Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out Mike Reads His New York Times Essay, Plus Best of: Lin-Manuel Miranda
10 snips
Jun 2, 2025 
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the celebrated creator of Hamilton and In the Heights, joins for an engaging discussion on creativity and collaboration. He delves into the necessity of generating numerous ideas to craft a musical and reflects on his school play experiences. Miranda shares the origins of Hamilton, recounting some chaotic performances. They also explore the vibrant narratives found in New York's subway, highlighting the importance of diversity and shared experiences in artistic expression.
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Comedy as Coping Mechanism
- Mike Birbiglia uses comedy to cope with his father’s stroke and difficult family moments.
- Dark jokes help him and the audience process pain and find connection through shared struggle.
Making Musicals Like School Plays
- Lin-Manuel Miranda views creating musicals as making a big school play with lots of parts for everyone.
- He embraces wide casts and optimism as part of his expansive creative process.
Common Ground: Musicals, Action, Porn
- Musicals, action movies, and porn share storytelling beats of heightened emotion expressed via fighting, singing, or sex.
- Lin-Manuel creatively evokes action scenes in his concept album to translate the movie experience into music.
