The Unconventional Way Emmy Raver-Lampman Memorized the Music for ‘Hamilton’ in 24 Hours
The Umbrella Academy‘s Emmy Raver-Lampman is a multi-talented actor. Raver-Lampman’s diverse portfolio includes several Broadway musicals, like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
Raver-Lampman played Angelica Schuyler and was an understudy for the other Schuyler sisters, Eliza and Peggy. She was also an understudy for the controversial Maria Reynolds. But before she was granted a role in Miranda’s Broadway work, Raver-Lampman only had 24 hours to memorize four of the songs from the show. Here’s how she did it.
Emmy Raver-Lampman is an experienced Broadway performer
Before joining the cast of The Umbrella Academy, Raver-Lampman had a career on Broadway.
She studied the arts at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, landing her first professional theater job in her sophomore year. She was cast in Children of Eden.
Raver-Lampman has also starred in Broadway works like Hair, Jekyll & Hyde, and A Night With Janis Joplin. Some of her most notable roles including leading ladies Elphaba from Wicked and Angelica Schuyler from Hamilton.
Emmy Raver-Lampman almost didn’t audition for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s play
When Raver-Lampman first read about Hamilton, she thought it sounded odd.
“On paper, it sounded ridiculous,” Raver-Lampman explained to Collider. “I was like ‘A contemporary musical involving pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rap music [revolving around] the founding fathers of our country and the beginnings of our financial system?’”
Raver-Lampman remembered thinking: “‘Who would see that?’”
Thousands of people flocked to theaters around the nation to see Miranda’s work. Now, thanks to Disney+, millions of people can enjoy Hamilton from the comfort of their own home.
Fortunately, Raver-Lampman’s feeling changed about the play. She ultimately decided to audition. But she only had 24 hours to memorize four of the show’s most iconic songs.
Emmy Raver-Lampman learned ‘Hamilton’ songs like ‘Satisfied’ and ‘Helpless’ in a day
“[The audition process] was quick because I was sent the material by my agents, and I think I had 24 hours,” Raver-Lampman told Collider. “In 24 hours, I had to learn ‘Helpless’, ‘Satisfied’, ‘Say No To This’, and ‘Burn.’”
That’s not all. Prior to her Hamilton audition, Raver-Lampman had never rapped before. “In 24 hours, I had to learn how to rap [and] I had to memorize all this music that I’d never heard before,” she added.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s MP3s helped Emmy Raver-Lampman learn the lyrics to ‘Hamilton’
Prior to her audition, the Hamilton soundtrack had yet to be recorded. Raver-Lampman couldn’t look the songs up on YouTube or download the music online.
One of the best parts of her audition process was being able to listen to MP3s of Miranda singing the Hamilton soundtrack.
“I was literally having to look at this stuff and figure out; I’d never learned music like that before,” she said. “So they also sent along MP3s of Lin playing and singing the songs, and it is some of the best content there is.”
Raver-Lampman was happy to hear Miranda’s voice as she was memorizing the music for her audition.
“[Lin-Manuel Miranda] is just so committed, singing full out, the emotion is there,” she explained. “It’s just Lin singing ‘Burn.’ It’s just so good! And I can’t find [the recordings] and I really wish I could.”
Raver-Lampman believes Miranda’s original audio lives in a Dropbox somewhere on one of her old computers, but she has had no luck finding them.
“[Showrunners] probably pulled them because they just were like, ‘These can never get out,'” she concluded.
