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PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of the Globe’s production of Freestyle Love Supreme can be found here.
SAN DIEGO (June 3, 2022) — The Old Globe is ecstatic to host the Broadway hit Freestyle Love Supreme. Packed with nonstop action, this production has different guests every night, making it a fun, never-the-same live surprise full of hip-hop, laughs, and music! The original Broadway production was conceived by Anthony Veneziale; created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale; and directed by Thomas Kail. Performances for this limited engagement begin June 21 and run to July 10, 2022 with the opening on Wednesday, June 22. Freestyle Love Supreme will play on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.
Before Hamilton, before In the Heights, there was Freestyle Love Supreme. Now—direct from Broadway—the original hip-hop musical improv phenomenon from Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale is coming to San Diego. The subject of the Hulu documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, every performance of this Tony Award–winning and Grammy Award–nominated show brings the unexpected, as the crew takes the crowd on a freestyle, hip-hop, improvisational comedy ride. The performers take suggestions from the audience and spin them into instantaneous riffs and full-length musical numbers. See it for the first time—each time—as no two shows are ever the same. A “delightfully wit-laced evening of comedy rap for a wide range of ages” (The Washington Post).
“As the Globe continues its return to live performance after a nearly two-year hiatus, we’re determined to bring fun, energy, and delight to San Diego audiences,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Freestyle Love Supreme is just what the doctor ordered. A high-octane, hilarious, and spontaneous party, the show is unique and fresh, and different every night. Imprinted with the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who co-created it before his triumph with Hamilton, the show has all the wit, imagination, and beauty we associate with his work. Globe audiences have never seen anything like it, and they are in for a really, really wonderful time.”
The Old Globe invites you to join Freestyle Love Supreme Academy (FLSA) in a one-of-a-kind public class that introduces the basics of improv, storytelling, and beatboxing. This exciting 90-minute workshop is open to all adults (16 and over) and will take place in the beautiful outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre on Monday, June 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. In this class, FLSA facilitators will guide participants as they learn the basics of freestyle rap. FLSA’s brilliant and compassionate facilitation team will guide you along the journey at your own speed, from very experienced to the never-rappers. The main focus is having fun, expressing yourself, and supporting others! No experience necessary. Tickets for the workshop are $25 and available at www.TheOldGlobe.org/GlobeLearning.
“This workshop is a great chance to learn basic improvisation, storytelling, and beatboxing—the cornerstones of theatre and hip-hop—with some of the best in the business,” said Associate Artistic Director and Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine. “It will be a fun and engaging way to experience the world of performance on the stage of our Festival Theatre the way these artists do.”
Freestyle Love Supreme Academy was founded in 2018 with the mission of fostering diverse creative voices using improvisation and freestyle rap. FLSA is deeply committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Most of our learning experiences finish with a live performance where the values and ethos that the Academy stands for—inclusion, equity, diversity, and creativity—will be present. https://fls.academy.
The company on tour of Freestyle Love Supreme includes Andrew Bancroft AKA Jelly Donut; Jay C. Ellis AKA Jellis J; Aneesa Folds AKA Young Nees; Kaila Mullady AKA Kaiser Rözé; Morgan Reilly AKA Hummingbird; James Rushin AKA Shifty Hills; Dizzy Senze AKA Dizzy; Chris Sullivan AKA Shockwave; Victoria Theodore AKA Gigawatts; Anthony Veneziale AKA Two Touch; and Ian Weinberger AKA Berger Time.
Special spontaneous and unannounced guests are planned for select performances during the tour.
Freestyle Love Supreme is directed by Thomas Kail and 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.
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 on Broadway, at the U.S. Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, and the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.
Connect with Freestyle Love Supreme online: www.freestylelovesupreme.com. Twitter: @FreestyleLove; Facebook: @FreestyleLoveSupreme; Instagram: @FreestyleLoveSupreme.
The Broadway hit Freestyle Love Supreme will play on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage at the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). Performances run June 21 – July 10, 2022, with the official press opening Wednesday, June 22 at 8:00 p.m. The performance schedule is Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or in person at our Box Office in Balboa Park. Regular ticket prices start at $52. For additional information, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.
Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.
Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.
The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
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