FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is Coming to Portland Center Stage

Producers Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny and Jon Steingart, Jill Furman, and Portland Center Stage announced that the national tour of Freestyle Love Supreme will play Portland Center Stage's U.S. Bank Main Stage from April 8 - May 1, 2022. Tickets are on sale now at pcs.org/freestyle-love-supreme.

This critically acclaimed hip-hop sensation and recipient of a 2020 Special Tony Award was conceived by Anthony Veneziale and created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale. Freestyle Love Supreme has its origins in 2004 - prior to the world premieres of both In the Heights and Hamilton - when the artists developed it during rehearsal breaks for In the Heights while that musical was still in development.

Portland audiences have a rare opportunity to catch two works created by Thomas Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda - Freestyle Love Supreme and Hamilton - in the same month, with the national tour of Freestyle Love Supreme opening at PCS one week before the return of Hamilton.

Following a highly-anticipated Broadway return and the release of the Grammy-nominated Hulu documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme is a non-stop blend of hip-hop, improvisational theater, music, and vocal stylings. The 90-minute show is created nightly with the audience and no two shows are ever the same.

"We've had many of our happiest and most fulfilling creative moments working on Freestyle Love Supreme and are excited to see its next chapter unfold on this national tour," said Thomas Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda. "It is a show that consistently surprises us: we have no idea what to expect any time we do it - and isn't that the true beauty of live theater? Freestyle Love Supreme wouldn't want or have it any other way!"

Directed by Kail, Freestyle Love Supreme is a blend of hip-hop, improvisational theater, music, and vocal styling with special surprise local guest artists at select performances. The show that Entertainment Weekly calls "lightning in a bottle" and Rolling Stone describes as "pure joy" features talented performers providing non-stop action throughout the fast-paced production, spinning suggestions from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers. The electrifying vocals of the performers - from singing to rapping to beat-boxing with harmonies and freestyle flow - are backed by tight tunes from keyboards and human percussion.

Freestyle Love Supreme's company on tour includes Andrew Bancroft aka "Jelly Donut"; Richard Baskin Jr. aka "Rich Midway"; Jay C. Ellis aka "Jellis J"; Aneesa Folds aka "Young Nees"; Kaila Mullady aka "Kaiser Rözé"; Morgan Reilly aka "Hummingbird"; James Rushin aka "Not Draggin"; Chris Sullivan aka "Shockwave"; and Anthony Veneziale aka "Two Touch."

In name and beyond, Freestyle Love Supreme pays homage to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," with a nod to musical roots in jazz, soul, blues, and hip-hop. Freestyle Love Supreme was originally developed and produced in 2004 by Ars Nova, in association with Jill Furman and Back House Productions. The show has played in all five boroughs of New York and many states, as well as two runs on Broadway, at the U.S. Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, and the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.

Freestyle Love Supreme is produced by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny and Jon Steingart, and Jill Furman. It features set design by Beowulf Boritt; costume design by Lisa Zinni; lighting design by Jeff Croiter; and sound design by Nevin Steinberg.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

When: April 8 - May 1, 2022*

*Opening Night/Press Night: Friday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m.

Pay What You Will Performances: April 10 and April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: U.S. Bank Main Stage at The Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave, Portland, OR.

Please Note: Freestyle Love Supreme is recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains theatrical haze and adult language. This show is unscripted. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.