On Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith welcome Lauren Lola — who took a moment out of her busy CAAMFest schedule — to talk about Hamilton and Mandalorian season 2 coming to Disney+.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: The Lin-Mando Takeover of Disney+”
In the Walt Disney Company’s quest to own everything we at the NOC love — including Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar to name a few — it only makes sense that the Mouse House will be the home for the film distribution rights to the Broadway sensation Hamilton!
Continue reading “Disney is Bringing ‘Hamilton’ to the Big Screen”
The following is a slightly altered cross-post, originally published on Lola By The Bay.
Last weekend, I finally got to see a matinee performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton, at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.
It looks like Lin-Manuel Miranda won’t be the only one making his San Diego Comic-Con debut this year!
Entertainment Earth has revealed a new In The Heights pin mates wooden collectible item in the form of Miranda’s iconic Broadway character, Usnavi.
Continue reading “‘In The Heights’ Usnavi Toy Making Debut at San Diego Comic-Con!”
”This is for ones like us, that had big hopes and dreams but didn’t make it.” — Lea Ibragimova, Shanae Bennett, and Valentina Vidal Ortega from Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies
There’s nothing like seeing Hamilton the Musical with a crowd of high school juniors. They laugh at the sex jokes, they get squirmy about death, and they echo the chorus of “ohhhh” at every diss in the show. Having seen Hamilton three times now (yes, I’m bragging a little — you would too), it was absolutely the best audience to see the show with. But it wasn’t the centerpiece of the day.
Continue reading “#EduHam: ‘Hamilton’ Puts History in the Hands of the Future”
Ten years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda burst upon the scene with the Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights. That same year, Jon M. Chu directed his first feature film, Step Up 2 The Streets. A decade later, both have hit the Lotto with Hamilton and Crazy Rich Asians, vaunting them to A-List pop cultural icon status.
And in 2020, the two will team up to bring Heights to the silver screen! Alabanza!
Continue reading “Atención: You Can Audition to be ‘In The Heights’”
Since October is officially Filipino American Heritage Month and Inktober, who better to guest host Hard NOC Life than artist Glenn Urieta?!!
This week on Hard NOC Life, we have the honor to be joined by star of stage and screen, Javier Muñoz.
Continue reading “From Stage to Screen: Javier Muñoz is Non-Stop”
After Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez unveiled the Puerto Rico benefit anthology Ricanstruction at the New York Times, we also revealed art from one of the stories written by Hamilton star Javier Muñoz. Today, I’ll be exclusively sharing art from another Ricanstruction short story. This time, it’s my own story — illustrated by artist Glenn Urieta — called “A Yellow Sky.”
Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Another ‘Ricanstruction’ Preview”
Earlier today, the New York Times revealed a secret project I’ve been sitting on for the last several months. I had the pleasure to serve as an Assistant Editor on Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, an anthology produced by La Borinqueña creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. On the sixth month anniversary of Hurricane Maria, it was announced that the publication of Ricanstruction will benefit ongoing recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
On the heels of the announcement of the book, I can reveal exclusively here on the NOC an excerpt from the story “Song of El Coquí” written by Hamilton star Javier Muñoz with art by Sabrina Cintron!
Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Preview Javier Muñoz’s Story from ‘Ricanstruction’”
This Saturday, Disney will air the third season finale of Star Wars: Rebels, and by all indications, it’s going to be awesome. I’ve said it before, but Rebels is probably my favorite entry into the Star Wars canon since Empire Strikes Back. Season three has only solidified its GOAT status as far as televised Star Wars stories go. If you don’t believe me, be sure to check out last week’s episode set on Tatooine — which only made me want a solo Obi-Wan movie even more.
In tandem with Rogue One, Star Wars: Rebels is the perfect bridge between the prequels and the Original Trilogy. And not for nothing, Rogue One, in a way, featured the first live action incarnations of our favorite members of the Ghost crew. While Chopper was the only Rebel we saw on screen, if we ever get to see the rest in the future, here are the actors I’d like to see playing them.
