Dan Rosales does a remarkable job taking on the leading role of Hamilton's Tony-winning creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, in the hit off-Broadway parody Spamilton
. Created by Forbidden Broadway genius Gerard Alessandrini, Spamilton pokes loving fun at Broadway's Tony & Pulitzer-winning sensation with songs that send up the original Hamilton actors, the state of musical theatre, and even Stephen Sondheim.BroadwayBox caught up with Rosales to talk about playing Lin in front of Lin, his time starring as Peter Pan in the national tour of Peter Pan 360, and his Friends spirit animal.
1. For Spamilton, my study of Lin-Manuel Miranda included:
Watching tons of interviews and listening to In the Heights & Hamilton over and over and over again. I stick to impersonating Lin throughout the whole show and when Spamilton came about I luckily had (unknowingly) already done so much homework.
2. My experience performing as Lin for him when he saw Spamilton:
Was initially totally shocking, because not only was it Lin but it was also Tommy Kail and Alex Lacamoire sitting in a little banquette in the corner. I was nervous considering we throw several barbs his way and my impersonation is a blown-up characterization of him, but hearing them all laugh in the first moments of the show put us all at ease. More than anything, I was just so excited to have them all there and getting to perform as Lin FOR Lin was just awesome.
3. True or False, I have seen the source material live:
True—Twice! Lin and the guys got our cast tickets for the show after coming to see us!
4. My favorite story from my time as Peter Pan on tour:
I think my favorite story from my time on tour was when a little girl came to the show three different times and wanted to meet Peter Pan SO badly. The first time she came to the show, it was actually one of my swing out days so I couldn't meet her afterwards, then she came a second time to try and meet me and because of some crazy weather that was happening, we had to cancel the show for safety reasons; we were flying upwards of 30-40 feet in the air. Her and her family came back a third time and I was able to meet her afterwards, and she was wearing a Tinkerbell dress and had written out a card for me to tell me how much she loved the show and in the card she put a little thimble—it was one of the most touching things I've ever experienced. I was fighting back tears and so were her parents and our stage manager. She gave me the biggest hug ever and her parents kept saying that she hasn't stopped talking about the show since the first time she saw it. I still have her thimble today.
5. What’s scarier? Rapping for Lin, singing for Sondheim, or flying as Pan?
I'm gonna have to go with flying. Initially, the thought of it was so scary... I don't have a fear of heights but it was just the fear of something going wrong and falling thirty-something feet down to the ground. I got over that pretty quickly though once I learned about all the safety mechanisms in place and the amount of preparedness and checks that go into all the equipment. I'd say singing for Sondheim was a close second though.
6. My most memorable audition:
My first voice-over audition was for this popular animated series that I actually grew up watching and playing the card game as a kid. When I first got to the studio, I recorded the fist couple of sides and they would play back the animation with what we had just recorded. When the episode aired it was just awesome—I'll never forget the first time I heard my voice coming through the television from something I had grown up watching!
7. My favorite role from high school or college:
I'd say one of my favorite roles to date was Alfie Byrne when we did A Man Of No Importance at Boston Conservatory. Ahrens and Flaherty are some of my favorites.
8. One thing I’ve learned about myself through this Spamilton experience:
How to get myself through a 5 or 6 show weekend! The show is a nonstop 80-minute marathon for us, so it's definitely taught me a lot about stamina and pacing.
9. Fictional character I relate to on a visceral level:
Ross Geller from Friends.
10. My New York City happy place:
The Museum of Natural History. It's my favorite place in the city!
Don't miss Dan Rosales hilarious performance in off-Broadway's 'Spamilton' at the Triad through February 28, 2017.
