Hulu is set to release a documentary following the history of a hip-hop improv troupe founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, according to Playbill.
UPDATE 6/3/2020: Originally scheduled to release on June 5th, the creators announced on June 3rd that the release date has been pushed back to an unannounced date in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
What’s Happening:
- Director Andrew Fried has been following the troupe since 2005, documenting the earliest days of the performers as they appeared beatboxing and rapping on the sidewalks. All before the mega-successes of Hamilton and In The Heights.
- Fried, fourteen years later, reunited the group for a series of shows in an off-broadway run which culminated in a series of performances at Broadway’s Booth Theater.
- Disney fans might recognize some of the cast members instantly. James Monroe Iglehart was the original Genie in Broadway’s Aladdin, is the voice of Lance Strongbow in Tangled: The Series and is set to play Phil in the stage adaptation of Hercules. Christopher Jackson was the singing voice of Chief Tui in Moana as well as Kitendo in The Lion Guard. Lin-Manuel Miranda, widely known for the musical Hamilton is also one of the composers and songwriters for Moana, performing on “We Know the Way” and the end credits version of “You’re Welcome” with Jordan Fisher. He also played Jack in Mary Poppins Returns and voices Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/GizmoDuck in the new DuckTales.
- We Are Freestyle Love Supreme was originally shown at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and features appearances from:
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Arthur Lewis
- Anthony Veneziale
- Christopher Jackson
- Utkarsh Ambudkar
- Chris Sullivan
- Bill Sherman
- James Monroe Iglehart
- Andrew Bancroft
- Thomas Kail
- We Are Freestyle Love Supreme debuts on Hulu on June 5th.