The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast Gillian Pensavalle
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In this podcast about all things Hamilton, host Gillian Pensavalle speaks with guests, and sometimes co-host/all time husband Michael Paul Smith, about the innerworkings of the show, how it came together, what it takes to put on all around the world, finding Hamilton references in everyday life, and much more. The Hamilcast has played host to every member of the original creative team, aka "The Cabinet", including repeat visits from Hamilton creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Hamilcast features interviews with cast members from every Hamilton tour, Broadway, and UK company--crew members, musicians, creatives, and the hard working people behind-the-scenes that keep the production alive. Plus: historians, super fans, celebrity Hamilton enthusiasts, and group cast recordings!
When I started this podcast in January of 2016, I could not have imagined the incredible community that has grown around the show and the amazing experiences that have come my way. Thank you to everyone who has listened, appeared on the show, contributed, or reached out in any way. This podcast is for you and I absolutely love making it.
If you have any great Ham stories or funny references that you've come across, let me know! Email TheHamilcast [at] gmail [dot] com, or contact me on social media @TheHamilcast. I also have a Patreon that has given rise to the loveliest corner of the internet, ever. You can learn more about how to be a part of that lovely corner, and how to submit questions to guests, and to be part of my monthly AMA's at https://www.patreon.com/TheHamilcast
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#409: Jarrod Spector // King George III in Hamilton Broadway // Part Two
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.
Fosse/Verdon
A Killer Party
Jarrod on Instagram
Full Circle Artists
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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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#408: Jarrod Spector // King George III in Hamilton Broadway // Part One
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)
Jarrod on Instagram
Full Circle Artists
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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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#407: Jonathan Butler-Duplessis // Hamilton Broadway // Part Three
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."
Counting Stars by Nujabes
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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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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#406: Jonathan Butler-Duplessis // Hamilton Broadway // Part Two
Jonathan Butler-Duplessis (Hamilton Broadway: Aaron Burr, George Washington, and Mulligan/Madison) is back for round two! In this episode, we kick off talking about his experience playing Jim Conley in Parade. It was a really intense audition process, Jonathan couldn't afford contacts for the first half of the run so could barely see and the audience looked like blobs, and he had to deal with several instances of the cops being called on him for existing while Black. But according to Jonathan, all of this craziness actually *helped* his performance.
We also dive into his Hamilton story, which starts with the belief that he was wrong for absolutely every part in the show. Of course that wasn’t the case because we eventually hear the story about how Jonathan was giving Lin-Manuel Miranda shit for eating Sicilian style pizza at the Richard Rodgers so things worked out pretty well! Side note: Jonathan takes his Chicago pizza very, very seriously.
Jonathan also has an incredibly moving debut experience, and talks about what it was like to play Aaron Burr for the first time. He explains his connection to Wait For It and how he carries his past with him as he moves forward.
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Jonathan on Instagram
Jade Armor
The Plate Show Podcast
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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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#405: Jonathan Butler-Duplessis // Hamilton Broadway // Part One
Jonathan Butler-Duplessis is currently in the Broadway company of Hamilton covering Aaron Burr, George Washington, and Mulligan/Madison.
Jonathan grew up in Chicago singing in church and got his first break thanks (in part) to his grandmother's babysitting gig. He did a lot of community theatre but by the time he graduated from high school, he stopped performing. After a quick (not great!) experience at a Christian bible college, Jonathan had the opportunity to audition for the University of Illinois and he took it. He worked hard, he wanted to learn, he used the tools they gave him, and he kicked off his prolific career.
Jonathan has this No Shortcuts mantra and it's definitely the vibe of his three episodes. From professional wrestling, to a metaphysical discussion of Beyonce's Renaissance, to his love of small details, it all seems to come back to how all of these things effect his performance in Hamilton and everything else he does.
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Jonathan on Instagram
Jade Armor
The Plate Show Podcast
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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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#404: Charles Simmons 2.0 // George Washington: Germany and UK/Ireland // Part Two
Welcome back to Charles Simmons 2.0! Charles is currently George Washington on the UK/Ireland tour and previously originated the role in Hamburg, Germany.
This week, Charles talks more about joining his new company including how the amazing cast and crew helped make his transition super easy, all the craziness leading up to opening night, and adjusting to life in the UK. Plus, he talks about his all time favorite Hamilton moment, and Charles does a deep dive on some of the lyrics he thinks might actually hit harder in German than they do in English. Remember: Charles is a self-proclaimed Hamilton superfan, so he spares no detail.
#339: Charles Simmons // G.Wash in Hamilton Germany // Part One
#340: Charles Simmons // G.Wash in Hamilton Germany // Part Two
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Charles Simmons
Charles on Instagram
Charles on Facebook
Charles on Youtube
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Gillian's Website
The Hamilcast on Twitter
The Hamilcast on Instagram
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Customer Reviews
Love this podcast so much
I love this podcast so much because I also love this musical and it is so hard to not love to listen to this podcast.
No
Eww I love Hamilton so much and the host is disrespecting the musical and the whole cast it is the same thing over and over again and again some episodes at good but most are repetitive and she try’s and just make the episode longer
How the mighty have fallen
I used to love this podcast. Now the episodes are stale and repetitive. Listen to the first few years. They were great. I also can’t tolerate that the podcast host is complicit and silent about abuse based on the Obsessed Network.