Behind the Curtain with Hamilton Star, Tyler Fauntleroy with Kyle Wallace

It is truth to power here on the award winning one on one seven the truth

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And shut out to you truth nation. Now y'all I told you I was excited now. I've been talking about this

I told you I went to New York City this summer and I got to see Hamilton on Broadway. I was excited

And now I'm even more excited truth nation because as you know

The musical play Hamilton is in the city of Milwaukee

It started yesterday

It runs all the way through February 1st right here in Milwaukee and I am so blessed and so fortunate to be joined by Tyler

Fautler Roy who plays Alexander Hamilton on the Broadway hit show Hamilton that is right now traveling and touring here in the city

Of Milwaukee you can visit market center dot org to get your tickets to see this incredible show when I say this y'all

When I went to go see Hamilton when I even don't go see when I saw Hamilton on Disney plus the first time ever

I literally was singing the songs for a month. They were stuck in my head. Now I stopped

No pun intended non

Stop so I just want to say hello and welcome to Tyler. Thank you so much for joining us here on truth the power

Oh, thank you so much for having me. Yeah, it's great to have you here now Tyler

I want to get right into it and you know

I just want to learn a bit about you personally a little bit because you know African American in the arts is something that is

It's important to me and so when I see you you're an African American who works in an art

And I think you can be an inspiration for kids and can you just talk a little about what drove you into being in the arts?

Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a great question um I

It's background about me. I was born in New York raised in Virginia

So anybody asked me where I'm from I say Virginia because if I say New York

I will disappoint on those expectations

You don't say Virginia big time. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Love. I'm from Hampton, Virginia

Love where I'm from and uh, I I grew up in church singing in church

um, and uh

I was a very extremely shy kid. Mm-hmm scared of my own shadow. Oh, no one look at me. No, you don't don't don't perceive me in this room

um

But I loved singing loved it love music um and

It was in my church where my mom and another people in my church kind of like knew that I had this gift

And and championed me kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone to push me out of my shell, you know to so you know

I'd be in I'd be in choir rehearsal and you know our choir director

Would be like, hey, do you want to take this solo tightly? You want to take this solo? I'd be like, no, I'm cool

I'm cool. I'm cool then on Sunday. I'd be in the choir just be like I could have did that

You know, like you know, I started to realize yeah, like I'm I am I am foregoing, you know

opportunities that

Could you know I could really enjoy and then I'm meant for but I'm too scared so I'm saying no to them, you know

So I I got to the point where I remember in middle school my best friend was in our our school play

My mom the whole year was like you need to audition for this play. Please come on. I'm a man. No. I'm not trying to hear all that you know and

I went to this play and I don't even remember what the play was it was something like our choir director our choir teacher wrote

And I was sitting there in the sixth grade. I was blown away by it

I was caught up in the story. I was watching just everyone on stage. I'm like 11

They're also 11 12 10 and I'm like how are they this age making me feel things? Uh-huh, you know what I mean? Yeah

Oh, yeah, and I got so caught up in the magic of it that I was like man

I would love to give someone else this experience that I'm feeling right now, you know

So it was after that. I was like okay, bro

You got to you got to you got to see what this is about. Yeah, so next year I started doing

Um, I did our school play um

seventh grade then eighth grade. I did our school play again and eighth grade. I was we did Willy Wonka

I was Willy Wonka as my first real you know

Hey, I was I was I was I came out the gate. I was like whoa

I'm you know, it was my second play. It was it was uh an amazing experience

And then it was like man, I I don't know

What kind of how what capacity

Theater will have in my life, but I know it will all it has to always be there, you know

Um, and so getting in high school when you start to you know

Hone in on what you want to do for the rest of your life. Yeah, I was like man

I could be a lawyer like I know as funny as it is as shy as I used to be and still can be

