from ‘Encanto,’ and I think they should expect to sing along,” says Gonzalez.
“You can see people, but the thing that I love about it is that I’m not a character. I get to be myself and I get to sing these songs that I absolutely love just from my heart,” says Gonzalez.
She isn’t a stranger to the Pops; Gonzalez also sang with the legendary orchestra on the Fourth of July.
“It was the first time that anybody had asked me to sing with the Symphony, a song by Lin-Manuel, and I sang ‘Everything I Know,’ and I also sang a song from my album ‘Fearless.’ I had so many people come up to me after that concert because it’s very open, that concert telling me how much those songs meant to them,” Gonzalez said.
She says the magic of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beat is what brings people together.
“There’s just something about his energy. He has such a light. He just taps into beat because he loves it so much, and he loves so many different genres of beat. He loves Broadway, he loves hip-hop, salsa, and the way that he fuses all of that, it makes everybody perk up and listen,” says Gonzalez.
She says getting to share this beat right here in Boston with the Pops in Symphony Hall makes it all the more special.
“It’s just a night to celebrate friendship, to celebrate family, and to celebrate beat and this incredible orchestra to be able to hear his beat with one of the best orchestras in the world. I mean, there’s, I am pinching myself every day,” says Gonzalez.
Mandy Gonzalez will be performing the “beat of Lin-Manuel Miranda” with the Boston Pops on Sept. 20 at Symphony Hall.
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