We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (2020) - full transcript

[car horns honking faintly]

[distant sirens]

CHRIS: [beatboxing]

ANTHONY: Whatever you
want to say, Meredith.

We'll sing about it.

We'll sing about it.

Wow, Meredith's pretty lucky.

BILL: Absolutely.

Mm.

♪ Tiny little purple coat ♪

♪ Meredith checking
what we wrote ♪



♪ But not really,
we're singing it on the spot ♪

♪ Oh, no, she got afraid ♪

♪ It's okay, Chris,
sing something that you made ♪

‐ ♪ We'll sing
a lullaby or two ♪

♪ Want to sing to you ♪

♪ Hope you're not shy,
just sitting around ♪

♪ Waiting on five nice guys ♪

‐ Who's that guy?

[mellow music]

ANTHONY:
Taking it to the streets.

Don't do it.

BILL:
Frogger, Frogger, Frogger!

‐ What?

ANTHONY: All right,
let's bring it in, then.



Mic check on three,
mic check on three, ready?

One, two, three.

ALL: Mic check!

LIN‐MANUEL: ♪ This is mic two,
this is‐‐this is mic two ♪

♪ What, this is mic two,
this is microphone two ♪

♪ This is mic two,
and let's get this turning... ♪

♪ I'm too pretty, whoo! ♪

Well, I think the story
we're telling is that, like,

things aren't linear.
I don't know.

I mean...

Real life's
not a linear narrative.

It's not this and this
and this, like, ascent.

It's all these side journeys,
and people move away,

and they come back,
and life gets complicated.

And you...

you keep going.

There's no end point.

What's that quote?
It's Orson Welles's quote

that was, "If you want to tell
a story with a happy ending,

it depends on where
you end the story."

[mellow music]

♪ ♪

LIN‐MANUEL:
How are you?

WOMAN: Nice to meet you.
LIN‐MANUEL: Nice to meet you.

MAN: Onto the stage?
MAN: I would prefer

not to be last
'cause I have to get‐‐

[overlapping chatter]

LIN‐MANUEL:
Good morning, good night.

I can't be your clown.

[laughter]

ANTHONY:
Great. Cody, you ready?

CODY: Yep, take it away.

ANTHONY: Shall we move
into pet peeves?

Great.

And our freestyling‐‐
how many‐‐let's go from this.

Thank you so very much.
Freestyle Love Supreme.

How many of you seen us before?

[mock cheering]

Yes.
CROWD MEMBER: Single.

ANTHONY: Well, for those
of you just joining us,

our freestyling
is slightly different.

It's not the skiing
or the dancing or the swimming.

Our freestyling
starts with a beat.

‐ [blows]

CROWD MEMBER:
What? That's cool.

‐ [beatboxing]

THOMAS:
Great. Let's hold there.

So, Shock,
when they're ready for us,

just back up to, like,
just finishing the rewind,

and then smashing the record.
We can go from there, okay?

CHRIS: So it's rewind through‐‐
this is all rewind.

‐ Yep,
start with the rewind cue.

Yep. Great, great, great.
Let them work.

One sec.

CHRIS: [beatboxing]

MAN: Oh, that switch.

‐ [beatboxing]

[laughter]

Yeah, okay.

‐ Great, and continuing on,
continuing on.

I think we decided
to get back together

because it's probably
the purest expression of joy

that any of us have ever felt
in doing a show.

‐ Shall we put
Lin‐Man Wiz Gal into it?

MAN: Okay.
ANTHONY: Great.

THOMAS: We hadn't done a run
in New York really since 2004.

We'd been doing one‐offs
and consistent shows

for the last 13, 14 years.

And the last couple years
have been tougher

to wrangle everybody,
and it just felt like

there's an opportunity
for us to get together

for one more ride.

ANTHONY:
We are Freestyle Love Supreme,

but we don't love everything.

Sometimes we downright
just don't like stuff.

So what are some things
that you don't like?

CROWD MEMBER: Cold.
ANTHONY: Cold!

Yes.
BILL: Camouflage.

ANTHONY: Camouflage!

LIN‐MANUEL:
I'm gonna take camouflage.

ANTHONY: Camouflage.

So over here, U. T. K.,
we have‐‐

'cause you're gonna be
going first, yep.

Over here, we have U. T. K.

‐ Crowds.
‐ Crowds.

In the middle, we have taxes.

And over here, we have‐‐

‐ Camouflage!
Who needs it?

[laughter]

ANTHONY: These are a few
of your pet peeves.

THOMAS: There's an energy
around the show that's unlike

any of the other things
that we've done.

And you see a lot of elements
of this energetic field

in our other work.

But I feel like it was
cultivated and shaped here,

so the chance to get back
together as grown‐ups,

this thing that we started as

these younger versions
of ourselves...

LIN‐MANUEL: ♪ You can run
that shit if you want to ♪

♪ I'll be in Sodi's
restaurant, too ♪

♪ With my picture
all up in the frame ♪

♪ 'Cause yes,
I want the fortune ♪

♪ And yes,
I want the fame ♪

THOMAS: It felt like
there is a window because

apparently,
you can be 40 and rapping.

Here we are,
most of us on this side of 40,

or just
on the other side of 40.

And it isn't something
you can do always,

but it did feel like it's
something we could do now.

‐ ♪ Oh I'm sorry,
was your name Rambo? ♪

♪ Were you in the Army? ♪

♪ Why the fuck
you wearing camo? ♪

♪ I can't believe
you wear it as a choice ♪

♪ I wear it on my underwear ♪

♪ Now listen to my voice ♪

Whoo!
UTKARSH: ♪ Oh, my God ♪

♪ That's his balls ♪

♪ Wish I could camouflage
myself, all of y'all ♪

‐ ♪ I can see
his middle parts ♪

♪ His balls have gone missing ♪

♪ And let me just fill out all
the forms that I'm missing ♪

‐ ♪ Ah, fill the forms out,
there eat some mutton ♪

♪ It's the second time I used
my underwear as a button ♪

[applause]
[indistinct chatter]

That's twice the subject
has been on my underwear

in FLS history.

BILL: I'll take camouflage.

That's just
the craziest thing ever.

Oh!

You're welcome.

THOMAS:
Um, this is the squad tonight.

Lin is gonna jump in
for Day in the Life.

Just at the end, so we're not
gonna tease that he's here.

‐ When Lin does stuff,
the audience is gonna, like,

applaud for a long time,

so musically and whatever,
let's leave room for it,

and be prepared for it.

THOMAS: You know,
the one thing about the show

that I found to be true
over the years,

you know,
whether we're doing the show

for 50 people ten years ago

or whether
we're doing the show now,

which is that the way that
you all listen to each other

and engage
with each other up there

is the real magic trick.

Everyone thinks it's the other
stuff and the rhyming,

but that's actually what it is.

You know, the show
has a very simple premise,

which is we are
going to entertain

the hell out of you
for 78 minutes,

and then, like, two minutes
are not gonna be great.

[laughter]

Something is happening
that should be acknowledged.

We're all together
doing this thing again.

It's‐‐I mean, it shouldn't be.
It is.

Just, like, you guys,
instead of playing ping‐pong,

the beat is‐‐is Shockwave.

CHRIS: So it's a mind ball?

THOMAS:
So there's no ball, okay?

But you're
sort of doing freestyle

and going back and forth

and it looks like
you're playing.

‐ And I‐‐I'll keep doing this.

THOMAS:
But all we're gonna see‐‐

‐ Yes.
THOMAS: Yes, exactly, Sherm.

‐ ♪ All day,
back and forth ♪

♪ From south to north ♪

♪ Pow to north ♪

♪ All day ♪

ANTHONY: We had no idea
what we were getting into.

I don't think any of us
would've said,

"Oh, yeah,
this is the beginning

of this crazy journey,"

where a lot of the people
in Freestyle Love Supreme

are shaping what the American
theater looks like now.

Oh, look at Lin's boxers.
That's not what I expected.

[laughter]

THOMAS: You know,
there's a reason why "love"

is in the middle
of the title of the show.

And it's in the middle
of what makes the show...

everything that it is.

‐ ♪ Excuse me, what did you get
in your groceries? ♪

♪ Anything interesting,
you could maybe talk to me ♪

♪ Okay, oh, we freestyle ♪

♪ You got the orange juice ♪

♪ Most pulp, so nice ♪

♪ Your word is pretzel ♪

CHRIS: [beatboxing]

‐ ♪ I'm from Philadelph ♪

♪ We call it soft, pretzel ♪

♪ Damn, don't you understand ♪

♪ I need to give you
a headbutt‐zel ♪

‐ ♪ They give you words,
then you play a little while ♪

♪ Flip a word
or syllable around ♪

♪ That is freestyle ♪

‐ ♪ We taking up too much
of the sidewalk streets ♪

♪ Sorry, Miss ♪

♪ Damn‐‐ ♪
LIN‐MANUEL: ♪ Eek ♪

ANTHONY: The origin story
of Freestyle Love Supreme,

I went to Wesleyan
with Tommy Kail.

He was one
of my co‐conspirators

in making things.

THOMAS: I was this kid
who used to play sports,

and Anthony was someone
who also played sports,

who had this
performing instinct.

And Anthony was someone who,
my junior year of college,

really pulled me
into the theater.

ANTHONY: And in college,
I did an improv show.

And this was
the first time that Tommy

really became a part

of the theater community
at Wesleyan.

Prior to that, he was very
into American history,

and he was,
like, a sports dude.

And he loved hip‐hop,

so we were always, like,
at every house party

rapping together.

‐ I think it was
that next year, '99,

Anthony and I drove to go help
a friend out with his

senior film in Iowa,
and it was supposed to be,

like, a 10‐ or 12‐hour drive.

We were gonna drive
from Brooklyn.

Then we ran
into a hail storm.

And the only way
we could stay awake

was to put on the B‐side

of Daft Punk's
"Around the World."

ANTHONY:
That beat is so pulsing

that you can't
take time to think.

‐ And Anthony and I freestyled
for four straight hours.

That, in some way, was a seed
for Freestyle Love Supreme.

