Lin-Manuel Miranda hits Hollywood with 'Moana'
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Don't get the idea that Lin-Manuel Miranda is going all Hollywood with Disney's Moana.
Even before Miranda unveiled his musical Hamilton on Broadway in 2015, starring as Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in the pop culture phenomenon, he was deep into songwriting for the Pacific Island-themed Moana (in theaters Wednesday).
"The irony being, I got this Moana job seven months before anyone had ever heard of Hamilton, before our first rehearsals. I had been writing (Moana) concurrently with Hamilton," says Miranda, 36, settling into a suite at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel after a hug from passing Moana star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "So I guess I went Hollywood before you even knew who I was."
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We definitely know who Miranda is now after his rocket-rise to fame in what he dryly calls "the little indie show that could," which won 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.
The New York-born playwright/composer, who is of Puerto Rican descent, says he was flying his Polynesian flag throughout the creation of Hamilton after being hired by Moana directors Ron Clements and John Musker in 2014.
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Miranda worked closely with his Moana collaborators, score creator Mark Mancina and musician Opetaia Foaʻi (founder of the world music band Te Vaka). He'd be putting out Pacific Islands beats over Skype with the team twice a week, wearing his period ruffled shirt before Hamilton's evening curtain call.
"I'm sure they must have taken screengrabs of that," Miranda says. "But Moana became my oasis as Hamilton exploded — I had to continue prioritizing writing."
It was a handy oasis: Hamilton cast members provided initial "scratch" recordings for Moana songs. His stage wife Phillipa Soo demonstrated How Far I'll Go for Auli'i Cravalho, Moana's heroine. Chris Jackson (who played George Washington) laid down You're Welcome, the signature song for Johnson's demigod Maui.
"I found these great singers in the building," says Miranda, whose cast is thanked in the credits. "It was all hands on deck."
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Miranda added his own scratch vocals to Foa‘i's We Know the Way about the voyaging life of Moana’s ancestors. To his surprise, his voice was incorporated into the final song. Miranda says he was "very grateful" for the honor, a reflection of the diverse collaboration.
Post-Hamilton, Miranda has relocated to London to begin Disney's Mary Poppins Returns as the lamplighter Jack alongside Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins. He plays a Londoner, complete with accent, for the project, which will be in theaters for Christmas 2018.
Miranda also has plans for a live-action version of his all-time favorite Disney movie musical, The Little Mermaid, with composer Alan Menken ("It's early and I don't quite know what my role is on this yet"). The Weinstein Company is developing a screenplay for Miranda's first musical, 2008's In the Heights.
But Miranda will never take his eyes off his beloved Hamilton, tweeting how "proud" he was of the cast for sending Vice President-elect Mike Pence an unscripted message of peace after Friday night's performance. He also has slight Hamilton envy.
"Every time I see a performance, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't I get a little jealous about Hamilton," he says. "I don’t think that role is done with me yet. It’s a matter of finding the time to jump back in."