I took a year off from reviewing movies. Here's what I discovered.
'The sun comes up and the world still spins.'
These days, I can't get those words — sung by the great Daveed Diggs — out of my head. Diggs, you'll remember, portrayed Thomas Jefferson in 'Hamilton'; the lyric is from 'What'd I Miss?' the amusing tune Jefferson delivers upon his return from Paris after the excitement of the American Revolution has long since passed. 'I basically missed the late '80s,' he cracks in a wry aside.
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Original ‘Hamilton' Cast Will Reunite for 10th Anniversary at 2025 Tony Awards
To mark Hamilton's 10th anniversary, Lin-Manuel Miranda and the production's original cast will reunite at the Tony Awards. More than two dozen cast members — including Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, and Ariana DeBose — will participate. The Tony Awards will air live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET on June 8. The producers have not yet revealed which song the cast, which includes 19 other actors, will perform. When it appeared at the 2016 Tonys, the Hamilton cast performed 'History Has Its Eyes on You' and 'Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down).' The actors closed out that year with 'The Schuyler Sisters.' More from Rolling Stone Cynthia Erivo to Star in One-Woman London Production of 'Dracula' Leslie Odom Jr. Returning to 'Hamilton' on Broadway for Show's 10-Year Anniversary Amy Winehouse, Elton John, and 'Hamilton' Added to Library of Congress' National Recording Registry The announcement follows the news that Odom would be returning to the cast to reprise his role of Aaron Burr for a 12-week run this fall. 'Returning to Hamilton is a deeply meaningful homecoming,' Odom said. 'I'm so grateful for the chance to step back into the room — especially during this anniversary moment and to revisit this brilliant piece that forever changed my life and the lives of so many.' Hamilton opened on Broadway on Aug. 6, 2015, and quickly became a runaway hit. The musical won a Grammy and an Olivier, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 11 Tonys. The cast recording became the first Broadway album to be certified diamond by the RIAA. A film of the original cast's production, shot in 2016, is available to stream on Disney+. In 2020, Miranda reflected on the Hamilton phenomenon in an interview with Rolling Stone. When asked what his favorite part of the past decade was, he said, 'Honestly, it's the Hamilton wave that keeps cresting. I thought we'd do well with school groups [and] maybe run one or two years. Everything else has been gravy.' Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
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Renée Elise Goldsberry Is Ready to Share Her Debut Album — and Her Recurring ‘Hamilton' Nightmares
In 2013, Renée Elise Goldsberry had everything she wanted. She was finally a mother with two young children and a successful theater and television career. She was content. Then she got a call to audition for Lin-Manuel Miranda's new project. At first, she said no. The project, it turned out, was Hamilton. 'I'm not an idiot. I was a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda from In the Heights. I knew the genius. I just didn't think that they would cast me for the show,' Goldsberry tells Rolling Stone. Eventually, after turning down the show several times, she capitulated and accepted the role of the fiery Angelica Schuyler. With her as one of its stars, Hamilton would go on to be the most sought-after theater ticket in town, launching the ultimate rap battle-history lesson straight into the cultural zeitgeist. More from Rolling Stone Original 'Hamilton' Cast Will Reunite for 10th Anniversary at 2025 Tony Awards Leslie Odom Jr. Returning to 'Hamilton' on Broadway for Show's 10-Year Anniversary Amy Winehouse, Elton John, and 'Hamilton' Added to Library of Congress' National Recording Registry '[Casting director] Bernie Telsey was really excited: 'Renée Goldsberry's coming in to audition!' It was this feeling of, 'We found her,' Miranda remembers. Goldsberry's co-star Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr and will be returning to Hamilton this fall, adds, 'The truly great performers, their art is about how much they're willing to reveal. I just would trust her with anything. I feel that way about her on stage. It doesn't stop once we take our bows.' After portraying Angelica for three years (including a 13-month Broadway run and later a Disney+ adaptation), Goldsberry had been keeping busy performing solo concerts and landing roles on television shows like She-Hulk and Girls5Eva. Now, Goldsberry has embarked on a completely new adventure: She's releasing her first solo album, Who I Really Am on June 6, packing the project with 13 tracks that runs the gamut from love to heartbreak and everything in between. 