[Daft Punk's
"Around the World"]

♪ ♪

When we got to New York

and started
this little theater company

and decided to work
on In the Heights,

Anthony would grab Lin
at every break

and just start freestyling.

And I'd be
sort of wrangling them back.

I was like,
"Okay, let's go.

We gotta get back
into the thing."

And this is 2002, 2003,

and they kept on doing it
and they kept on doing it.

And they had an idea
to maybe make a show out of it.

‐ Some people decided that

we seemed like
we knew what we were doing,

and so they gave us the keys
to the Drama Book Shop.

Allen Hubby,
who was the owner

of the Drama Book Shop
at the time, said,

"Hey, would you create
theater here?"

We were so young and dumb.

We were like,
"Of course.

We know how
to create theater."

‐ We spent a lot of time
in that basement,

and Anthony was kind of running
the Arthur Seelen Theater.

That was sort of the job.

‐ We just started
making stuff in...

a small room, much like this,
that was painted black

where nobody
was paying attention to us.

And that was our lab.

We did know, though,
that we could, like,

paint walls and buy curtains
and I did some electrical work

down in the basement
of the Drama Book Shop,

which was totally illegal.

BILL: It was, like,
a disaster in the early days.

It was, like, I played
the saxophone during it,

and, like,
that was kind of a disaster.

I didn't really know
how to play the piano.

I still don't really know
how to play the piano,

and so, like, I don't know.

Just seemed like
a bunch of friends

who have been really lucky
and really talented

and really motivated.

‐ We have all had our little

bumps and bruises
along the way,

but those things
are not anything

that would even threaten
the course of the group.

‐ It's the joy
of falling on your face,

the power of being

unres‐‐unfettered
with your friends

and with people you care about.

‐ None of us know
what's happening,

so it's‐‐we're experiencing it
with the audience.

It's a different
kind of communion

than you normally
get in theater.

‐ I feel like
if I'm creating a moment,

I want to be able to pull from
stuff I felt when I was 16,

from when I was five,
from when I was ten.

You gotta be able
to pull from all of it

and stay in touch
with all of it.

Now, what I need
from you all tonight

is a verb,
an action word.

To cry, to scream,
to laugh, to love.

Give me verbs,
as many as you can shout.

ANTHONY: We were doing
shows in New York,

and this producer
came and saw us.

And he said,
"This would be fantastic

at the Fringe Festival."

‐ Yes.

What does NED stand for,
again?

‐ A NED is like
a little smart aleck kid that‐‐

‐ But it stands
for Non‐educated‐‐

‐ Not Educated‐‐
‐ Deviant, or something?

ANTHONY:
Edinburgh Fringe Festival

is the longest‐running
theater festival in the world.

It was a huge
opportunity for us.

‐ We could really, like,
trace the trail to our house.

[laughter]

This is the longest stoplight
in all of Scotland,

and it terrifies me
to cross it.

BILL: Lin, go!
‐ No, it's not green yet.

BILL: Lin, go.

‐ I will not cross
until it's green,

and they all cross ahead
and it's fine

and I just stand here
like an idiot.

I think about that summer

when you had cameras
on us in 2005.

And it was a great summer.

Everything was happening,
and nothing was happening.

CHRIS: [beatboxing]
BILL: Okay, hallaracket.

Someone who is a hallaracket

is wild, rowdy,
and irresponsible.

Go.
‐ Oh.

♪ I'm a hallaracket ♪

♪ I make hella racket ♪

♪ I don't know what to say ♪

♪ I take it
and pack it up like lunch ♪

♪ And then I bunch
and I munch and I funch ♪

♪ Like a fucking
Captain Crunch ♪

‐ Nickitoms
are straps or strings

secured around trouser legs
below the knee.

‐ ♪ Nickitoms
are straps for legs ♪

♪ Nickitoms,
I'm making millions ♪

♪ With my resilience ♪

♪ So trust me
there'll be billions ♪

♪ Like we were
back at Wesleyan ♪

♪ And rapping about
equestrians and lesbians ♪

♪ With my nickitoms
keep my knackers on right ♪

♪ Wear my long pants,
then I do it all night ♪

‐ All night.

[laughter]

I got to say something.

CHRISTOPHER:
There was always a sense that

what we were
trying to put together

was something that
we could make accessible to...

the masses.

♪ Freestyle
in the evening time ♪

[laughter]

♪ Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

♪ Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

ALL:
♪ Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

♪ Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

CHRISTOPHER:
♪ Your word is Scottish ♪

‐ ♪ The word is Scottish ♪

♪ I'm feeling kind of maybe
lukewarm, hottish ♪

♪ This is
Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

♪ We make up rap songs
while you eat your ice creams ♪

♪ Yes, wolf it down,
I like Newcastle Crown ♪

♪ He's got the little bits
of beer in it ♪

♪ But less than
one percent alcohol ♪

♪ So all please
check out our show ♪

♪ 6:50, it's nifty
if you're tipsy ♪

♪ Don't you know ♪

‐ We're Freestyle Love Supreme.
Please, come see our show.

[applause]

[mellow music]

‐ We're gonna go get
a deep‐fried Mars bar,

which is the height
of Scottish cuisine.

That washed down
with some fish and chips.

Fish and chips.
MAN: If they have it.

‐ And vinegar.
MAN: Where?

‐ Deep‐fried Mars bars,
they only have them here.

We went to Edinburgh
the summer of 2005.

I remember a lot
about being there.

I remember watching
the show find an audience.

I remember the first show
having X amount of people,

the next show having
X plus something,

and then it was 2X.

‐ We had a show that worked,

like Freestyle worked.

We thought we'd have audiences
as soon as we got out there,

and that wasn't true.

We had to work
very hard for them,

but our show worked.

And it's essentially
the show we're still doing.

♪ ♪

[gentle piano music]

♪ ♪

Shit.

Did you zoom in
that I was listening

to "Wanted Dead or alive"
by Bon Jovi?

Which is the perfect soundtrack
for where we are right now.

ANTHONY:
A little more of the beatbox

in the front monitors.

Do you guys need it more?
And also the piano monitor.

‐ Yeah, I think, Bill,
you can take‐‐

you can still
take the time you do,

but it's just that Shockwave
kind of has the last word.

CHRISTOPHER:
Tommy's the architect.

Tommy Kail is somebody who
can make sense out of chaos,

which is,
at any given time,

the best way to describe
Freestyle Love Supreme.

‐ Without him, this group
wouldn't be what it is,

and we wouldn't have gotten
here this far.

LIN‐MANUEL: ♪ So don't think,
push me to the brink ♪

♪ So I get another drink,
and I go into the brink ♪

♪ Of disaster,
I asked you ♪

♪ I passed it,
I'm master ♪

♪ Of the universe,
oh, no the universe... ♪

THOMAS: [exhales]

We didn't necessarily
know what we were

aiming at long‐term,

other than can we make
this one thing better?

‐ [laughs]
[mutters]

Oh, Christ.

I hope that's a fish‐eye lens

and my face looks like
fucking Marky Wahlberg.

[mellow music]

♪ ♪

THOMAS: It just doesn't feel
that long ago.

♪ ♪

STAGE HAND: We're code blue.

MAN: I couldn't care less
about them.

MAN: Bro‐‐

MAN: And who is that man‐‐
oh, Lord.

[overlapping chatter]

‐ We call that a deep dive.

♪ ♪

MAN: 'Cause I've gotta
go in there before you.

♪ ♪

UTKARSH: Can somebody
get a tallboy for Bill?

‐ [laughs]

Bill's fine,
thank you very much.

UTKARSH:
Tall Pabst Blue Ribbon.

‐ The Pabst Blue.
ANTHONY: You see this?

‐ Yeah, look,
we're the real thing.

‐ It's officially a show.

BILL: We have
an assistant director.

[laughs]

ANTHONY: Uh, associate.

BILL: Oh, I'm sorry.

My bad, we have
an associate director.

MAN: And there are some posters
that the rest of the guys

have gotten to,
but you haven't,

so I'll put those
on top for you.

LIN‐MANUEL: Okay.

MAN: This is not something
you normally do.

‐ Never signed anything.

SINGER: [vocalizing]

‐ Oh, wait.
I'm on these.

MAN: Oh, you are on those?
LIN‐MANUEL: Yep.

Now this one's
been signed twice.

MAN: Okay, great.

Let me count out what you need.
MAN: Ooh, a rookie mistake.

‐ Should've been signed twice.

I was working
on this other project,

In the Heights,

which is a musical
I wrote in college.

And Tommy and some of‐‐

his friends had seen it.

Tommy had only heard
the soundtrack,

and so the first time
I met Tommy

was at a fundraiser
for their production company.

And Tommy introduced himself.

He was like,
"Hi, I'm Tommy Kail.

"Oh, you wrote
In the Heights?

"It's great.
Listen, I really think

"the third number
in your show should go first

'cause it really
sets up the world."

Barely met him,
and he's already got ideas

for how to do it,
and so I was very taken aback

the first time
I met Tommy Kail.

But then I realized that

it's not coming
from any kind of bad place.

It's that Tommy
has so many ideas

that they just‐‐
they're just‐‐

they just come out.

First time we sat down
and talked about the show,

we realized
we were on the same page.

My first job was at
the Mickey D's up the street.

[mellow music]

♪ ♪

‐ What I love is the people
that, like, look

and then they see
how unfamous we are

and they're just
so disappointed.

‐ Yeah, they're like...

‐ They peek around.
They're, like, ugh.

‐ Oh, for fuck's sake.
‐ I think he's Jewish.

[laughter]

Looks like a Latin guy
and a Jew.

‐ [laughs]

That's the guy
from American Idol.

‐ That's the guy
from American Idol

and a Mexican Bud Bundy.

‐ A Mexican Bud Bundy!

‐ Does anybody ever say
you look like anybody?

‐ It's always,
like, their brother

or their friend
or their cousin.

TOMMY: There's a good chance no
one will ever know who you are.

LIN‐MANUEL: Right.

TOMMY: We just walk by
and so we're not, like,

staring at ourselves.

And by ourselves,
I mean you.

