#399: Shan Ako // Hamilton West End // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Release Date: 01/08/2024
THROWBACK // Episode #93: Anna-Lee Craig (2017)
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
This is the last throwback before we really dive in and start wrapping up The Hamilcast. Anna-Lee Craig is HamiltonBroadway’s A2 (assistant sound), and when she came on the podcast all the way back in 2017, she made all of our heads explode. It actually keeps happening because I STILL hear from listeners about this conversation. I mean, she invented the famous ALC Special! And, come to think of it, listeners write not just about this conversation, but the many conversations I’ve had with people behind the scenes at Hamilton, in all different arenas: hair, wardrobe, management, sound, you...
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THROWBACK // Episode #77: Mandy Gonzalez (2017)
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Time for another throwback! The truly effervescent Mandy Gonzalez came on the podcast in 2017 and gave new meaning to "I'm about to change your life." It was so important that she came on the show because, duh, she is THEEEEEEEE Mandy Gonzalez. Mandy was kind, gracious, and generous, and her recording was a big turning point in the life of The Hamilcast. It was a really, really big deal that she came over. And! This is the episode that made Lin-Manuel Miranda want to come on the podcast, so yeah, life changing status ACTIVATED. This is the full, untouched episode from 2017 and below is the...
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Bonus B-Side: Back to Basics with Michael Paul Smith!
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
As The Hamilcast starts to wrap up, I couldn't end this thing without jumping on the mic with Michael Paul Smith and making a podcast love letter to every listener, guest, Patreon Peep, and cool experience from these last ten years. Of course I couldn't mention everything and even as I type this, I'm kicking myself for not going back and discussing every single episode and every single experience at length and with extreme detail. But this feels very self serving as it is (woof!) so please, if you're reading this, please know how much I love I have for this entire journey, and how much fun...
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#491: Aaron Burr, Sir(s) // #HamilTEN Event at South Street Seaport
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
On August 21st, 2025, I hosted a #HamilTEN event where I was asked to moderate a conversation with five actors who have played Aaron Burr over the years: Nik Walker, Donald Webber Jr., Jared Dixon, Marc delaCruz, and Deon’te Goodman. It was extra fun because they are all my friends and have all appeared on the podcast! This is the full audio of our chat, including the first announcement about the ending of The Hamilcast. It won’t be any surprise for you to learn that this conversation was *excellent.* All of these guys have so much insight and incredible things to say; we absolutely could...
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#490: Renée Elise Goldsberry // Hamilton Broadway's Original Angelica Schuyler
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Renée Elise Goldsberry is on the pod and yeah no there are no typos detected this actually happened! We covered so much ground and I am still in awe of what a warm, generous, honest, and thoughtful person Renée is. This episode is *packed.* Want to hear about her album Who I Really Am and what it was like to record it over four years and how Renée put her heart and soul into it? Done! How about her new Satisfied documentary, which is a deeply personal look into originating Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton while also raising small children and realizing she didn’t have to choose because...
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#489: Jennifer Simard // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Jennifer Simard is back for round two and I do not at all regret to inform you that this is now a First Wives Club fan podcast. As she takes questions from the Patreon Peeps, Jennifer talks a lot about her process as Helen Sharp in Death Becomes Her, from respecting the source material without doing a Goldie Hawn impression to staying true to the story that is in front of her (the script on a Broadway stage as opposed to the movie from 1992). Jennifer also dives into the what she calls "the real nougaty center of comedy" which is, say it with me! Pain! Darkness! Tragedy! I mean, come on,...
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#488: Jennifer Simard // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
The multi-talented Jennifer Simard is on the pod! Can you believe?! The three-time Tony nominated star of Death Becomes Her on Broadway AND bonafide TikTok sensation was generous enough to chat with me for so long that she has *two* episodes. Unreal. This week, Jennifer tells me her Hamilton story, talks about the beauty and madness of Tony season (especially when she was first nominated in 2016), explains the panic of realizing she had onstage seating for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, and makes an extremely compelling pitch for why she should play King George III. ...
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#487: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner // Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist // Part Three
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
As I wrap up with author Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, we have a first for the pod! A Patreon Peep is taking questions from his fellow Peeps! The deep dive continues as Daniel shares more stories that didn’t make the book (Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist) and even tells us more details about things that *did* make the book. Plus, Daniel nerds out about Shakespeare, talks about his incredibly inspiring students and why "the future of the form is in good hands" (seriously, you will want to see these musicals YESTERDAY), and if you thought we were done talking about the nineties you...
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#486: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner // Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, cultural omnivore and author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist, is back for round two and the deep dive continues! This week, Daniel tells us all about the time Stephen Sondheim visited Lin’s high school dished the dirt about West Side Story with a room full of teenage theatre kids. That's where Lin learned that not even Sondheim nails it on the first try, and the messy process can lead to something even better than the original. That could be its own episode but hell no there's so much more going on this week! Among other things Daniel talks about...
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#485: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner // Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is an award winning author, educator, and bonafide fan of culture, Shakespeare, musicals, and artists. His new book, Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist, is part biography, part deep dive, and part oral history. It’s also a very beautiful (and honest!) tribute to Lin-Manuel and all the people and steps involved in the journey to who he is today. But if you think this is a boring stop on a press tour, think again! Daniel has been a Patreon Peep of The Hamilcast since 2018 and after years of writing about Hamilton’s cultural impact and then talking to over...
info_outlineShan Ako is a singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and author who has a degree in Music Business and is in the process of getting her Masters in Positive Psychology. Shan is currently playing Eliza Schuyler in the West End and previously played Eponine in multiple iterations of Les Miserables, Whitney Houston in Whitney: Queen of the Night, and blew everyone away as a member of Simon Cowell’s team on X-Factor. In her first episode, Shan talks about growing up in a musical household and how her musicianship is always at the forefront of her projects and artistry. Her main goal as a performer is honesty, and it comes through in every facet of Shan’s storytelling: from her surreal experience on X-Factor to falling in love with Eponine to hoping listeners are encouraged by the fact that she initially made it as far as final callbacks for Eliza only to be told “no” by the Hamilton creatives. As Shan herself says, “Welcome to The Shan Show!!!”
Shan sings original track at Simon Cowell's house | Judges' Houses | The X Factor UK 2018
The X Factor UK 2018 Shan Auditions Full Clip S15E06
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