I know whatever I do was going to be me speaking in front of a bunch of people

Yeah, like I know like that's going to be the thing

And I was like hey be a lawyer. You know, I could do that. I could you know

So I was I was toyed with that idea, but I knew that I loved acting

I knew that that was like that was my passion and my high school theater teacher

You know, she picked up the baton from my middle school teacher and and the folks at my church and you know really fanned my flames

You know, but but the one thing that was like tricky for me

Was like I didn't know you know

What a working actor looked like yet

Um, and so I

I was like I know that I want to do it

I know that there's Broadway and I know that there's LATV and film right like I didn't know all the things of like you know

Regional theater like like you know like a theater like Milwaukee rep, you know like yeah like like that is that is

theaters across the country like Milwaukee rep, you know like are

Ready and available for you to like you know shoot your shot and work there, you know

I didn't know that I just knew it was like these two entities, right, but I was like, I don't know

I but I got a and I remember um

Uh, there was a uh in my church um a guy by the name of Derek Baskin. He was in

He was he was going to school for cell biology. I believe was his major

He left there to pursue a career in acting

Um his father was a deacon at my church. His mom's a deaconess so like you know

I remember like

It was in high school that I started to that I learned that you know because you know he was off being great

You know, so he was in in Virginia and

I remember hearing like oh, yeah, well Derek, you know Derek uh, he over

Hey, no inspiration to roll somebody people can attach to you exactly like and I

You know as a young black kid like you know, I didn't

I didn't know like I said what it would look like what that life could look like and so seeing someone like Derek

You know

He's on Broadway. He's doing the thing. I remember when I was going in for

When I finally was like, I gotta I gotta I have to do this and I had support from my mom

My grandma was like I supported one thousand percent. I just need you to minor in something

So I was like fair. Just in case

Yeah, like I need to find her so I did mask communications media studies

Minor at VCU Virginia Commonwealth University um, but I uh

I remember when I was you know because when you go for college uh theater programs

You have to apply but you have to also audition as well like that's the component and Derek

You know, he was one of the people he helped coach me on my college material

You know my audition material and so Derek wise. What did Derek go off and do? Yeah, Derek

Derek was in uh the cast of Memphis on Broadway Derek also is a Tony nominee. Oh wow

He played uh Otis and a two proud originated that role. Oh, oh, yeah

Yeah originated that role and I got to see him

Um in previews of a two proud and he was just like it was like well. Yeah, that's why that's why you're right you are

You know, yeah, I did a show um off Broadway. It was a show called tambourine bones

We did it in New York and then we took it to LA because he's in LA down

It was cool because he got to then you got to see me do a show

You know, we got to we chopped it up afterwards. It was like a really dope full circle moment

But he's yeah

He's incredible. He's incredible. He's done uh show on Hulu as well like he's he's he's been around man. He's he's been

He's he's done incredible things, but yeah, so I I

I went to college, you know

Doing acting doing theater majored in it

Minored in media studies like my grandma said, you know the just in case that you don't need you know

Hey, we doing all right so far. Yeah, you know, we don't all right so far praise god, but uh yeah it was it was

Uh yeah theater and and going to college for theater that was like

It was a very interesting thing to like go to school. It's always weird to go to school for art. You know what I mean um

Uh, but I I got what I needed from there um, I learned a lot um definitely like became like

Uh, a much better actor by the time I was done

And uh, I moved to New York. I moved back in with my aunt had family in New York. So I moved in with her and

Uh, started auditioning um, and I mind you in

2015 when Hamilton had first come out, right like I

Was obsessed with it like everyone else. Listen to soundtrack. I was like, yo, ain't this is crazy

This is great. And I had heard some of lens work before like I loved in the heights before that and I think too like

Lens work specifically um, resonated with me because in musical theater like

Being a black person musical theater, you know, especially that young. It's it's really hard to see where you fit

In some of these stories, you know, I'm saying like it's like well

I'd have to I would need someone very imaginative and an open-minded to put me in this place

I mean even even with that I mean because we'll get into it, but even with that you see some of the backlash that people got from

