Producers Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny and Jon Steingart, Jill Furman and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announce that FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME founding member and Grammy® and Emmy Award® winner and Tony Award® nominee Christopher Jackson (Hamilton, In the Heights) will join the national tour of FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME as a special guest at the 8 p.m. performances May 10-14 and the 2 p.m. matinees on May 14 and 15 in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.
The critically acclaimed hip hop sensation and recipient of a 2020 Special Tony Award® was conceived by Anthony Veneziale and created by Washington, D.C.–area native Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale in 2004 before In The Heights and Hamilton. Following a highly-anticipated Broadway return and the release of the Grammy®–nominated Hulu documentary, We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, this “hugely entertaining dream of a show and a phenomenon” (Time Out New York) is a non-stop blend of hip hop, improvisational theater, music, and vocal stylings. The 90-minute show, called “completely genius” by Politico, is created nightly with the audience and no two shows are ever the same.
“We’ve had many of our happiest and most fulfilling creative moments working on Freestyle Love Supreme and are excited to see its next chapter unfold on this national tour,” said Thomas Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda. “It is a show that consistently surprises us: we have no idea what to expect any time we do it – and isn’t that the true beauty of live theater? Freestyle Love Supreme wouldn’t want or have it any other way!”
Directed by Kail, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is a blend of hip-hop, improvisational theater, music and vocal styling with special surprise guests at select performances. The show that Entertainment Weekly calls “lightning in a bottle” and Rolling Stone describes as “pure joy” features talented performers providing non-stop action throughout this fast-paced evening, spinning suggestions from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers. The electrifying vocals of the performers—from singing to rapping to beat-boxing with harmonies and freestyle flow—are backed by tight tunes from keyboards and human percussion.
FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME’s company on tour includes Andrew Bancroft AKA “Jelly Donut;” Richard Baskin, Jr. AKA “Rich Midway;” Jay C. Ellis AKA “Jellis J;” Aneesa Folds AKA “Young Nees;” Mark Martin AKA “Mandible;” Kaila Mullady AKA “Kaiser Rözé;” Morgan Reilly AKA “Hummingbird;” James Rushin AKA “Not Draggin;” Dizzy Senze AKA Dizzy; Chris Sullivan AKA “Shockwave;” and Anthony Veneziale AKA “Two Touch.”
In name and beyond, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME pays homage to John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” with a nod to musical roots in jazz, soul, blues, and hip hop. FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME was originally developed and produced in 2004 by Ars Nova, in association with Jill Furman and Back House Productions. The show has played in all five boroughs of New York and many states, as well as on Broadway, at the U.S. Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, and the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.
FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is produced by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny and Jon Steingart, and Jill Furman. It features set design by Beowulf Boritt; costume design by Lisa Zinni; lighting design by Jeff Croiter; and sound design by Nevin Steinberg.
Ticket Information
Tickets from $45 are currently on sale and may be purchased at kennedy-center.org, in-person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, or by calling (202) 467-4600.
Connect with FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME online:
www.freestylelovesupreme.com
Twitter: @FreestyleLove
Facebook: @FreestyleLoveSupreme
Instagram: @FreestyleLoveSupreme
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