LIN‐MANUEL:
Yeah, I don't know.

I don't have a problem with it.

TOMMY: It's gonna be a full
month before we move in here.

LIN‐MANUEL: Yeah.

I am a dork

when it comes to rhyme.

I mean,
ever since I was a little kid,

like, I've been
putting words together.

I never‐‐
really actively freestyled

until pretty late in life,

but I remember
singing the theme song

for the "Darkwing Duck"
cartoon.

And there's a little line
in it that goes,

♪ When there's trouble,
you call DW ♪

SINGER: ♪ When there's trouble,
you call DW ♪

LIN‐MANUEL: And being like,
"That's amazing.

"How do you think of,
'When there's trouble,

you call DW'?"

And thinking, "What if they
made up the whole show

just to make
those two couplets rhyme?"

'Cause that's something
I would do.

I would build a whole show
just to make the couplet

"when there's trouble,
you call DW" make sense.

[mellow music]

♪ ♪

TOMMY:
The first freestyle was here.

It was on the day
after the blackout.

And they were
supposed to do it downtown.

LIN‐MANUEL: We were supposed
to do it at the PIT Theater,

but the power
hadn't come back on there yet,

so we got our audience,
put a sign up,

and brought them all here.

TOMMY: It was very
"Cradle Will Rock."

LIN‐MANUEL: Yeah, it was very
"Cradle Will Rock."

We're bringing the rap!

TOMMY:
And there were 14 people.

LIN‐MANUEL: Nah, 16.
TOMMY: Damn it.

LIN‐MANUEL: [laughs]

TOMMY: And we walked into this
room in July of 2001.

But we thought, "Let's make
a place where our friends

can come and, like,
spend time."

LIN‐MANUEL: Right.
TOMMY: And was really

the only person
who did it to that amount.

‐ I did.
I took them up on that.

I might sure they were
as good as their word.

It was like, "Lin, honestly,
come whenever you want."

And he did.

[bittersweet music]

♪ ♪

LIN‐MANUEL: I was wary
coming out of college.

I didn't know
these guys very well,

but as soon as Tommy and I met

and I realized we agreed
on what needed to happen,

I felt very lucky, and then
we kind of just got to work.

‐ I think that
what this room reminds me of,

and one of the reasons
I'm probably as proud

of this room
as I am of anything

that I've ever done,
is that in theater,

you make something
and it goes away.

But that's the booth
that we built.

LIN‐MANUEL: Yeah.
The faders.

‐ These are the walls
that we painted.

Like, these are the curtains
that we hung,

and you don't get do to that.

You put something up,
and it goes away.

This was a launching pad.
LIN‐MANUEL: Yeah.

TOMMY: You know,
this was...

it was a birthing place.

‐ Our nexus is a basement
in a book shop

where we used to play the piano
and make up raps.

And here we are,
15 fucking years later.

I have this problem
that I don't believe things

until they actually happen.

I didn't believe
we were in Scotland

until, you know, yesterday,
and to me...

that's what makes me
stay on my toes.

'Cause you literally‐‐we never
know what's gonna happen.

LIN‐MANUEL:
Bill is‐‐Bill's the man.

Bill's Samwise the Brave.

I met him junior year
of college,

and I‐‐he was musical
directing someone else's show,

and I stole him.

I saw how good he was,
and I said,

"You're working on my show."

BILL: Lin came up to me.
He said, "I don't know you,

"and you don't know me,
but we're gonna work together

for a really long time,"
and I thought,

"Great, that's very optimistic
of you, Yoda, sir."

Hey, photo guy.

Truth to him, we became
really close friends.

We worked
on his stuff in college.

We lived together for way
too long after college.

We're very close
still to this day.

He was there
at the birth of my children.

I was there
at the birth of his children.

It's me.

LIN‐MANUEL: It's literally you
with a wig on.

[laughter]

ARTHUR: Why isn't she wearing
a Rangers jersey?

BILL: She's just grumpy.

ARTHUR: I want to see her
at a hockey game.

LIN‐MANUEL: She's like,
"We having White Russians?"

‐ What's with White Russians?

LIN‐MANUEL: 'Cause your first
freestyle show,

you drank three
White Russians with your dad,

and then played saxophone
for an hour.

BILL: You made that up.
[laughter]

ANTHONY: He had a bottle
of vodka as a set piece.

BILL: I had a bottle
of vodka with Russians.

‐ But consider this,
isn't that better?

‐ [laughs]

‐ We're all out there making
each other laugh

and enjoying each other
and having good times,

so it just feels like,

best way to hang out
with your friends,

why not, like,
do it in front of 100 people

and make everybody laugh?

[indistinct chatter]

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

ANTHONY:
Freestyle Love Supreme

has been around now
for, like, 16 years,

which is insane.

It doesn't seem
like a possibility

that this fun idea
to play with dear friends

would continue to be

this long‐lasting show.

LIN‐MANUEL:
♪ My name is Parallelogram ♪

♪ Combined with an elogram ♪

♪ Yeah,
I'm the writer of Hamilton ♪

♪ What is up, my son? ♪

♪ My father, my brother,
what happening, my mother ♪

‐ Polyglot.
‐ ♪ All right ♪

♪ I'm just feeling like
it's punishment ♪

♪ Because I got so much
polyglot in this ♪

♪ I'm gluttonous, yes ♪

♪ I'm putting
this cake in mouth ♪

♪ It's funfetti,
everyone, shout ♪

At its core,
it's a group of friends

expressing themselves
and in some small way,

saying, "I can't wait to hear
what you're gonna say next."

What we do is totally joy,

and it's also special.

ALL: ♪ And that's okay, kid ♪

♪ And that‐‐and that‐‐
and that‐‐and that‐‐

♪ And that‐‐
and that's okay, kid ♪

UTKARSH: Yep.
CHRIS: [imitates explosion]

ANTHONY: "That's okay, kid"
on three.

LIN‐MANUEL: One, two, three.

ALL: That's okay, kid.
[laughter]

BILL: Let's pick a random word.

CHRISTOPHER: Yeah, love.

And this afternoon,
that's a good one.

Ready? One, two, three.
ALL: Love!

One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight.

And one, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight.

One, two, repeat.
One, two, one, two, one, two.

One, two, one, two,
one, two, one, two,

one, one, one, one,
one, one, one, one.

MAN:
Thank you, Cleveland.

‐ [groans]
ASSISTANT: Stand by, guys.

Stand by.

[cheers and applause]

EMCEE:
All right, guess we better...

We better start
the show, then.

ALL: I got your back,
I got your back.

I got your back,
I got your back.

I got your back.
I got your back.

♪ ♪

ANTHONY: Let's bring it in.

Let's do
a mic check on three.

UTKARSH: Oh, yeah.
ANTHONY: Mic check on three.

Everybody in.
One, two, three.

ALL: Mic check.

MAN: This is my own.
This is my own.

CHRISTOPHER:
♪ Hello, this is my seat ♪

♪ Oh, oh ♪

[cheers and applause]

CHRIS: [beatboxing]

‐ Microphone team check.
Microphone. Microphone.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

‐ Ladies and gentlemen.

[rolls tongue]

Yes.

And those who identify outside
and in‐between on the spectrum.

LIN‐MANUEL: Mic check
was a fully practical,

"We can't hear each other."

And if we can't hear each
other, we can't do this

because it's so dependent on,
"Oh, that's the idea let's go."

And so it was all about
getting our monitor right,

and hearing everybody
in the monitor.

‐ We are
Freestyle Love Supreme.

ALL: ♪ 'Preme, 'preme, 'preme ♪

‐ And we are in the middle
of a mic check.

ALL: Check, check, check...

‐ And we're gonna need your
help to complete our mic check.

‐ Cool.

‐ Because our show
is totally made up.

‐ Nuh‐uh!
‐ Yeah.

ANTHONY:
This is an improv show.

It's one of the unique
art forms

that can be both cathartic
for the audience

and for the performers
at the same time.

You see because everything
we do in this show

is completely and 100%
new every night.

‐ Hoy estamos inventando.

‐ It's spontaneous.

‐ That's right.

This is all happening
right now.

CHRISTOPHER:
Nobody knows what to expect.

We have the structure
of our games,

We know who's leading,
we know who's supporting,

We know who's playing,
but that's it.

‐ Every sound
you're about to hear...

‐ [beatboxing]

[mimics bird call]

‐ Every key that is
about to be struck...

[keyboard plays]

Ooh!

Every word that is about
to be spoken...

‐ Hi, Mom.
[laughter, cheers]

You look good.

LIN‐MANUEL: No matter how
many times you've done this,

the way your stomach feels
before you go on stage

before a freestyle show
is exactly the same.

The worst part of this month

was that we only had
one bathroom backstage.

Our stomach doesn't know
that we're good at this.

It goes,
"What the fuck you guys doing?

There's no script!"

You know,
your reptile brain understands

that we're going into

an adrenalized,
unsafe situation

even if you can't‐‐
you can't tell it‐‐

you can't tell your stomach,

"Hey, we've done
this a million times.

Something will happen
and it'll be fine."

‐ It's happening for the first
and last time right now.

‐ Now, now, now, now.

‐ So, why don't we get a word
from you guys,

and we're gonna use that word

to complete our mic check,
okay?

ANTHONY: We kept getting
these invitations.

We did
the Aspen Comedy Festival.

We got invited up to Montreal,

but we needed someone to
replace Lin and Chris Jackson

because they were in
In the Heights

and it was opening at 37 Arts.

Turn, stumble, P.

[indistinct yelling]
What is it?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Swelling.
‐ Swelling?

Is that what I heard?
Swelling?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes!
‐ Swelling. Great.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the word is swelling.

ANTHONY: So, we had sort of
our first round of auditions,

and we'd gotten a
recommendation that this guy,

U.T.K., is a great rapper.

He was an amazing
battle rapper.

‐ I was doing improv comedy,
and then I was doing music,

and there was a huge separation
between the two, right?

So, you can either rap
or you can be funny,

and you can't do both.

And then I walk into this room,

and you know, whatever
Freestyle Love Supreme

was doing at that time fit me
like a well‐worn hoodie.