You know, I forgot her name, but you play Ariel, right? Yeah

Just playing roles that you know, they're fake

Just because you have backlash so people having to say you know what I'm not worried about that

So I don't like imagine what it can be being in that situation where you want to try to get these certain roles

But will they cash you for because of the way you look absolutely absolutely and so when you're

When when the the musical theater can and like I said pre lineman mooranda like is it doesn't really you know

Think about your except any of you got like you got like certain musicals that do obviously right like they do exist

You got your dream girls. You got your color purple. You know, you got liking you know things like that which are beautiful and amazing

It was just it's nice that it that Lynn also added more to what is possible

And I so for me traditional musical theater it took a while for me to find a taste in that because I was like well

This is in the show that I would realistically ever no one would ever hired me for so at this time right

And gratefully things are changing, you know in in a better direction

But yeah, so I sent in my first video in 2015 for Hamilton because they had put out like hey, we want videos from anybody

You know submit a video and I was like say less

Okay, you know, I said the video in um and

It was that was December right I didn't hear anything. I'm in college still at this time

So my mom was like what's going to happen if they hire you you gonna leave school? I was like yeah, I'm out of here

I'm out of here and

Uh, I get an email in April 2016. Uh-huh. They're like man. We started video. Can you send us another video with these two songs this time?

I was like oh shoot. Okay. Yeah, send that video in right. I don't hear anything until

March of 2017. Oh, so it's the year bro if years man. So I

My acting class we were doing a showcase in New York and LA

The first one we were doing was in New York

And so we sent an email to all the casting directors all the agencies and all the things out there

Um tell see is the company that casts Hamilton a bunch of other big big Broadway shows

They saw our in our our website that we sent them

Called a few of us in to audition for Hamilton in person. So this is my first like in person

Hamilton audition, you know, so I'm like, okay. Oh shoot, you know, like I said, I'm still in college

I'm in the middle. This is the hilarious part

I'm I get the email to come into audition in the middle of like one of my like journalism

Like lecture hall classes and I am there's like 300 people in the class and I get this email

And I have to like sit on my hands

That I don't explode

I was like man, hurry up

I so I go I do the audition it goes really well. They ask me like hey, are you planning to move to New York?

And I knew it was March I knew in May I was moving because I was gonna move back in with my aunt, you know, she was gonna you know

And I was like, yeah, I'll be I'll be back literally in two months, you know

I remember the morning I I left

To go to New York in May. I emailed them that morning. Well, I was getting my stuff to go on the gym

Hey, just so you know, yeah remember me and

That would 2017 May of 2017 was when I moved back to New York. I was getting called back for that show

From 2017 to 2020

I was they would launch a national tour. I'd get all the way to the end of auditions wouldn't book it right

Next national tour. I'd get all the way to the end wouldn't book it right

Hey, we need a random replacement. I'd get all the way to the end still nothing, you know for years and years and years

2020 comes it's like January

I have a callback and I'm like man

If there was ever a time I think it's gonna happen

That I think it was that one January 2020. Uh-huh. Don't don't don't

Yeah, so March came and everybody shut everything down

I had and meanwhile in this time. I'm doing regional theater. I'm doing some television

You know, I'm I'm doing you know some off-Broadway stuff

You know, so like my career is in like a really good place for

For where I am, you know, so I'm I'm I'm making it

Without the show and I think that was one of the things where like I really had to let go of the possibility of Hamilton

And then it kind of came back around, you know

And so it was fast forward to 2022

It's the week before Halloween October and I

Get a phone call from my agent my agent. I had just started working together like within the summer

Yeah, I did a show in in New York and LA and you know got some buzz from that. So got a new agent got my manager

um

And my agent called me and it was I was like whoa

My agent call I was looking at my phone. I was like why my agent call me my mind is like well

Here it is. Yeah, it's been a real

Cuz I'm thinking like Dave. That was quick. Shoot. Right. Yeah. This is the ink still wet, you know, so uh I

