Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mandy Gonzalez & Javier Muñoz to Join Event at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post will host a moderated conversation with Pulitzer Prize, GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter, actor, director, and producer Lin-Manuel Miranda on Wednesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Complementing the conversation and performing works from the Lin-Manuel Miranda songbook are Broadway stars Mandy Gonzalez (In the Heights, Wicked, Hamilton) and Javier Muñoz (In the Heights, Hamilton). Music direction will be led by Dan Lipton (The Band's Visit, The Last Ship). Moderator to be announced.

Tilles Center is partnering with the Miranda Family Fund in the creation of opportunities for artists of color and proceeds from this event will support these efforts. Tickets go on sale to Tilles Center Members on Wednesday, June 21 and to the general public on Friday, June 23, and can be purchased at tillescenter.org.

"Lin-Manuel Miranda is undeniably one of the most important voices of our time, as both an artist and an activist," shares Tilles Center executive and artistic director Tom Dunn. "At Tilles Center, we strive to entertain and enrich our community through arts performance, education, and advocacy. To host Lin-Manuel, Mandy Gonzalez, and Javi Muñoz not just in performance but also to raise awareness of opportunities for BIPOC artists squarely aligns with our enduring mission. It also promises to be another unforgettable evening at Tilles Center. I, for one, cannot wait to be present in the 'room where this happens!'"

Lin-Manuel Miranda + Friends: An Evening of Conversation and Song will feature an intimate, thought-provoking conversation with Lin-Manuel that will cover his already legendary career, artistic process, and the causes he supports. Interspersed throughout the conversation will be performances from Gonzalez and Muñoz featuring musical numbers from Hamilton, In The Heights, and more, backed by a live, four-piece band, led by music director Dan Lipton.

Miranda is the creator and original star of Broadway's Tony-winning musicals, Hamilton and In the Heights. Hamilton - with book, music and lyrics by Miranda, in addition to him originating the title role - was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and earned a record-breaking 16 Tony Nominations, winning 11 Tony Awards including two personally for Miranda for Book and Score of a Musical. Among his many accolades, Miranda is also a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award, the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, ASCAP Foundation's Richard Rogers New Horizons Award, and the Portrait of A Nation Prize.

Crucial to Miranda's work is his activism. For over 40 years, he and his family have created and championed initiatives and institutions that increase representation of underserved populations throughout the arts and government, supported relief efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Maria and Irma, and co-founded the Miranda Family Fund to support progressive values in the arts and government in which all people - regardless of race, origin, economic status, gender, sexual orientation, and/or disability - have access to education, the arts, fair elections, reproductive freedom, and inclusive voting practices; all of which are integral to American democracy. Miranda also co-founded RISE Theatre Directory, which seeks to build a more equitable and inclusive theatre industry by centralizing DEIA tools and resources through a network of partners and a national personnel directory that focuses on uplifting those from underrepresented backgrounds, including but not limited to people of color, women, trans, nonbinary, deaf, and disabled theatre professionals.

"I happened to get the call for this event the day Lin-Manuel's RISE Theatre Directory was announced, so the first thing I said was... let's use it!" shares music director Dan Lipton. "RISE was launched in partnership with MAESTRA, whose directory has become a major resource for me in hiring female musicians. Thanks to RISE, our band at the Tilles Center will amplify diversity while amplifying Lin's songbook."

Gonzalez is an accomplished film, TV, and stage actor, and author. She possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. Gonzalez has starred in Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler, In The Heights as Nina Rosario, for which she received a Drama Desk Award, and in Wicked as Elphaba.

Muñoz is an actor and activist whose impressive body of work spans theater, film, and television. He is best known for starring and co-creating the role of Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical Hamilton on Broadway for two years after Lin-Manuel Miranda departed the show (and was his alternate prior to that). Muñoz got his break starring as Usnavi in In The Heights.

Lipton conducted The Band's Visit and Sting's musical The Last Ship on Broadway. He's arranged music and led bands for Kelli O'Hara, Audra McDonald, Brian d'Arcy James, Martha Plimpton, John Lithgow, Judy Kuhn and BD Wong. Music supervision and orchestrations: An Officer and a Gentleman (2021-22 US tour), The Other Josh Cohen and Don't Quit Your Night Job (off-Broadway), The Drama Desk Awards.

Lin-Manuel Miranda + Friends: An Evening of Conversation and Song is sponsored, in part, by Diana and Randy Plotnitzky and Brenda and Jason Wilensky.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 23 and can be purchased at tillescenter.org.

Tilles Center Members get early access to tickets on Wednesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. Membership support starts at $100 and includes exclusive presales throughout the year. Patrons can visit tillescenter.org/membership to become a member and purchase tickets before the public on sale.

For more information, including performance dates, details, and tickets, visit tillescenter.org.

Tickets are available online at tillescenter.org or ticketmaster.com, in-person at the Tantleff Box Office or by telephone at 516.299.3100. The box office, located at 720 Northern Boulevard (Route 25A) in Brookville, New York, is open Tuesday to Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. Fees are associated with all orders. There are no refunds.

ABOUT TILLES CENTER

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post's mission is to engage and enrich our community through arts performance, education, and advocacy. For more than 40 years, Tilles Center has hosted and presented more than 70 performances each season by world-renowned artists in music, theater, and dance. The nonprofit also supports thousands of children and adult learners each year through its robust arts education programs, providing arts experiences to underserved communities - from low-income school districts and those on the autism spectrum to local seniors. Tilles Center is located at LIU Post, 720 Northern Blvd, Brookville NY. Learn more at tillescenter.org.

ABOUT LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (LIU)

Long Island University, founded in 1926, continues to redefine higher education, providing high quality academic instruction by world-class faculty. Recognized by Forbes for its emphasis on experiential learning and by the Brookings Institution for its "value added" to student outcomes, LIU has a network of over 285,000 alumni, including industry leaders and entrepreneurs around the globe. Visit liu.edu for more information.

ABOUT CATHOLIC HEALTH

Catholic Health is an integrated system encompassing some of the region's finest health and human services agencies. The health system has nearly 17,000 employees, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home health service, hospice and a network of physician practices.

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