'I've been writing music for a long time. I dreamt of being in Lilith Fair many decades ago,' she says. 'One of the greatest ways to be a storyteller is to be a singer-songwriter. ' 'She's such a chameleon, her voice can do a million things,' her longtime friend and Girls5Eva co-star Sara Bareilles explains. 'To this day, I can't listen to 'Satisfied' without it bringing tears to my eyes. There's so much truth. That's what makes Renée a great artist.'A version of 'Satisfied' actually makes its way onto the new project, with Goldsberry singing all the parts herself. 'Satisfied' is a famously tricky song,' Miranda says. 'Some people make a meal out of how fast they're rapping. Renée does the opposite. She thinks that fast. She's insane. It's a song at the speed of her brain, which is why she's Angelica.' In an interview with Rolling Stone, Goldsberry shares more of the stories behind Who I Really Am and explains why she waited until now to release the project now. She also looks back at Hamilton as it hits its 10th anniversary, describes how the musical haunts her to this day, and reveals whether she would ever return to the show. Why was this the right time for your debut album?I've had some wonderful success in the theater and in television, which crossed into the world of pop and R&B music, genre-defying, age-defying pop-rap. In Covid, everyone was home, Hamilton had a big movie premiere. I have this blessing of a platform. There are a group of people that care about what I sing. It was the right time to do what I love very much, for people that have shown me so much love. How did you come up with the title ?I was visiting my father in church in Michigan. The pastor got up to introduce a special guest they had there. I turned around like, 'Who? I wonder who it is,' as he was reading my entire biography. He said my name, I was shocked. How did I not recognize myself? I realized it's because it had excluded every challenge I'd been through. I had had a couple of really emotionally painful miscarriages that were quite public, and somehow, this introduction of me, just excluded that, because that's what you do. I thought, 'Wow, what a disservice we do to each other when we reduce our identity to shows and awards.' This song is two sides of the coin. If you flip the coin, that's where the loss is, where the mistakes are, where the pain is. And it became the name of the album. Do you remember when you first wrote your very first song?I was in high school, fell in love with a beautiful boy. He graduated, went to Dartmouth, and left me for my senior year. I walked around the campus of Cranbrook in Michigan so sad, so heartbroken, so abandoned, left with all of these 17-year-old emotions. The song is called, brace yourself, 'Left Alone.' I hope you do a 2026 remake of 'Left Alone.'There's a song called 'Love Returned,' about my most soap opera, dramatic, ridiculously kind of crazy running through the rain, heartbreak, night in college. Yes, I'm every cliché. Is there a special backstory to any of the songs?'Twinkle' is written for my daughter. I have songs that require the support of powerful women, the power of sisterhood. It's every nursery rhyme, but reclaimed specifically for my Black daughter. I wrote 'You Can Do Anything,' for my son, especially the line, 'If you knew that you would win, how would you play?' Without the idea that you might lose, you'll do it differently. Were there any other album titles you considered?'Friendly fire,' is in the song 'I Met Someone.' It's about breaking someone's heart. I had to tell the person I was seeing, 'I met someone.' I met my husband. Finding the strength to say those three words and being the villain in the story. Sometimes it's the best thing you can be in someone's life, because it frees them to have a person that actually loves them in the way they deserve. Is this album your villain origin story?Possible! After I wrote that song with Paul Duncan, Sara Bareilles, my very good friend slash 'Grammy Award-winning superstar.' She actually might be the best singer/songwriter ever. I told her, 'I'm doing my own album.' She said, 'Oh, I have a song, I think you'd sing it great,' and she just gave it to me. 