Vincent Jamal Hooper is here! Vinny recently made his Broadway debut as Simba in the Lion King and before that, his Hamilton experience took him all over the place: Puerto Rico, California, Texas, and Australia. Vinny played Hamilton, Burr, Lafayette/Jefferson, George Washington, and King George III.
This week, Vinny talks about growing up in Texas and knowing pretty early on that he wanted to be a performer. He landed the role of Benny in a local production of In The Heights which led him to Hamilton, a show that he and his friends (J. Quinton Johnson and Trey Curtis) used to act out in parking lots.
After Hamilton Vinny shifts gears completely to do White Girl in Danger, and while it was total whiplash the experience made him a better artist all around and taught him the importance of not being afraid to be seen trying.
Vincent Jamal Hooper on Instagram
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Jarrod Spector (King George III in Hamilton Broadway) is back for round two. In this episode, Jarrod talks about heading to New York City to study at the Atlantic Theater Company and starting his Broadway career. After being fired from Jersey Boys before he even started, Jarrod went on to play a record-breaking 1500 performances at Frankie Valli. We also talk Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Cher Show, and collaborating with his fantastic wife Kelli Barrett. Jarrod also discusses landing KGIII in Hamilton, explains why the role is like "starting on third base", and reflects on his long history of playing real people. Plus, he takes questions from the Patreon Peeps and talks about what's inspiring him.
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Jarrod Spector, Hamilton Broadway’s current King George III, is on the podcast! This week, Jarrod talks about growing up in Philadelphia where he started performing on the Al Alberts Showcase at barely three years old. From there, he did his Bobby Darin act on Star Search for a while, humbly passed on The Mickey Mouse Club, and at nine years old he landed the role of Gavroche in Les Miserables where he performed in Philly, Chicago, and eventually on Broadway.
Jarrod also opens up about his somewhat tumultuous early college experience, (girl, same) and we have a very honest conversation about some tricky life lessons we both learned around the same time.
Al Alberts Showcase featuring Al and Jarrod singing "That's Life" (1986)
Jarrod Spector singing Mack the Knife on Star Search (1988)
Star Search - Jarrod Spector vs. Countess Vaughn (1988)
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This week wraps up my chat with Jonathan Butler-Duplessis (Hamilton Broadway: Aaron Burr, George Washington, and Mulligan/Madison) and he’s taking questions from The Patreon Peeps so we’re all over the map. There’s lots of pizza talk (obviously), Jonathan gives advice about being weird and authentic and finding your people, he talks about his fascination with the 2019 Cats movie, manifests his dream of playing Elphaba, and confesses how many times he’s read that erotica book that's onstage at Hamilton. Plus! Jonathan explains why he sees his Broadway debut as Burr as a return on a lot of people's investments, and he does some deep introspection about relating to the frustration and ambition of Aaron Burr, a role Jonathan never thought he'd play because according to him, "no one is ever gonna let him LEAD a show."
A tribute to J-Dilla and Nujabes
Patzeria Perfect Pizza aka Scientology Pizza
No Good Deed from the Original Cast Recording of Wicked
What The Internet Did To Garfield
A Beginner's Guide to the Monogatari Series
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Jonathan on Instagram
Jade Armor
The Plate Show Podcast
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