Continue reading “Please Cast These Actors in a Live Action Star Wars: Rebels“
Back in November, we recorded a live edition of Hard NOC Life from the NOC Reading Lounge at CTRL+ALT — the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s pop-up culture lab in the former Pearl River Mart location in SoHo. Hamilton superfans Constance Gibbs, Kendra James, and Kevin T. Morales joined Keith to nerd out over the smash Broadway hit musical Hamilton.
Continue reading “History as Fan Fiction: A CTRL+ALT Panel on ‘Hamilton’”
When it’s all said and done, 2016 will be long remembered as the year everything (including American democracy) went to hell. Pop culture did not go unscathed either. We said goodbye to all of our heroes: Prince, Bowie, Ali, Phife, Kanye… and hello to the worst the internet could offer. From misogynist Ghostbusters haters to problematic faves, it was the year the ugly side of internet culture went mainstream. I mean, we literally elected an internet troll the leader of the free world.
Still, the geekosystem was able to produce a few silver linings in the massive dark cloud that was the last 12 months. Here are ten… or so.
Continue reading “Ten (or More) People Who Proved 2016 Wasn’t a Total Disaster”
by Timothy Yu
Mike Pence went to see Hamilton. He got booed. The actors read a statement from the stage. And our president-elect tweeted a demand that the cast apologize for their “harassment.” Just another day in the dawning Trump Era.
There was plenty to say. Some pointed out the irony of Donald Trump, scourge of political correctness, complaining that the theater should be a “safe place.” Others pointed to the chilling precedent of our incoming president demanding that artists apologize to an elected official. But what most surprised me was seeing some of my friends — many of whom are themselves artists, writers, literary scholars — repeating the argument that the Hamilton controversy was “just a distraction” from Trump’s other problems.
Continue reading “What Artists Can Learn from the Trump v. Hamilton “Distraction””
If you missed out on George Takei’s Allegiance during its acclaimed, but brief, Broadway run, Fathom Events is giving you an opportunity to see the musical — that made Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda sob — in a cinema near you!
Continue reading “See George Takei’s Broadway Musical Allegiance on the Big Screen”
It’s happening. After non-stop begging for the last year and a half, the producers of The CW’s block of superhero shows have relented and are giving us a musical crossover between Supergirl and The Flash (with potential guest appearances by Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow cast members). You’re welcome, world.
Continue reading “CONFIRMED: A Musical Crossover is Happening for Supergirl and The Flash“
If you follow this site, you know there aren’t many things we obsess over more than The CW’s DC Universe and Hamilton. And since most of the original cast of the Broadway phenomenon has moved on — or is about to move on [sadface] — I figured why not mash up our favorite things and imagine which DC characters the Hamilton cast could play in the Berlanti-verse? We all know how much they love casting Broadway talent on these shows in the first place. Besides, Lin himself has said we should expect these guys on our favorite shows anyway:
Continue reading “Green Arrows and Ham: Five ‘Hamilton’ Stars who Should be in the DC Universe”
Over the weekend, the Broadway musical, Hamilton, won 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical.
Remember the news story about the lawyer who pointed out that Hamilton’s audition notice discriminated against Caucasian actors?
The lawyer, Randolph M. McLaughlin, inadvertently caused a firestorm of social media ire by lovers of the popular (and expensive) musical. I contacted Randolph to hear his side of the story.
Continue reading “Remember That Lawyer Who Accused Hamilton of Discrimination?”
For this week’s edition of Hard NOC Life, we’re changing it up and focusing our attention on a genre that doesn’t get much attention on the site: musical theater! At a time when Hollywood still thinks it’s risky business to put people of color in their movies, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is literally poppin’ a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not. With its company of African American, Latinx, and Asian American actors playing the men (and women) who founded our country, Hamilton is proof that diversity equals box office. Joining Keith to talk all things Ham, are super-fan Constance Gibbs, Hollywood Reporter Rebecca Sun, and #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign.
This week’s episode of Arrow was really great — it’s probably the first time ever that I’ve enjoyed Arrow more than The Flash since 1.) Last season of Arrow was ROUGH, and 2.) This week’s episode of The Flash was also rough. Of course, the amazingness of “Beyond Redemption” was helmed by none other than Punisher: War Zone (and friend of the NOC — go check out Keith’s interview with her!) director Lexi Alexander.
Continue reading “NOC Recaps Arrow: The Room Where it Happens”