I pick up the phone. It's my agent

And then I hear my manager as well. He's on the line too

So I'm like, you know like what's going on? Yeah, it was what is this and so

I

They're like hey, we just want to know are you still interested in Hamilton? And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah

I am like great

And so then my mind is like well, why are they calling me because if they want to come if I got to go back in another callback

That's just the email typically. It's always just the email, you know, so I'm I'm confused

I'm like, you know, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm yeah, I'm interested like was you know, what's going on? They're like so um

So the one of the roles that I have been auditioning for the most I have been in for every like

Male principal like main male role except for the for King George and George Washington

But the only two I had not been in for everybody Hamilton Burr

Lawrence Philip Lafayette Jefferson Mulligan Madison

Yeah, I've been in for all of them for so many times

But Lawrence John Lawrence and Philip Hamilton that dual role was the one I'd been in for the most yeah

And so my agent is like, yeah, so the guy who's playing Lawrence Philip right now is leaving in a couple months

And I was like, okay, let okay, so I'm I'm audition, you know

And then he's like, well, no, no, no, no, no, like they because you've been in for so many years

They're just gonna take they just want to give it to you. Wow

He's supposed to be on Broadway or be this to be on the on the second national tour. Oh, okay. Yeah, so I I immediately start crying

You know, I immediately start crying and uh, so yeah, I join as John Lawrence Philip Hamilton

January 2023

Little half way through my contract. I was like man. I wonder if if you know they let me understudy Hamilton

Like in addition to like what I'm you know, what I'm doing now, you know

And so I

You know, I ask you know our higher ups I go through that process and if it's like it approved to to understudy Hamilton

Now what that meant was I'm playing John Lawrence Philip Hamilton every single night

But I'm having rehearsal for Hamilton during the day, you know, so it's it's it's a you're you got to

Also be mindful of like your capacity, you know, you got to be mindful of like your energy your time. Yep

So it was it was a lot, you know, it was a it was a long period of rehearsals while doing the show

You have those moments. I'm like, okay, who am I tonight? Like you know, they should like uh, who am I?

What do I say, you know, because I got all these words in my head now? Yeah

But um, yeah, so then I would say I did Hamilton for the first time

Like day before Thanksgiving 2023, right?

April 2020 March April 2024. I get an email asking

Hey, we're starting a new company of Hamilton. We're starting from the ground up

Would you like to like leave this company and play Hamilton full-time on the other one? Yeah, we're starting

So I've did me really cry again and I you know to be and then uh, yeah, so and so here we are

So I've been I've been playing Hamilton least we get the road as a company in August of 2024

So yeah, we're about a year and a half in to play him with the full-time. Yes. Yes. I want to continue this conversation

I won't hold you for one more segment because I want to get into the show after this

Again, I am so excited right now to be joined by Tyler Fontler Roy

I'm saying that right. Yep. Who is playing Hamilton on the traveling Broadway show of Hamilton

You can see him tonight at the Marcus performing art center as the show will be running until February 1st

Visit MarcusCenter.org to get tickets to this incredible show

We'll continue the conversation on the other side talking about Hamilton to play is the truth of power

Will Kyle Wallace on the award winning one on one seven to truth

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More of truth to power is next on one oh one seven the truth the truth app and one oh one seven the truth dot com

This is truth to power on one oh one seven the truth the truth app and streaming live on one oh one seven the truth on YouTube

Oh

How does it orphan when the Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgot and spotting the

And by Providence and by now we almost are singing now

I'm gonna start singing we gonna wait cuz we we short on time

We got it. We got to get Tyler out here, but again. This is truth to power. Kyle Wallace

You can watch the stream is live on YouTube

You can also

Join in on the conversation at eight three three two one two one zero one seven joined by Tyler Founta-Roy

Who is playing Alexandra Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway show Hamilton off Broadway traveling here to Milwaukee tonight now

I want to get through some of these questions because I do want to ask you overall when it comes to this for fans

Who don't know about the story of Hamilton can you just talk about what the show is about?

