Interview: Mandy Gonzalez On Bringing the Music of Lin-Manuel Miranda to Carnegie Hall

Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez is coming home to New York, to Carnegie Hall, and to the music that helped define her career. On November 21, the acclaimed Broadway star will make her solo debut at Carnegie Hall with Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda, a symphonic celebration of the songwriter whose words and melodies have shaped a generation.

For Gonzalez, whose career has been entwined with Miranda’s since she originated the role of Nina Rosario in his Tony-winning debut, In the Heights before going on to join the cast of Hamilton, the evening represents more than a reunion. It’s a continuation of the creative and cultural dialogue they began nearly twenty years ago.

In this conversation, Gonzalez reflects on what it means to bring Miranda’s catalogue to a symphony stage, finding her story in his songs, her pride in bringing her Mexican- and Jewish-American heritage and history to the storied Carnegie Hall stage

Read our chat with Mandy here!

Photo Credit: Michael J. Lutch

Is this your first time performing at Carnegie Hall?

Mandy: You know what, it’s not. This is my first solo concert at Carnegie Hall. It's the first time it’s going to say “Mandy Gonzalez at Carnegie Hall,” which I’m very excited about. 

Has the show evolved from the concert's debut with The Boston Pops? What did you learn putting it up the first time?

It's interesting because when you put together a show for symphony, you don't really get to hear what it sounds like until you're doing that first orchestra rehearsal. Before then I had been in a rehearsal room with my accompanist and musical director, Dan Lipton, but it wasn't until that day before the concert that I really got to hear what what the work sounds like, because you can only imagine it from the page. So that's the real thrill of it. You're on pins and needles waiting for that sound to happen. And then to hear his music in this way, I feel like it's totally where he's meant to be. I feel so lucky to be the first one to be able to bring his catalog to a symphony stage. So I think the thing that we learned at the first concert was is that it works! Which is so exciting, you know?

The other thing that we learned is that there's so much music that he's written and there are so many songs. So we have a few different songs that are gonna be included or not, just because of timing and things like that, but the wonderful thing is that wherever we go, you might hear something that you didn't hear at that concert before, because there's just so much music.

Your history with Lin is so meaningful, first originating the role of Nina Rosario in In the Heights, and then portraying Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. How has your relationship to his work and these songs evolved for you, personally and artistically?

When I first met Lin it was to audition for In the Heights. I was in another Broadway show that wasn’t doing very well. My manager said, “There’s a new writer, he’s Latino, he’s writing a show with all Latinos. Do you want to meet him in the basement of the Drama Book Shop?” I was like, “That’s different.” For some reason, I decided to go and I walked down the steps and Lin-Manuel opened the door. Tommy Kail and Alex Lacamoire were there- I knew Alex from a Wicked reading that I had done- and Bill Sherman and Quiara Alegría Hudes, and my life completely took a different direction.

It's kind of like a meteor that he has created in this world and to be a part of that is such an honor because when I first heard his music, it moved my soul and I got it. It's one thing to be in a new, original show, it's another to have a real connection to a writer. When I sing his music, I feel like I'm home. I feel protected, I feel safe, and I feel like I can fly, you know? He knows how to write songs for young women who are finding their power in this world. I absolutely relate to it, and even now, being a mother of an almost 14-year-old, I feel all those things as a mom and for her. So I think that he is really writing all of our stories in his way, you know?

Lin has been so prolific across so many mediums, was it hard to narrow down a set list? Anything you fought to include or had to leave out?

Totally. When I met with our director, Dick Scanlan, we talked about music and story. Dick, Dan Lipton, and I got together and asked what best tells the story of the evening. Dick interviewed me and shaped those interviews into a script that really flows and takes you on a journey. I made him a mixtape, songs I absolutely love that move me, and we figured out how to fit them into the show. Honestly, almost everything from that mixtape made it in.

How does your life experience shape a project like this concert?

I’m excited I get to do this show now, because I have so much to say and give. I wanted it to be a love letter, not just to Lin-Manuel, but to audiences and to New York. Carnegie Hall is the ultimate place, but wherever we go I want people to feel the universal themes in these songs. This platform feels right for his music, and I wanted to be the one to bring it there, like Barbara Cook or Bernadette Peters with Sondheim. The Boston Pops were the first to ask me to sing “Everything I Know” for a July 4th concert at the Hatch Shell, and afterward, and now when I sing “Breathe,” people tell me what those songs mean to them. As a Latina from a family of immigrants, standing on that stage in these times means so much. I want people from any background to know the symphony is a place for them. It’s an American institution and we belong.

Do you feel a core mission as an artist?

I do. I want to use my voice for more than just singing, and singing is what gets people to check out what I’m about. Early on, an agent told me I’d have to change my last name to work on Broadway. I even came up with “Mandy Carr,” inspired by Vikki Carr. Then I went home, thought about my parents and grandparents, and came back and said, “My name isn’t Carr with two Rs, it’s Gonzalez with two Zs.” That set me on the path of who I wanted to be. I try to live with that integrity. I’m proud to have the name Gonzalez, proud of where I come from, and I stand up for others who maybe can’t.

When you recontextualize songs for a concert, how do you balance the new narrative with the original musical architecture?

That’s the fun part. You figure out what the song means to you that night and how it moves the story forward. Experience teaches you how to bridge moments so an audience hears a song like they’ve never heard it before, in a way that’s personal and lets them in further. With Dick and Dan, we made sure every moment has movement.

How much has Lin been part of the process?

Lin has always been a part of it. He’s family. I wanted him to feel he had a say, so I sent him everything. He’d give his thoughts and somehow make it better, as only he can. He’s been open to every email and call, and he’s come to some rehearsals. He has been a wonderful collaborator.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

So many. I love talking about how my parents met and then singing, "Dos Orugitas," from Encanto. And there’s a mashup I sing that becomes a love letter to New York. We both dreamed of being where we are, and we had to fight to get here, so that moment is a full surrender to the city with little New York “Easter eggs.” I can’t wait to do it at Carnegie Hall.

For someone who’s never experienced Lin’s work, and for die-hard fans, what might they take away or find unexpected?

There will be deep cuts. I love NPR's This American Life, and Lin wrote a short musical for them called 21 Chump Street, so you’ll hear something from that. There’s also a song he contributed to Working. You’ll hear songs from Hamilton, In the Heights, Vivo, Moana, Encanto, and even Sesame Street. I hope people go home wanting to listen again, discover something they missed, or realize he wrote something they didn’t know was his. He was always writing, even in his In the Heights dressing room. To see what he’s created is incredible, and I’m so proud of him.