'Don't Want to Love You,' is the perspective of the person who was hurt. I was a stalker fan first. I first met her backstage at Hamilton. When I got the offer to be in Tina Fey and Meredith Scardino's Girls5Eva, Sara was the only person attached. I thought, 'Ooh, if I do the show, I'll be friends with Sara Bareilles.' Who were some of your musical inspirations for this album?My favorite voice in the whole wide world: Sarah Vaughan. She never wanted to be called a jazz singer. She considered herself just a singer, which also fits very well for me. It's a challenge for me to find one genre that defines me. As a theater singer, we sing everything. I'm in love with the sound of Luther Vandross and James Taylor's voices. Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Eva Cassidy, and Joni Mitchell. Joni! Both Sides Now! 's about to hit 10 years. Let's go back in time. We had dinner after your audition and you said, 'I don't know, I think this could be big. The music is so good.' Turns out, you were right.I turned the audition down several times. It was for the workshop. I'm not an idiot. I was a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda from In the Heights. I knew the genius. I just didn't think that they would cast me for the show. I didn't see myself as a Nicki Minaj type. I didn't recognize myself that way. And most importantly, I had just brought my daughter home. My son was here. My family was complete, and it was hard to get. Then, I got this email, 'Would you come audition for this Hamilton mixtape?' I thought, 'They're never gonna give me that job.' So, no. How many times did you turn it down?Two or three times. The producers said, 'We love her. We just need to know if she can rap. Can she just listen to the song?' I listened. I thought, 'Fuck.' I had only one night to learn it. I was going to be in a room with my heroes, Tommy Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, and Jeffrey Seller. And I can't even understand what he's saying on this demo I get. I'm like, 'What? What is he even saying?' I auditioned. They gave me the job. You played hard to get with .I mean I said, 'Yes,' right away! You do a remake of on this album. Did you get the Lin stamp of approval?Lin kicked off his series to showcase Hamilton cast members' work at his theater in Washington Heights, with my documentary, Satisfied. He asked me to sing. I said, 'Well, this is a perfect time for me to let you know that I have this song. Not to replace the irreplaceable! But I'm always singing it by myself!' He replied, 'You have never once asked me to sing with you!' I sent it. He listened and wrote back, 'I love it, let's do it together!' Phillipa Soo sang with us. I said, 'I want to release it as a single.' And he said, 'I'm honored.' Who came to see you in that excited you the most?The people that didn't come is the shorter list. I got to do the show for Prince, Beyoncé, Barack and Michelle Obama. One night, I saw a letter from James Taylor saying, 'Thank you. I had a wonderful time at the show.' I started hyperventilating, 'James Taylor was here?!' My best performances are always when I don't know that anyone is there. I didn't want to be thinking the whole time, 'Oh my God, Beyoncé!' It was scary every single night. What did you learn from working with Lin?Lin and I are opposites. We're both perfectionists. Most perfectionists think they're never good enough. Lin has this wonderful combination of being a perfectionist, but also, he's very 'Show and Tell.' He doesn't have to be done. He'll never stop working. The first time he performed Hamilton at the White House, he did Alexander Hamilton, a rap that no one's ever heard. He's a perfectionist that's never afraid to show his work. It's a genius combination. What was it like working with Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa, and Jonathan Groff?In my documentary and social media, you'll see me with every person you just mentioned, except Jonathan Groff. There's a reason why. It's all inappropriate. I can't put it anywhere. He's fine with it. He doesn't care. I can't release the Jonathan Groff footage. One of the greatest gifts, even 10 years later, is this whole family and watching the world discover them. If came out today, do you think it would be received differently?Absolutely, it would be. Not quite sure how. Would it have more potential to heal because the divide feels so great? What's beautiful about Hamilton because of the rap battles, both sides claimed Hamilton. Hopefully, it would be a bridge. That's definitely what we need. It was born in the Obama era. We thought that era was