Yeah, absolutely. It's uh, it is um

What they what what we like to say is called it's the the story of of America then told by America now

So like you'll it is a a

musical about the life of

Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and also the founding of America set to R&B and hip hop

Like I said told by America now

With with black and brown people on stage. That's what I love about the black and brown people on stage

That is something they call me off guard. I was like, okay

I like this now when I first watched it on Disney plus I was taken back by just appeared musical play like the fact that

It was not stopped singing and I because I thought like there's gonna be some dialogue right? Oh, where's the dialogue at

But me and my family were watching it on it was fourth of July

I think he came out on Disney plus around that time and we all fell in love with it

I wonder what's your favorite song in the show? Oh, yeah, that's that's I have so many. I love my shot

I tell people I was like that feels like that feels like my Super Bowl, you know like like so early in the show

You know, um, you can ask our producer real real was I not singing my shot before this? Oh my gosh. Yes

I am not throwing away. I love you sir

And you know one that like always always like

Stuck out to me was wait for it

Mm-hmm that one always like that is like a haunting song in the best of ways and that's what I love about it

Is when you have a chance looking I get caught up in the beats and the melody and all that when it comes together is one

But when you actually listen to the lyrics even in wait for it is to the storytelling

It is what is so beautiful about all because I'm telling y'all y'all got to go see Hamilton

It is a fantastic show, but it's something that I believe because of the way that the music is

It definitely would resonate with people from all background for folks who like hip hop

R&B it would definitely resonate with them now. I'm doing I know what's

What's what's some fun stuff here? So what's what's like a pre-show ritual that you do before every single show to lock you in

Especially you get ready for this Hamilton roll before you step on stage. Oh, that's a great question

I'm definitely one of those people that like my body and my like I have to feel like I've just

Worked out before I hit the stage. Yeah, like it gets my breath going

It get I feel grounded. So I'll do like some burpees before the show. Yeah, I know I know and sometimes I have to like

Sometimes the burpees will have to just be push-ups or something, but like I have to like

I have to feel you know

I have to exert myself

Before I do the thing and like that like whatever like you know if there's any like nerves

You know if my mind is racing like it can just like that helps me just like focus, you know

I also one of the things I had to learn was like I got to like sit in silence

Throughout the day because like the show is just overstimulating like it's it's a lot going on

You know them saying like one of my favorite things to like tell folks is like

That first time you do my shot as Hamilton and me the other guys who like cover Hamilton like we joke about it

That first one feels like a flash grenade went off. Like when you yo when you for the

I and you go straight into like it is just you know saying like you you're like oh shoot wait the wait a minute

You know, it's it's it's a lot so like I had to learn I got to sit in silence for like

15 minutes a day

Yeah, just to like so like by the time I get to the show

I haven't given all that I have to give you know

Sensory wise, you know like I still have some place to go, but yeah, and then just like yeah listen to some music

You know, I've been I've been bumping um like got sort of out

Before the show. I've been listening to push a tee and and and and uh malice like that's that's kind of I go to

Album right now that gets me in the mindset, but uh

Yeah, but yeah, definitely like I said, I gotta I really the burpees are like the pushups. That's what I need

I love it. I love it now last week before we let you go. I can talk all day, but I know you got to move on

Finish this sentence seeing Hamilton live is something every fan should experience because

Because

There is a lot of inspiration that you can get from the soundtrack in Disney plus

But I hope that being there in the room you see that like

These are people who who saw the world and said hey, it can be different

And I hope that you leave with that same inspiration like hey, this world can be different. Let's do something about it

I love it Tyler

Thank you so much for joining us here today make sure y'all go and see

Hamilton. I'm telling you you will walk away extremely impressed

Thank you so much for joining us here today. Thank you for having me truth nation. Keep it locked

We'll continue the conversation coming up on the other side

This is truth to pile with Kyle Wallace on the award winning one on one seven the truth

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Truth to power with Kyle Wallace returns after this on one oh one seven the truth the truth app and streaming live on one oh one seven the truth on you two