‐ Like the very first second
that Utkarsh started rapping,

we were like,
"Oh, this is the guy."

♪ Next we got
a whole freestyle team ♪

♪ U. T. K.,
tell 'em what I mean ♪

‐ ♪ Ladies and gentlemen,
Caucasian and melanin ♪

♪ Now I'm up on stage ♪

♪ And yo,
I'm coming from Maryland ♪

♪ Got the beat
and the microphone ♪

♪ To keep them all swelling ♪

♪ What the hell
is going on, man? ♪

♪ I'm rocking this song ♪

♪ And right now, what you
see is the freestyle flow ♪

♪ I know this dude right here
up in a music video ♪

♪ Yeah, I see ya,
I need to drop it free bro ♪

♪ You better be spending this
right on a Wednesday night ♪

♪ But if you didn't,
all right ♪

♪ Now I gotta story to tell ♪

♪ I'm about to introduce
Mr. Lin‐Manuel ♪

LIN‐MANUEL:
♪ Excuse me, excuse me ♪

♪ Excuse me, excuse me ♪

♪ Excuse me, excuse me ♪

♪ Excuse me, excuse me ♪

♪ I'm sorry,
I've got to come on stage ♪

♪ Before my head is swelling ♪

♪ I like my melon, and yo,
I keep from yelling ♪

UTKARSH:
It was extremely comfortable

to play those games
with those people,

and to bring sort of the
Indian South Asian experience

to that group, and to have
it be embraced was awesome.

♪ Listen to me here
on microphone three ♪

♪ Some of you might
recognize me ♪

♪ Know from
the Team Supreme ♪

♪ And let me rock right now
while we chase the dream ♪

♪ We got the keys and the flow
and the beat, you know? ♪

♪ We do it all day long,
kick it with my bros ♪

♪ My name is U. T. K
and I'm fly, you see ♪

♪ But recognize with ease
and I'ma rock this beat ♪

‐ U. T. K, his verbal dexterity

was always
at the highest level.

He was the person that‐‐
from when I met him

when he was 21
or 22 years old,

I knew something was going
on that I had not seen.

[piano plays]

[laughter]

‐ Yeah!

♪ ♪

‐ ♪ Oh, hey ♪

♪ My name is Maddie ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ And your girl is a baddy ♪

♪ Yeah, my name is Maddie ♪

♪ Yes, and I am oh so frugal ♪

♪ I save my money and I save
of all of my rubles ♪

♪ Okay, I'm here ♪

♪ That's right,
and I'll be freaky ♪

♪ And I'm getting ready for me
and my lady's girls' ♪

BOTH: ♪ Weekend ♪
‐ ♪ We're gonna have fun ♪

♪ Gonna practice
all our twerking ♪

♪ Gonna eat lots
of dessert ♪

♪ And it's gonna be
so dang absurd ♪

♪ And we are going... ♪

Tommy broke it down to me
when I started rapping

'cause my background was
to talk about how good I was.

"Look how great I am.
Look how cool I am."

And Tommy said to me,
he was like,

"That's great,
you have the skill set.

That's not what we do here."

He said, "It's infinitely
more interesting

"if you can rap about
the Incredible Hulk

"or a box of Wheat Thins

"or your parents with
the same amount of dexterity

as you rap about yourself."

BOTH: ♪ What y'all know
about milking a cow? ♪

♪ Milking a cow,
milking a cow ♪

♪ I'm about to tell y'all
about a little dream of mine ♪

♪ I just wanna milk a big,
bad, beautiful bovine ♪

♪ Trying to farm and get
my hands on the udders ♪

♪ 'Cause I got to make sure
that she's a bad old mother ♪

♪ Can't be a man cow,
that's called a bull ♪

♪ 'Cause when you pull
something else comes out ♪

♪ That's not cool ♪

♪ But anyway,
I get it going on the teets ♪

♪ And I give a squeeze and it
tastes so, so sweet, yeah ♪

‐ U. T. K. is, I would say,

the best nuts‐to‐bolts rapper
in the group.

‐ Chris Jackson had a friend
named James Monroe Iglehart

that he had just gotten
done doing a show with,

and they used to, like,
freestyle rap backstage.

‐ Don't get me wrong.
It was not given to me.

I had to audition.
So, walked in, did my thing.

‐ Tommy closed the door
to the audition room

and then we turned it
into a rehearsal,

and we started rehearsing.

‐ ♪ Clap your hands,
snap your fingers ♪

♪ Move your hands to this ♪

♪ I will show you how I do it
as I jettison ♪

♪ I love the little place
and I put it in my rhyme ♪

♪ I can pick a rhyme from you
and I then blow your mind ♪

‐ He's too good for half
of this shit that we do.

James sings and it's like,
"You broke the game."

‐ ♪ So, from the time
I'm in the bathroom ♪

♪ And put the water
on my elbows ♪

♪ Walk out to school ♪

♪ We're ready to see
all the other bros ♪

♪ And the sun hits,
bam, ash ♪

♪ Right all over my body ♪

♪ And those boys will have
a wonderful time ♪

♪ Tapping on me was like
an ashy party ♪

‐ Going forward, like,

if we had stopped
at our initial group,

we'd never have met Daveed,
U. T. K., or Jelly Donut.

‐ ♪ So I'll just
take a squeegee ♪

♪ We'll make you come, yeah,
'cause I'm the boss ♪

♪ It's gonna get poetic,
like we Robert Frost ♪

UTKARSH: The other night,
Jelly was on stage,

and my head goes, "We have
to introduce Jelly Donut.

How are we gonna do that?"

You have "Go Buck,"
and then my brain goes‐

[gasps]
"Donut rhymes with go Buck!"

♪ Mic one
and mic two showed up ♪

♪ We need mic three,
he about to throw up ♪

♪ That's right, and go nuts,
that's right and go Buck ♪

♪ Everybody give it up
for Jelly Donut ♪

‐ ♪ Oh, my God, thank you
for your incredible words ♪

♪ I will chew them up
and regurgitate them ♪

♪ Like you the baby birds,
open your mouth ♪

I came in a little‐‐
a little bit later than‐‐

yeah,
I think Utkarsh and James

came around the same time.

But I've had such a good
experience with these guys.

It's sick, right?

It really is becoming
a little bit, you know,

more of who I am.

‐ Because we...
‐ We...

ALL:
We. Are. Freestyle. Supreme.

[cheers and applause]

‐ Now ladies and gentlemen,

we're gonna take you back
to the beginning.

We're going to
the foundations of freestyle.

You see, first,
there was the beat.

‐ [beatboxing]

[cheers]

♪ ♪

THOMAS: Chris Sullivan,
AKA Shockwave,

He's someone whose ability
to express and tell story

without using words
is on full display here.

He's someone who is the actual
musical heartbeat.

‐ [beatboxing]

CHRIS:
I'm not just the beatboxer.

I am the percussionist.

You know, the drummer that
let's them shine.

[beatboxing]

‐ Uh‐huh! Uh‐huh! Uh‐huh!
Yeah, uh‐huh!

ANTHONY: To go up there and
be able to have a human being

be able to do that
for an entire show,

A, is a feat of athleticism
and vocal capabilities,

but also sheer giving.

[excited chatter]

[cheers and applause]

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
Oh, my God!

‐ Yeah,
and you used our words.

ANTHONY: Oh yeah? Which ones?
‐ Unicorn and flabbergast.

‐ Oh, you got two in?

Does anyone else know that?

‐ I think each guy
loves freestyle.

I think each guy
lives freestyle.

But Shock is
the foundation of freestyle.

‐ [beatboxing]

‐ Oh!

[cheers and applause]

‐ And next,
we add in an emcee.

‐ ♪ Oh, is everybody here? ♪

♪ Because if everybody's
here... ♪

[loud cheers]

LIN‐MANUEL:
[rapping indistinctly]

[stammering]

[wild cheers and applause]

‐ Lin‐Manuel
is the verbal gymnast.

He is our poet.

He's unstoppable.

Now on your way in this evening
as you were standing in line,

I think one of our wonderful
stage managers

walked along and said,
"Give us a word."

Now we took those words and put
them in that bucket over there.

See, ladies and gentlemen,

the emcee is gonna use
your words over a beat.

‐ Foundations of freestyle
is in its rawest form

what freestyling is.

CHRISTOPHER: From the moment
that we've gotten here,

we have asked you as
an audience member

to actively participate.

When you write the word
down and you fold it

and you put it in the bucket,
you're making an offering.

And we're collecting it,
accepting it,

and this is what
we want to do with it.

Jazz!

‐ ♪ Yeah, this is like that
free Jazz ♪

♪ Like that Coltrane ♪

♪ Like that Love Supreme,
this is a fucking dream ♪

♪ I can't believe this
is the fucking team ♪

♪ I can't believe I'm‐‐ ♪
‐ Last word is harmony!

‐ ♪ Oh, the word is harmony ♪

♪ Because there is dissonance ♪

♪ 'Cause lots of us are
really quite different ♪

♪ But oh, my gosh,
I think even when I am bored ♪

♪ We'll make a lot of noise ♪

♪ Until we make
a perfect fucking chord ♪

‐ Oh!

[cheers and applause]

‐ There's this great footage

of Questlove
and Black Thought.

And Questlove's just,
like, tree.

He's like, "Tree, as I flow
free to the ba‐ba‐ba‐ba‐ba."

‐ ♪ Peach, peach ♪

♪ Yo, I am the kid
that got the speech ♪

♪ That you can't impeach ♪

♪ Because I am not a leech,
I won't lie ♪

‐ War!
♪ War, yes, yes, y'all ♪

♪ Everybody's got a car, yo,
you's gots to kick the ball ♪

‐ Feet.
‐ ♪ Oh, feet ♪

♪ So I will not
accept defeat ♪

♪ The only triumph
I'll just keep on doing it ♪

♪ Like
Triumph the Comic Insult Dog ♪

♪ High on the hog ♪

♪ We cannot kick us off
our lawn with tables ♪

♪ We got our lightsabers ♪

♪ So fuck you
and your Padawan ♪

♪ We keep going on till
the break of dawn ♪

♪ Yeah,
rocking all night long ♪

[cheers and applause]

[keyboard plays]

‐ Uh, ladies and gentlemen,
that is Lin‐Man‐very‐uel.

