Broadway It-Guy! 10 Things We Learned About HAMILTON Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

He is arguably the biggest composer of the biggest musical in recent years. Lin-Manuel Miranda has transformed Broadway with his critically adored, history-making new musical, Hamilton, which combines the two things he loves the most: hip-hop and musical theatre.

On August 12, The New York Times published an extensive article on Miranda entitled "Lin-Manuel Miranda, Creator and Star of 'Hamilton,' Grew Up on Hip-Hop and Show Tunes." From the loads of background information included, BroadwayWorld has put together a list of things we learned about the Broadway It-Guy. Check out the list below!

10. He's a huge fan of The Little Mermaid.

Lin-Manuel Miranda might be one of the biggest The Little Mermaid fans on the planet. The New York Times article says, "Mr. Miranda is an exuberant fanboy who happily tweets mash-ups of lyrics from Drake and The Little Mermaid, knowing that almost no one will get the joke." His love of The Little Mermaid also inspired a very important part of his life: naming his son Sebastian.

9. The 12 Days of Christmas is his favorite book.

Christmas is Lin-Manuel Miranda's favorite time of year, or at least part of his favorite book. "One of my first favorite books was The 12 Days of Christmas, and I would just go up to people and say, 'I can sing The 12 Days of Christmas, and I would make them sit through me reciting it, and I'd go all the way, each time. I've always hooked into lyrics,'" he told NYT.

8. He has a knack for memorizing lyrics.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has an amazing gift for memorizing lyrics and that helps him create some of the wonderful, spontaneous mashups he has become known for. "One afternoon, in the orchestra pit at Hamilton, when the musical Fun Home came up in conversation, he spontaneously began to belt out 'Ring of Keys,' a showstopper sung by an 11-year-old actress," says NYT.

7. His iPhone music speaks to him on a daily basis.

His music interests range far and wide. In an interview earlier this year, Lin-Manuel Miranda put his iPhone music on shuffle and what popped up ranged from Jay Z to Faith Evans to music from Merrily We Roll Along. Lin-Manuel Miranda says that "he periodically listens to music the same way, while riding the train or walking the dog. 'More often than not, I'll put on shuffle, and that's like the message the universe wants to send me that day."

6. Stephen Sondheim has become a close collaborator.

Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest composers in musical theatre and most musical theatre fans can remember the moment where a Sondheim musical grabbed ahold of their hearts. For a high-school aged Lin-Manuel Miranda he got to meet the great composer and lyricist when he spoke at Hunter. Now as Lin-Manuel Miranda inspires a new generation of fans, Sondheim and Miranda have become friends due to the fact that Miranda sends him unfinished work for feedback.

5. He's also very close to John Kander.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is particularly close to John Kander, the legendary composer who collaborated with Fred Ebb on such shows as Cabaret and Chicago. According to The New York Times article, "Mr. Kander introduced himself to Mr. Miranda after seeing the Off-Broadway run of his earlier musical, In the Heights and now the two regularly have lunch."

4. He started writing musicals in high school.

In the sixth grade, Lin-Manuel Miranda started performing in musicals and even then they had a twist. "His school produced 20-minute versions of six shows in one performance." Then once he entered high school, he was cast as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and then Judas in Godspell. His love for musical theatre continued to blossom especially when he started helping behind the scenes. He was an assistant director for a production of A Chorus Line and then he directed West Side Story. All of this culminated into Lin-Manuel Miranda starting to write his own musicals.

3. A date to Rent changed his life.

Rent and the genius of Jonathan Larson has always been a major inspiration in Miranda's life. He first saw Rent when "a girlfriend had taken him to see on his 17th birthday, and which he described as 'a revelation - that you could write about now, and you could have musicals that really felt contemporary.'"

2. His parents have a HUGE Broadway cast album collection.

Miranda's parents have always been a major influence on his work. His parent's own hundreds of Broadway cast albums and that helped craft Miranda's love of musical theatre. The Miranda's family has always been very into Broadway. He told the New York Times, "The only shows I saw as a kid were that holy trinity: Les Mis, Cats, Phantom'" He would listen to Jesus Christ Superstar and Man of La Mancha on repeat and the movie version of The Sound of Music was always an inspiration.

1. His elementary school bus driver taught him rap.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has successfully brought his love of rap to musical theatre audiences and his love for rap can be traced back to.... his elementary school bus driver, Billy Baker Jr. His school bus driver's passion for rap led to him drilling Lin-Manuel Miranda in lyrics by Boogie Down Productions, Geto Boys and the Sugarhill Gang.

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Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos