People think they know what Hamilton is. They think they know what it sounds like. They think they know what it feels like to see and that it starts and it's a whole other thing.

I've had people come to me and say, oh, that's amazing that you started doing that thing in that part. And I said, no, no, no, I've been doing that the whole time. There's just so many other things to look at.

Welcome back to working. I'm your host, June Thomas. And I'm your other host, Nate Chenin. Nate, it is so nice to see you again. But I must know whose voice did we hear at the top of the show?

June, that was Miguel Servantes, who plays Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway production of Hamilton.

I've heard of that show. And so I guess my question of why did you want to speak with Miguel is maybe a bit obvious, but I'm still curious why did you want to speak with him right now?

Well, June, I get the sense that you're not a deep Hamilton head, but I'm sure you know who originated and, you know, defined the title role of Alexander Hamilton.

Yes, of course. And so, you know, when I was thinking about what it takes to step into that role, I mean, talk about a tough act to follow, right?

But it turns out that Miguel Servantes has been playing Hamilton for a really long time. And about six weeks ago, my family went and finally saw Hamilton on Broadway with Miguel in that role.

I just could not get over his performance. You know, my family is deep into the Hamilton mythos and my daughters were both sort of nervous about what it would be like to experience an Alexander Hamilton not played by Lynn, but guess what?

Miguel instantly made us all converts and given the unique dimensions of his experience in that role, I knew that he would be a fascinating interview.

Well, I'm very excited to hear from him, but I believe that you have an extra segment that is exclusively for slight plus members. What will they hear?

That's right. At the very end of our conversation, I couldn't help myself. I had to ask about the odd misadventure on stage, you know, live theater.

What's the moment when things didn't go according to plan and how did he deal with it? And Miguel had a pretty hilarious story to tell.

Well, if you are a member of Slate Plus, you will hear that amazing story at the end of the episode. And if you aren't, this might be the moment where you, you know, sign up.

As a Slate Plus member, you'll get to hear extra segments on this show and others like the waves and culturegab fest. You'll get bonus episodes of podcasts like Big Moody Little Moody and Slow Burn.

And of course, you'll never hit a paywall at the slate.com site. It's pretty good to learn more. Go to slate.com slash working plus.

All right, let's hear Nate's conversation with Miguel Cervantes.

Miguel Cervantes, thank you so much for being on working to talk about your process.

Sure. Thanks for having me.

You know, I have to put my cards on the table here after eight years of secondhand, but really serious cultural immersion.

I finally saw Hamilton on Broadway this summer with my family.

Was this the first Hamilton at all or had you had some Disney plus?

...