‐ How'd you get
into doing this style?

‐ Just jumped in,
you know, like him.

Anthony was one
of the producers.

Tommy was the director.

‐ So do you, like,
write the show, like...

‐ No, when they first
asked me, I thought it was...

[chuckles]
I thought they were crazy.

I was like, "I write music.
I don't‐‐I don't freestyle."

‐ You never freestyled...
‐ But it's scary, yeah.

‐ You're a hip‐hopper
or you're a singer?

‐ Yeah, I mean, I love hip‐hop,
but I just‐you know?

I wasn't‐I wasn't used to,
like, trying to‐‐trying to...

‐ See, I write music and I
tried to freestyle it, but...

‐ If you think about it,
you can't do it.

You just have to try and go.
Yeah.

Sometimes you‐‐sometimes
you‐‐you jump and you land,

and sometimes you fall.

‐ Yeah, sometimes you fall,
mate.

‐ But it's worth it though.
Yeah.

‐ It's a good show, man.
‐ Thanks.

Yeah, I'm glad
you guys enjoyed it.

I've always been taught that
the stage is sacred.

No matter what stage you're on,

no matter where you doing it.

That's the sacred part.

That's the part that...

if you're true to what you're
doing, it doesn't matter.

You know I'm saying?

Like it‐‐it‐‐people are‐‐

you want people to feel
what you're doing.

You wanna be able to say,
"This is my guts.

"These are‐‐you know,
this is my heart and my guts

and my soul."

And for whatever reason,
you know,

the universe has spun around,

and here you are
and here I am,

and I've got a story to tell.

[vocalizing]

♪ ♪

Can you bring me just a little
bit more in the monitors?

THOMAS: Chris Jackson
is the person

that when he opens
his mouth

you're gonna get this honesty.

He's gonna take you
back somewhere

and he's gonna share.

He's so incredibly open.

‐ C‐Jack brings a soul
presence to our group.

He's also the oldest person
in our group

who brings some sort
of maturity.

‐ I don't know if
he'll tell you this,

but he was very hesitant
initially to do freestyle.

It was something he was
not familiar with.

He's‐‐he worked in studios
a long time,

and so smart and so, like,
bright.

Like he's just got it.

‐ ♪ Got back together ♪

♪ 'Cause money always makes
things a little bit better ♪

♪ But I'm not mad
and I'm not sad ♪

You're not doing anything
else but performing.

And ever since I was a kid,
man,

that's all I've ever
wanted to do.

I've never wanted to do
anything else.

And freestyle, even more,
because it's me.

It's‐‐it's what's coming
out of my brain.

It's what's on my mind

that I'm able to share,
and that's pure.

That's the‐‐I think
in this business, man,

it's the only pure thing left.

MAN: ♪ All right, it's C‐Jack ♪

♪ And your turn is next,
I will slow it down ♪

♪ So you won't get
too stressed ♪

‐ ♪ I'm not stressed,
I'm looking at you vexed ♪

♪ 'Cause you said denouement,
that shit is so complex ♪

♪ I haven't even got
my mind around it ♪

♪ Even as I vex this vector ♪

♪ I find my words
are coming from the floor ♪

♪ Like the drum,
like the African kid ♪

♪ I have to be half of me ♪

♪ Oh, I'm representing
those spectacularly ♪

‐ ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Freestyle Love Supreme,
here we go ♪

♪ Want to thank you all
for coming out to the show ♪

♪ Hope that you had
a real good, good time ♪

♪ Take a second now,
relax and rewind ♪

LIN‐MANUEL: My happy place
is watching Chris

'cause he can really
kind of let it rip.

Both the lyrical content,

and let his voice sort of fly
in this very real way.

‐ ♪ Well, in this country
that we live ♪

♪ We all come from some
other kind of place ♪

♪ No, no ♪

♪ And our history's
replete with ♪

♪ The streets filled
with anger and tears ♪

♪ And hopeful years that
we'll make it someday ♪

♪ 241, going on 242 ♪

♪ And we know we still got
a lot of work to do ♪

‐ Also, he was the first
of us to have kids.

He was the first of us
to get married.

and so he's had those
responsibilities

for a long time.

He's always been,
like, the dad.

[indistinct yelling]

‐ He's five.
He's a five‐year‐old.

And that's why
I love him so much.

But he's a five‐year‐old.

It feels like we've been
a theater troupe for 15 years.

It's like breathing,
it's just part of what we do.

It's part
of our relationships.

It's part of our experiences.

‐ Oh, I hope I get to be
in the show tonight.

MAN: Clean the floor, yeah.
You get to go to the ball.

UTKARSH: Keep cleaning
the floor, Lin‐derella.

No, is it Lin‐derella?

‐ Lin‐derella!

‐ Animals dress me
for the show!

Okay, I'm ready.

‐ Man, you just don't‐‐

people don't have
an opportunity to be around

and love people,

you know, guys
that you absolutely love,

who are not related to you,
you know what I mean?

Like it's just uncommon.

I think if more people had
this kind of experience,

truly the world would
be happier place.

♪ ♪

BOTH: Rejoicing reunion!

LIN‐MANUEL:
That was an original musical

we wrote in the 6th grade.

‐ I basically wrote a rap.
A nerd rap that went, uh...

♪ Computers,
they are a pastime ♪

BOTH: ♪ Calculators,
we used it last time ♪

♪ To find the square root
of a rhyme ♪

♪ That was where
we find the time ♪

[both talking over each other]

♪ Someone paid us
just in time ♪

‐ Yeah, that was the one
about the cool kids.

It was all about the clicks.
‐ Cool kids and‐‐yeah.

‐ ♪ 'Cause we are cool ♪

♪ We get good grades ♪

I've known Arthur
since third grade.

We went to the same
elementary school.

And the first time I met him,

I knew because there was this
rumor that this kid could spell

supercalifragilistic
expialidocious.

I went over to my said,
"I hear you can spell

supercalifragilistic
expialidocious."

And he said,
"Backwards or forwards?"

[piano plays]

♪ ♪

THOMAS: Arthur the Geniuses
is the mystery element

of Freestyle Love Supreme.

He's sitting there creating
these beautiful sounds

with this fingers,

and then he just blows your
mind and opens his mouth,

and then goes back without
even acknowledging the crowd.

Just sort of floats on
and floats off.

He's the ethereal one.

‐ I think it might be a good
time for us right now

to unplug then and re‐plug.

‐ Sí, es una buena hora
para desenchufar y enchufar.

‐ We're gonna get another
word from you.

‐ Vamos a conseguir
otra palabra de ustedes.

‐ How about we get something
you couldn't live without?

‐ ¿Por qué no conseguimos algo
que sin ella no podrías sobrevivir?

‐ Something you couldn't
live without.

‐ Algo que necesitas.

‐ Instant noodles.
Good for you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
Nail clippers!

‐ Nail clippers.

What else?
Keep 'em coming.

‐ Mascara.

‐ Baskara?
‐ Mascara.

‐ Mascara.

ARTHUR: It's funny because
True was originally created

'cause I've been playing
piano in the show,

and they were like,
"This is stupid."

Like, "Arthur,
you need to be singing."

♪ Mascara ♪

♪ Mascara ♪

‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
the word is mascara.

‐ The things that I learned
in the first couple years

of the group, like,
really, like, created

an understanding of,
like, performing

and even, like,
interacting with other people.

♪ Some people
can't even stand ♪

♪ To look at themselves
in the mirror ♪

♪ If it's still too early
in the morning ♪

♪ And they haven't put on
their mascara ♪

♪ Mascara ♪

ANTHONY: True is
a moment where we pull

an important word
from the audience,

and that word is then seen
through the lens

of each emcee
who's involved in the song,

and something that personally
happened to them.

♪ When I hear the word
mascara ♪

♪ Sometimes I know
I think about it ♪

♪ And I'm mad scared too ♪

♪ Oh, I was a little brother
to a big sister ♪

♪ Who clearly didn't
have enough to do ♪

♪ So, she was always
experimenting on me ♪

♪ Let me have the kind of
childhood I wanted ♪

♪ But, oh, I didn't want it ♪

♪ No, I didn't want it ♪

♪ But that morning, my mom,
well, she was gone and... ♪

‐ How much it's
about all of us, like,

digging into ourselves

and, like,
just finding the joy

in the things
we know how to do,

and turning them into a show.

♪ I'm getting up
in the morning ♪

♪ And I need to go somewhere ♪

♪ And relax my day brain ♪

♪ Just waking up ♪

♪ So the things I say
don't make so much sense ♪

♪ But I know I gotta get
out of the house ♪

♪ Get on the A train ♪

♪ A train ♪

‐ This shit is a hit.

[laughter]
‐ ♪ A train ♪

♪ A train ♪

♪ A train ♪

‐ True came about because
it just like there's

a lot of skill
that's being demonstrated,

but who are we and how can we
make that part of the show?

'Cause if you can have a comedy
show that makes you cry,

now we're talking
about something.

[laughter]

‐ All right,
I think we've got it.

‐ Dime.
‐ Yeah.

The word is vibrator.

[cheers and laughter]

‐ ♪ Like my grandmom who's
speaking through my soul ♪

♪ And I would let that
let me walk ♪

♪ Through a lot
of different doors ♪

♪ Don't you know ♪

♪ And one day I'd sit up
with my best friends ♪

♪ And vibrator ♪

♪ Yes, I would ♪

♪ Vi ♪

UTKARSH:
Anthony does this thing,

and he's taught me
how to do it now,

to take the word
and flip it.

