PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Imagine a show that combines hip hop, improv and audience input with some of Broadway’s most famous stars. It’s a show called “Freestyle Love Supreme” and you have a chance to see one of its creators – Lin Manuel Miranda.
He will be in Philly at the Miller Theater with one of his Grammy- and Emmy-winning co-stars – a face CBS viewers will recognize.
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The performance is full of spontaneity and rhythm.
“It’s called ‘Freestyle Love Supreme,'” Christopher Jackson said. “This show adds to the audience, it adds to us as artists, only with the impulse and creativity.
Before Jackson starred in the original cast of “Hamilton” on Broadway and joined CBS ‘hit show “Bull”, the improv theater show “Freestyle Love Supreme” where he made friends with this group almost 20 years ago, including “Hamilton “co. star, Manuel Miranda.
“When you see Hamilton and Washington on stage, it’s a bond that was formed back in 2003 with the Freestyle Supreme,” Jackson said.
Janelle Burrell: “How do you prepare for a show like this?”
Jackson: “You wake up and you show up. We never know what show we’re going to have when we go on stage, which is pretty unusual for theater of this scale.”
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What keeps it really interesting is that they take live suggestions from the audience.
“We have a framework that is loosely based on short-form improv games, and we’ve musicalized everything,” Jackson said.
Keeps the audience hooked right through the final notes.
“My hope is that Philly can come and just take the load off,” Jackson said. “We do not come with any performance. We are ready to make fun of ourselves at the expense of ourselves, for the entertainment of the audience, which is the true spirit of what theater should be.”
The beauty of ‘Freestyle Love Supreme’ is that no two shows are alike.
It’s on stage right now at the Kimmel Cultural campus’ Miller Theater.
James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony Award for playing Genie in “Aladdin” on Broadway, is also in the cast.
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Manuel Miranda only performs one night on Friday. Jackson will be in the ensemble Saturday and Sunday night.
