Hi, I'm Stage in Stages, Lynn Manuel Miranda, and you're listening to The Hamelcast.

Boots and cuts.

Boots and cuts.

Okay.

Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Hamelcast. And this Jillian, and this week wraps up my just

lovely conversation with Mani Schwartzman. There's really no other way to put it. Mani's the music

director of Hamilton's Angelica Tour, which means he's the conductor, he plays key one, and he's

basically in charge of all things music. These episodes have been such a fantastic deep dive

on not just Mani as a person and his incredible life experiences,

but a super candid look at the life of a true musician.

When Mani was growing up, teaching himself to play piano and read music, his focus was exclusively

the classical world.

But by the time he was 14 and working as his high school theater department's music director,

which is amazing and insane, he'd totally fall in love with the collaboration and

storytelling of musical theater.

Mani talks a lot of always striving to be better than he was yesterday.

He never wants to plateau. He always wants to keep learning, and not just learning, but really

understanding what he's learning. Part of that, he says, is because he grew up as an immigrant.

He talked about always having to show up with excellence, as he put it.

And in addition to that, Manny has a genuine

curiosity and warmth that makes him even more excellent at what he does. Then you put his talent

...