♪ But here's the thing ♪

♪ At that time, 2005 ♪

♪ I had never ever seen him
perform live ♪

♪ And then I went to Ars Nova ♪

♪ This is actually a space ♪

♪ Owned by
the same theater company ♪

♪ And I placed myself
like in the back row ♪

♪ 'Cause I was real cool then ♪

♪ Smoking and drinking
and thinking ♪

♪ I was the sickest,
my friends ♪

♪ But then,
they came out on stage ♪

♪ Holy shit,
the audience was amazed ♪

♪ If I had a vibe rater ♪

♪ That vibe would be higher
than anything ♪

♪ It would be hotter
than the equator ♪

♪ If that vibe rater
really existed ♪

♪ That vibe would
be tippy top ♪

♪ It got my whole mind
twisted ♪

♪ So we can say ♪

♪ I love you every single day ♪

♪ The band is back
to‐fucking‐gether ♪

♪ And we're here
and we can play, yeah ♪

‐ Do you get any levels of
stress when you go out there?

‐ I did today.

I had a slow show
in the beginning.

It was like, no,
the words aren't coming out,

and it's the first time
that happened in this run.

‐ It's almost like speaking
another language, right?

Like if you do it enough
where you're immersed in it

and you, like,
start dreaming in it‐‐

and I've already started.

I don't know if you have.

But when we get into
a run of this,

usually by
the second or third week,

I have dreams that are
all in freestyle.

‐ I just‐‐the thought of‐‐

the thought of having
to go out there...

'cause the thought of going out
there and improvising is, like,

appealing but stressful.

But the idea of going out there
and having to do it

and make it rhyme
just seems mental.

It's like such a perverse bar
to have set for yourselves.

‐ In terms of the lessons
that freestyle teaches you,

there's plenty in here
for any artist, right?

Collaboration, listening,

fearlessness,
even when you're terrified.

Just sticking to it,

and you're gonna get
better at it

just by getting up on stage.

There's no substitute
for getting up on stage

and doing this.

We were having
tennis balls thrown at us

at those late night
shows in Edinburgh.

And then you just keep rapping

and you fucking throw
the tennis ball back.

ANTHONY: This is our first bad
press, um, here in Edinburgh.

‐ Yeah?
‐ Yeah.

‐ Luckily,
it's really bad, and...

‐ Really?
‐ Is it really?

‐ Yeah, it really is.
It really is.

THOMAS: I remembered
you arrived the day

that a bunch of reviews
came out.

And you said, "Tommy,
I don't wanna do anything

"that's gonna feel like
I'm intruding or invading.

This is going to be verité.
I'm a fly on the wall."

Is there any world where
you would read these

in front of the guys
and I could roll on it.

No, it's‐‐
I would never do that.

I'm just‐‐I'm not even here.

What if you leave them
on the coffee table

and the guys discover them
and you have to talk about it?

‐ "Do you hoop and holler when
a man in a baseball cap

"asks, 'Can you dig it?'

"Do you scream like a banshee

"when someone asks you
to say, 'Yo'?

"If you're so enthralled
to American hip‐hop culture,

"you might just enjoy
Freestyle Love Supreme,

"an all‐male hip‐hop
improvised comedy group

"from New York who make it
their business

to get funky with words."

MAN: Believe it.
MAN: Funky!

[overlapping chatter]

‐ We're just getting funky
with words.

ANTHONY: "It's worth
remembering that great rap,

"like a great symphony or
opera, doesn't come easy.

"And so improvised rap
is generally a matter

"of the most simple
and obvious choices,

making it
instantly disposable."

[laughter, cheers]

‐ That's our first bad review.

ANTHONY:
♪ Easily forgettable ♪

[rhythmically clapping]

♪ Easily forgettable ♪

‐ What?
What'd you say?

ANTHONY:
♪ Easily forgettable ♪

[somber music]

♪ Easily forgettable ♪

[voices talking indistinctly]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

‐ Oh, my God.
Speaking of fatty tuna.

Fucking Anthony with his
[indistinct] just walked in.

Anthony throws his heart
into everything he does,

and it's incredible.

I mean, his enthusiasm
is just infectious

and empowers a group, I think.

‐ Because we are
Freestyle Love Supreme,

ladies and gentlemen,

and my name is Two‐Touch.

I will be your host
for this evening.

Thank you very much.

‐ I'd say Two‐Touch
is like the daredevil

of Freestyle Love Supreme

because he's out in front.

He has to read the crowd.

He has to read us.

He's that middle man,
you know?

The kid's got such
a wealth of knowledge

that he‐‐he readily taps into.

‐ I don't know why,
but they're just‐‐

I just remember things
about certain countries,

like geography
and bridges and rivers

and mountain ranges,

and it's weird.

I just noticed your button
right now.

‐ Yeah.

‐ I know, but I love it.

Proud immigrant. Human.
From Canada.

Where in Canada?

‐ London, Ontario.
‐ London, Ontario.

That is a tragic sight

of a giant elephant dying
in the late 1800s.

That was the main attraction
to Barnum and Bailey

that created the story
of Dumbo.

‐ I didn't know that.
‐ London, Ontario.

That's the only reason
why I know London, Ontario.

It's because of this major
train accident

that happened‐‐
that killed‐‐

Jumbo was the name of the dog,
or the elephant.

‐ Oh, that's sad.

‐ I know why you left now.

‐ 'Cause of Jumbo.
‐ Tragic.

THOMAS: Two‐Touch
is the heart and soul.

Quite simply he is‐‐
he's the engine.

He's‐‐he's the guts
and the blood

of Freestyle Love Supreme.

LIN‐MANUEL: Anthony launches
into the first thing

that comes out of his mouth,
and he finds that

and that connects to this,
and that connects to this.

And it's really‐‐it's‐‐
it's really‐‐

we're going like this, but we
meet sort of in the middle.

‐ So who would like
to come up here

and share their day with us?
Now‐‐

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
It's my 40th birthday!

[cheers, laughter]

‐ Thank you so much!
That's awesome!

Who would like to come up here

and share their day with us?

[laughter]

ANTHONY:
I love it so much.

Day in the Life,

it's one of the things that
I have the most fun doing,

which is bringing up a stranger
and sitting them down

and helping them, A,
to feel safe and comfortable

and like they're a star,

and then also find ways
to sort of weave our show,

and the ethos of our show,

in throughout
their lens of the day.

THOMAS: Anthony is as facile
and nimble a brain and a host

as you could ever hope
to imagine.

Watching him do the interview,

watching him take words
from an audience,

decide where we're gonna go,
navigate the group,

lead from up there.

He's so much
the on‐field captain.

‐ As you make your way
up here‐‐

Oh, yes, smart.
Good‐‐good.

‐ Whoa, whoa, whoa!
‐ Unseen.

‐ We all saw that coming.

‐ Standard operating procedure.

UTKARSH: He chose
walking up the stairs

as the time
to take his sweater off.

‐ Oh, my God.

[laughter]

You're not‐‐
‐ Not great at walking.

No worries.
I'm gonna ask you to sit down.

So, let's do that.

THOMAS:
The way that he kneels down

next to an audience member
when he does that interview,

and he's perched there with
his arm around them

and it's just like,
you are so taken care of.

‐ Just to walk us
through your day.

So, do you have breakfast
together at some point?

‐ That's right.
‐ What'd you have?

‐ Banana smoothies.

‐ Awesome.

And that's‐‐
do you use a Vitamix?

I use a Vitamix?

‐ We can't afford that,
but, like, a Ninja.

[laughter]

‐ Check your privilege,
Anthony!

‐ Check your privilege.

ANTHONY: Oh, my God.

I am so white right now.

I have a Vitamix.

I totally have a Vitamix.
Wakanda forever.

Okay.

[laughter]

I'm a terrible person.
I'm a part of the problem.

‐ I want it.
It's on my Christmas list.

‐ I know what I'm getting you.
I know what I'm getting you.

Okay, so you guys use a Ninja.

You make subpar
banana smoothies.

Whatever.
And then is there...

‐ I think that
there's something

so pleasing about that
for an audience

just to give over.

"Okay, they got me."

And I think that's what
he does in that moment

that is transcendent.

‐ Now, I didn't
bring it up here

because I wanted
to look better,

but I have a cane
so I walk on a cane.

‐ Oh, a cane doesn't make you
look any less appealing

than you are.

You're an amazing human being.
‐ Thank you.

Okay, but anyway,
at that point...

UTKARSH:
You hear the word love,

but then to see it put into
practice by the guys on stage.

Anthony, specifically,

with the way that he carries
the tone as the host,

and you know, that comes
from Tommy in the way

that him and Lin and Anthony
put the show together.

Like, it's like truly
about, like, embracing

and celebrating
the human experience.

‐ Well, then
I thought I'd stay up

and do a crossword puzzle.

‐ Yup.

So what crossword puzzle
did you do?

‐ The Sunday Times,
of course.

‐ Of course!

Because‐‐it is Thursday,
thank you.

Good call. Good catch.
Good catch.

So, talk to me about
the Thursday crossword puzzle.

Is it that you were starting
it on Thursday

out of just some old habit

or is it because you've been
working on it since Sunday?

‐ I've been working on it
for months now.

[laughter]

‐ Okay, is that what
you wanted to hear?

Is that why you were‐‐
you feel better now?

Nancy, can we hang out
after this?

LIN‐MANUEL: I come home
and my wife asks me

what happened at the freestyle
show the night before.

On Hamilton,
she didn't do that.

The show was the show.

But I would tell her

"You've got to hear this
Day in the Life we got.

"Nancy Hillman.
And Anthony said,

"'How long you been working on
the New York times crossword?'

'For months,'" you know,
and Vanessa dies laughing.

♪ ♪

She first saw me in
a Freestyle Love Supreme show.

I mean, she knew of me
in high school.

I was a theater nerd,
and she was being cool.

Hi, I'm Lin‐Manuel Miranda,

and this is
my final competition piece.

It's called Sound Laser.

But I invited her on Facebook

to a Freestyle show
in Ars Nova.

We started talking then,

and then she went,

"That guy's smart.
That's hard to do."

And that's how I got my wife.

♪ ♪

Hi, I'm Lin Miranda.

I'm the composer, lyricist,

and star of
In the Heights and...

Hi, Amer‐‐
[chuckles]

[somber music]

♪ ♪

THOMAS: For In the Heights,

that was everything we had.

