Hey audience members, give us a suggestion and let’s start laying down some rhymes. Actually no, I’m not brave enough to try that, but soon you’ll get to learn a lot more about some people who are: the guys behind Freestyle Love Supreme, the hip-hop improv troupe founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, and Anthony Veneziale. Filmmaker Andrew Fried started filming the group back in the summer of 2005 — before the success of In the Heights and the super-mega success of Hamilton — and has put together a documentary that follows them through the years since, all the way up to the point where the crew reunited for a run Off Broadway and finally a trip to Broadway. The film is titled We Are Freestyle Love Supreme. In addition to the three founders, you’ll also learn more about Arthur Lewis, Christopher Jackson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chris Sullivan, Bill Sherman, James Monroe Iglehart, and Andrew Bancroft (and hey, maybe even Michelle Williams, considering the Kail connection). The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this spring. This summer it’ll be heading to Hulu, where it’ll premiere on June 5th, which sorta rhymes with wordsmith. See, I am bad at this.