We just went like this.
That's what we got.

[upbeat music plays]

‐ Yeah.

♪ ♪

‐ And when that goes back...

LIN‐MANUEL: Heights,
in a very real way,

was me trying
to integrate the hip‐hop

I'd listened to all my life

and grew up listening to
and loving,

and matching
that lyrical content

and lyrical form to musical
theater storytelling.

MAN:
A five, six, seven, and‐‐

‐ ♪ Well, check the technique ♪

♪ Honk your horns ♪

[vocalizing]

THOMAS: I mean, In the
Heights was the first time

I was ever able to make
a living as a director.

THOMAS: Lin, I was just trying
to talk about you.

It's a maturity thing.
I feel like when he gets there,

he's going to be
a phenomenal talent.

CAMERAPERSON: One day.
‐ Yeah.

LIN‐MANUEL:
We were realizing,

"Oh, this
In the Heights journey

is gonna take a long time.

‐ I think the dynamic changed
when In the Heights

started getting really rolling,

that Tommy, Lin, and Chris
became unavailable

and started going to
a whole other level

of the theater world.

‐ ♪ And I'm there ♪

♪ I'm home ♪
ALL: ♪ Home ♪

[cheers applause]

LIN‐MANUEL:
It was also complicated

because Anthony was
a part of In the Heights,

but also not a part
of In the Heights.

Freestyle was a thing
we all still shared,

and then he moved
to San Francisco.

‐ When Anthony
felt compelled to, you know,

go to San Francisco
because his partner

was pursuing her studies

and doing something
really important,

like, it's life,
it's achievement.

It's‐‐it's the pursuit
of the achievement.

‐ [gasps]

Whoa!

We did it!
We're on your new bed!

What do you think, pickle?

Whoa!

‐ Daddy!
Daddy!

‐ It's awesome!

‐ You know, we still did
freestyle shows.

I can't think of a year
we haven't done a freestyle.

At least one or two
freestyle shows.

But it's different
when your founder

is on the other side
of the country.

‐ [vocalizing]

‐ The show is over.

‐ That's unusual.

Usually Chris
would come out and sing.

MAN: For someone who's, like,

a big In the Heights fan,

why is it important that they
sort of get what this is?

‐ Well, because they
kind of happened

at the same time, right?
LIN‐MANUEL: Yeah.

And they‐‐they fed each other.
CHRISTOPHER: Yeah.

‐ They fed each other.
I mean‐‐

Yeah, it's funny,
like, when we were‐‐

when we were doing
the run off‐Broadway,

and we‐‐anytime
we had a chance,

and you guys were doing a show,

we would run over after our
show and just come and do this.

‐ And now we're running from
the theater and hop‐‐

‐ Yeah, we'd hop in a cab
'cause it's just like‐‐

it's the most freeing thing
you can do.

You know, Chris
is a part of Heights.

Bill is a part of Heights.

BOTH: Hi.

‐ And you're seeing us
on the other side

of a lot of ups and downs

and ups and downs
and ups and downs.

And then we climb back up
on the diving board,

and we do more
freestyle shows.

MAN: [singing indistinctly]

♪ Yes, twice as nice ♪

BILL: I think that
Freestyle Love Supreme

is sort of, like,
the sum of its parts

in that we all have our own
careers and all our notoriety.

But it's not about
the awards you've won

or the movies you've been in
or whatever.

It's about these six guys
with very specific talents,

like making everybody
enjoy themselves.

‐ [vocalizing]

♪ ♪

♪ You don't got to be fit,
y'all, come on ♪

♪ I'ma tickle you,
have a ball now ♪

♪ You might find yourself
in a pickle boy ♪

♪ But I'll pickle you out
so you can have a bone ♪

That core of what
Freestyle Love Supreme is

is always gonna seep
its way

into whatever project
each guy is doing.

It just‐‐it‐‐
there's no way it can't

'cause it's just so‐‐
so much a part of us.

‐ Give it up
for Chris Jackson.

Whoo!

CHRISTOPHER:
We were always doing this.

This was it.
This was before Hamilton.

Heights doesn't happen
if it really‐‐

really, if it isn't for this.

THOMAS: Yeah, just that one
I guess on the top.

‐ Yeah.

♪ ♪

‐ Nervous?
No.

I guess we gotta
do it now, but...

‐ Yeah, we have
to finish the show.

‐ All right,
if you put the sign up.

You just burst into tears.

Come on.
Let's go.

♪ ♪

‐ Nobody knew that Hamilton
was going to be what it was.

Nobody could have known.

But as far as, like,
the inside track goes,

it felt like
the most brilliant thing

I've ever witnessed
or been a part of.

It certainly felt like it was
everything that was in Lin

that just couldn't fit the
narrative of In the Heights.

‐ ♪ I'll write to Congress and
tell 'em you need supplies ♪

♪ You rally the guys, master
the element of surprise ♪

♪ Chicka‐boom ♪

♪ I'll rise above my station,
organize your information ♪

♪ Till we rise to the occasion
of our new nation, sir ♪

Okay, you'll see it on Twitter.
Tag yourself.

[cheers]

♪ Rise up ♪

♪ What? ♪

‐ And is right‐hand man.

ALL: ♪ Ooh ♪

[voices fading]

[somber music]

‐ Writing Hamilton
was the most frustrating

and the most cathartic thing
in my life.

because I knew it was
my best work,

and I knew it would be ages
before it was right.

[applause]

CHRISTOPHER:
You know, never at any point

when we were doing Hamilton

did I ever look at
Tommy and be like,

"Well, Freestyle's dead.
We're never going to do that."

A very difficult time
for all of us

in the freestyle,
you know,

in the collective if you will,

a distant time.

We were over here, like,

we jumped on another
rocket ship.

♪ ♪

ANTHONY: I'm not a part of
the Hamilton journey.

Part of it was I was gone.

I'd moved away, you know,
I was living in San Francisco.

‐ You know, Anthony and I have,
in some way,

you know,
the furthest reach back

and then
the most divergent path

'cause when he left,
he was the person that

I was with all the time
and then I was with not at all.

ANTHONY: I didn't have a
regular interaction with him.

And then something
had kind of...

just ceased to exist
between us anymore.

‐ In a way, it's like the
furthest I felt from Anthony.

You know, I just‐‐I‐‐

it had been the most time
I spent away from him.

I'd really been spending
so much time

working this other thing
with a couple people

he's enormously close to also
with Lin and Chris.

And I just felt a lot
of that distance.

ANTHONY: So, I saw Hamilton
at the Public.

And I sent Tommy an email
the next day,

and I mentioned one or two
thoughts that I had.

‐ He gave me his thoughts
on my show

the day before the show
was freezing.

It doesn't mean
I don't value his opinion,

but if I want his opinion,
I'll just say,

"Hey, can you tell me
what you think about this?"

That's not what I needed then.

I needed him to say,
"This is fantastic.

I'm so proud of you guys."

ANTHONY: Tommy and I had
a pretty big falling out.

We had a major difference
around how we wanted

each other to‐‐to be inside
of a friendship.

And we couldn't‐‐we couldn't
find the common ground.

‐ And I remember talking
to him after that

and acknowledging that
our relationship changed.

That he was someone who
was incredibly close to me,

who was a mentor for me,
who pulled me into this.

And I didn't need mentors
in that same way anymore.

I needed to be peers with.
I needed to be equals to.

And when‐‐you know, the way
you identify a relationship

is often how it can stay,

and our relationship
had evolved.

Nothing would ever erase
the things that are true

about who he is to me,

who he will be,
who he was,

what his impact was in
the trajectory of my life.

And my love for him
has never diminished

and would never diminish
and I wanted to tell him that,

but I also need to say,
"But this is who I am now."

ANTHONY:
There's been a major change.

Whether it's on his end
or my end,

I'm not sure, but my
heart center is my family.

And all the choices that I've
made were to support them.

LIN‐MANUEL: Are we in
the Rose Garden right now?

OBAMA: We are.

Yeah, it must be
a little nerve‐wracking.

I hope I don't drop
these cards.

You ready?
We're getting the cue?

‐ During that very heated
2015, 2016,

when Hamilton
went from the thing

that everyone
was whispering about

to the thing that everyone
was shouting about.

BOTH: [vocalizing]

‐ But Hamilton is a unicorn,
and it just‐‐just‐‐

there's no way to quantify
or qualify the effect

that it's still having.

LIN‐MANUEL: I was sort of
cocooned from it

'cause I'm still doing
seven shows a week,

and so I can't go out to the
parties I'm being invited to.

I got two shows tomorrow.

I already knew who I was by
the time Hamilton came out.

I think it's hard when you
get hit with that wave

and you don't have
your shit figured out yet.

MAN: It's a hoodie.
Zip it up.

UTKARSH: ♪ I met a gypsy
and she hipped me ♪

♪ To some life game ♪

♪ To stimulate then activate
the left and right brain ♪

LIN‐MANUEL: You know,
U. T. K. was our Burr

in many incarnations

because he's got the singing
and the rapping

and the ability to really act

that we needed,
which is a high bar.

‐ Lin came to me,

and maybe this wouldn't have
panned out in the long run,

but Lin sort of came to me
with the role of Aaron Burr.

And we did it at
Lincoln Center.

And then we did it
New York Stage and Film.

But the most important things
for me at the time

were the party.

I was fully and utterly

a husk of a person.

♪ ♪

Don't film these guys.

At that point,
my alcohol use was like,

I couldn't deal and
I couldn't execute the way

that they needed me to,
and I had to step away.

And then Hamilton drops and
it's like, it's everywhere.

It's ubiquitous,
and it's a phenomenon.

And it's such an interesting
feeling to love people so much

and to be so happy
for their success,

and to be‐‐feel apart
of, really.

Because like Lin and
Tommy, Chris, Daveed,

I felt taken care of every
step of the way by them.

♪ But here's something
that I found was true ♪

♪ I couldn't stop drinking
whiskey every single day ♪

♪ Deep down,
I knew I had to stop it ♪

♪ I was falling they saw me
dropping ♪

♪ Out of the cot ♪

♪ They saw me falling
with no parachute ♪

♪ Pair of dudes
saw me falling ♪

♪ And apparently,
I couldn't carry the weight ♪

♪ Upon my shoulders
and probably... ♪

‐ And it really was a moment
that changed his life.

What happened and what didn't
happen with that show.

‐ And the positive thing
is‐‐is like,

"Hey man, like, how come you
don't pick up a drink?"

"Well, let me tell you about

this little thing called
Hamilton."

It's a wonderful, beautiful
gift that God gave me

or the universe that's like,

"Hey man, if you ever need a
reason to like stay on a path,

"that is one of integrity
and self‐care

"and of being connected to the
people around you, it's there.

It'll be there
for all of time."

♪ But now I'm making a new way
and that pain is over ♪

♪ I'm four years sober
and living wonderfully ♪

They're family.
They've been there for me.

I mean,
it's an exceptional connection.

♪ But anyway, these days
when I'm in pain ♪

♪ No drinking, no smoking ♪

♪ Just some water
and two ibuprofen ♪

[cheers]

‐ ♪ Ibuprofen ♪

THOMAS: Now,
seeing him with that skill

as much life as he's lived

in what he's chasing now on
stage is really elevated.

And so I feel like in some way
he might have the largest arc

in this group of where he
started and where he is now.

ALL: True!

[cheers]

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

WOMAN: Step up there, man.

I moved it to the trash
area, because...

[continues indistinctly]

♪ ♪

ANDREW: It's just, like‐‐
I could go through

every person in this group
and just be like, "Oh my God."

It's just like,
"I get to rap with heroes."

[indistinct chatter]

LIN‐MANUEL: I feel like
everyone knew how rare it was

that we were even
getting to do it.

And I always want it to feel
like that.

It felt like "pinch me"
for the whole month.

That's the circumstances under
which I wanna keep doing,

'cause none of us
has to do it.

Everyone's got
very full lives.

But life's a little better
when we do it.

MAN: Good. How are you?
‐ Good.

MAN: Happy last one.
‐ Happy last one.

♪ It's everything we've
worked for now ♪

UTKARSH: Wanna see
the fastest signature?

Watch.
Ready?

Swoop. U. T. K.

And then I'm gonna just do...

Tommy Kail.
Done.

[laughter]

[indistinct chatter]

ANTHONY: [vocalizing]

CHRIS: I hope that
the energy from all of us

and this whole movement is
enough to inspire other people

to start similar movements.

That if it's not
Freestyle Love Supreme,

it's letting the world know

that something like this
is possible.

‐ "Shockwave is important"
on three.

‐ No, like a final‐‐

Let's do a final, this is
our last show, something else.

CHRISTOPHER:
"This is the last show.

Shockwave,
you are so important."

One, two, three.
ALL: This is the last show.

Shockwave,
you are so important.

‐ On three!
[laughter]

ANTHONY: This is different
for us, too.

It's our last show
of the entire run.

So, thank you so very much for
being the last audience.

‐ What?

UTKARSH: I think
we all love it.

We love it so much
and we need it.

JAMES: You have to let
yourself be in the moment.

Well, we could take
a story someplace

and it doesn't have
to have a punchline.

We just took it someplace
that takes the audience

on a journey and they are
satisfied with that journey

and so are we.

It just feels good.

‐ This is already amazing.

You had an epileptic German
Shepherd named Ramona.

‐ [indistinct]

‐ Yup, obviously.

You accidentally opened
the front door.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I was ten,
and she got hit by a car.

‐ You were ten,
and she got hit by a car.

‐ Oh, my God.
‐ She didn't die.

‐ [indistinct]
‐ And she lived to be 19.

Well, that story has
a little bit

of a happy ending to it,
doesn't it?

‐ ♪ Yeah, right now I am ♪

♪ Home alone and doing
it my own thing ♪

♪ With my Ramona, yeah ♪

♪ Oh, Ramona ♪

♪ She's so great, you see ♪

♪ The only problem is she
suffers from epilepsy ♪

♪ Which means she gets to
wiggling from now and again ♪

♪ And then she gets
to shaking ♪

♪ Oh, what a pain ♪

♪ And I don't have
any other siblings ♪

♪ So she's kinda my sister... ♪

THOMAS: When I'm watching
the show and I see, you know,

MacArthur Genius Award
winner on all fours

playing an epileptic
dog in Arizona,

I feel like we've done exactly
the right thing.

‐ [howls]

[laughter and applause]

‐ It's really, really good
to be back home, you know,

with all of it,
'cause this is

kinda like the nucleus
of all of that creative energy.

ALL: ♪ Ladies and gents,
we want to thank you all ♪

♪ For coming out this evening ♪

♪ Coming out this evening,
this evening ♪

♪ 'Cause we are
Freestyle Love Supreme ♪

♪ ♪

[acoustic guitar music]

♪ ♪

LIN‐MANUEL:
All we've got on stage is...

our lives and each other.

♪ ♪

The feeling of freestyling
and trading too

backstage before we go on,

that all feels
exactly the same.

The only thing that's changed

is we just have
that much more history.

We have that much more
life to draw from.

♪ ♪

I have this weird
memory of, like,

standing in my hallway mirror

when I was ten years old.

Like looking at myself,
I am three feet all.

I have a bowl haircut.

And just being, like,

"Never forget this moment."

♪ ♪

[hip‐hop music]

[indistinct chatter]

NEWS ANCHOR:
More than 15 years later,

the hip‐hop improv group

has taken over Broadway's
famous Booth Theater.

The show is called
Freestyle Love Supreme.

Lin‐Manuel Miranda is here.
Christopher Jackson is here.

[excited chatter]

MAN: [rapping indistinctly]

♪ ♪

[excited chatter]

JIMMY FALLON:
Now here are our performers,

Broadway's Freestyle
Love Supreme...

‐ Ahh.

FALLON: Let's hear it
for our performers,

Broadway's
Freestyle Love Supreme.

Broadway's
Freestyle Love Supreme.

[overlapping chatter]

FALLON: Oh, my goodness!

ALL: [rapping indistinctly]

FALLON: Wow!

You can catch
Freestyle Love Supreme

now at the Booth Theater.

Yeah, get a standing O.
Why not?

[indistinct chatter]

[somber music]

♪ ♪

‐ Right there?
‐ Yes.

‐ Thank you.

ANEESA:
Broadway has been a dream

for a long‐ass time for me.

For this to be my debut,

I could have never imagined.

But this is true,
it's real life,

and I am playing on stage
with these people

that I've looked up to
for the longest time.

That means so much to me,

and it's been a beautiful
experience.

‐ [indistinct]
‐ Have fun out there.

♪ ♪

‐ [humming]

[water running]

‐ Michael,
how have you been?

UTKARSH: ♪ I met a gypsy
and she hipped me ♪

ALL: ♪ To some life game ♪

UTKARSH: ♪ To stimulate then
activate the left and ♪

ALL: ♪ Right brain ♪

UTKARSH: ♪ Said baby boy
you only funky as your ♪

ALL: ♪ Last cut ♪

UTKARSH: ♪ You focus on
the past your ass'll be a ♪

ALL: ♪ Has what ♪

♪ I try to just
throw it at you ♪

♪ Determine your
own adventure Andre ♪

♪ Got to her station
here's my destination ♪

‐ Oh, wow.

‐ Broadway, guys.
What the fuck?

ALL: I got your back.
I got your back.

I got your back.
I got your back.

I got your back.
I got your back.

I got your back.
I got your back.

‐ I got your back too.

UTKARSH: Let's do this.

Look at you.

‐ Look at you.
‐ Back where you started.

‐ Got me going.
‐ I'm as God made me, sir.

[all talking at once]

‐ As God made me.
‐ Is your mic on?

‐ Monday night, seven p. m.

‐ Ooh, yeah.

‐ All right, I think‐‐
I think they can hear us.

The mics are on,
so let's do this.

‐ Let's go.
‐ Mic check on three.

Y'all ready?
‐ Uh‐huh.

‐ One, two, three‐‐

[funky music]

SINGER:
♪ Ladies and gentlemen ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Ladies and gentlemen ♪

‐ All right, so let's take
Freestyle Love Supreme.

‐ Okay.

♪ It's like 10 or
11 years ago ♪

♪ These four met at
Wesleyan University ♪

♪ Though I wasn't there,
I was at NYU ♪

♪ Doing just what I do,
spitting rhymes here for you ♪

♪ But then they moved
to New York ♪

♪ And then they started going,
wouldn't stop ♪

♪ They did a show at
the Drama Book Workshop ♪

♪ Yeah, Tommy and Anthony had
a production company ♪

♪ Called Back House ♪

♪ What the heck
is that about? ♪

♪ Anyway, at the same time ♪

♪ Lin was writing
In the Heights ♪

♪ Where he met C‐Jack,
and C‐Jack could flow too ♪

♪ So they decided to go too,
and do a show or two ♪

♪ At this place called
[indistinct] ♪

♪ They were spitting rhythms ♪

♪ That's where they met
Shockwave, AKA Chris Sullivan ♪

♪ He was running it,
rumbling, and struggling ♪

♪ At the time
was an artist ♪

♪ But he could take
the beat farther ♪

♪ So they got together
and enter Arthur ♪

♪ Arthur and Lin went to
school together, man ♪

♪ Went to third grade,
high school, all of it ♪

♪ Then they met me ♪

♪ I was doing
a show of my own ♪

♪ And then they heard I rocked
upon the microphone ♪

♪ And Lin needed a replacement
for doing this shit ♪

♪ And I could rap off the
face, man, so I could spit ♪

♪ And then I joined the group
in like '05 or '06 ♪

♪ And I've been doing this
shit though ever since ♪

♪ These are my friends,
we do the television ♪

♪ We spitting rhythms ♪

♪ I'm the one and only
Indian revving his engine ♪

♪ Getting your attention ♪

♪ And I love you guys,
gentlemen ♪

♪ Did I mention
anything else? ♪

♪ I think that's it,
love you ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ And Bill ♪

[laughter]

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

[seagulls calling]