forever. Eight year olds come up to me all the time, knowing the material better than I do, and they were not alive when it came out. Would you ever go back to ? I've never thought of it ever as an option. It's also my recurring nightmare. I have dreams I'm in costume. It's almost time for me to go, 'Angelica!' I can't remember any of it. They start calling old Nalas for The Lion King. I'm on stage. There's no rehearsal, they assume I know it. I do not. When I heard Leslie was going back to the show, I was shocked. But what a gift to all of us. If there was a reason that it would be a win for everybody again, sure I'd do it. The hardest thing about doing the show is singing, 'Satisfied.' I used to say, kind of metaphorically [pretends to smoke a cigarette] after the show, 'I'm going to write an autobiography, and it's going to be called After Satisfied,' because I was so stressed out until after that song. So, I could do it, I would do it, but they don't need me! You've created a soundtrack to people's lives from joy to heartbreak to to love and all the messy, beautiful stuff in between. Your album's called, 'Who I Really Am?' So, who are you, really?Oof, that's hard. I'm an actor, I'm a singer, I'm a storyteller, I'm a mother, I'm a wife, I'm a friend, I'm a sister, I'm a daughter — A villain…I'm a villain. Who am I? Me. I wrote a whole ass song about it, it's track one. 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Things to do this weekend include 'Hamilton,' Iowa beer fest, Greek fest, and Matt Rife
Off Hours, your free weekly newsletter from the Des Moines Register, showcases all things fun you can do in central Iowa. June 5: See Kansas City, Missouri-based cover band The Stolen Winnebagos perform during the 2025 Summer Concert Series at Jasper Winery, 2400 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines. The free concert from 6 to 9 p.m. showcases the vineyard every Thursday night through July 31 with a different band playing every week. The Stolen Winnebagos' catalog includes Sir Mix-A-Lot, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Queen, Billy Idol, and more. June 5: The Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave., Des Moines, opens its newest exhibit, 'Firelei Báez,' organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Firelei Báez, from the Dominican Republic, focuses on 'the multilayered legacy of colonial histories and the African diaspora in the Caribbean and beyond.' The opening from 5 to 7 p.m. is free to attend. The night includes live music from DJ Lizz of Latino Events Entertainment LLC and free summer bites and seasonal dessert from Taste! to Go. Cash bar with beer, wine, and hibiscus margaritas will be available for purchase. June 5-8: 'I am not throwing away my shot,' proclaims Alexander Hamilton in this Broadway hit making its return to the Des Moines Civic Center, 221 Walnut St., Des Moines. This epic saga told through dramatic acting and song follows the rise of Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. 'Hamilton' is based on Ron Chernow's acclaimed biography and is set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway tunes. See it on June 5-6 at 7:30 p.m. and June 7 at 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $45 at June 6-7: The Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure gives fans a look behind the scenes of the Des Moines Metro Opera at 10 a.m. both days. See a performance of 'The Billy Goats Gruff' followed by a picnic lunch and tour of the Blank Performing Arts Center's costume shop, wig and make-up departments, orchestra pit, and main stage at 513 N. D St., Indianola. Tickets to Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure start at $15. June 5-8: Catch the Venardos Circus as the performance with no animals takes over the Outlets of Des Moines, 801 Bass Pro Drive, Altoona. The show includes the singing ringmaster Julia Swann, the Reyes Brothers' juggling perch pole, the mind-bending contortion of Nordic Beauty Sno Bunta, slapstick sensation Sam Ferlo, Duo Dadiva's astonishing aerial acrobatics, the ridiculous Rob Lok, Priscilla and Jonathan's Diabolical Daggers, and the Wicked Wheel of Wonder. Tickets start at $16.95 for the 7 and 8:30 p.m. shows June 5-6 and 2, 3:30, 5, and 6:30 p.m. shows June 7-8. June 6-8: Ope! Dig into baklava, kebabs, gyros, and more when the Des Moines Greek Food Fair comes to the St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1110 35th St., Des Moines. Aside from food, participants can experience dancing and live music. Admission is free, but vendors do not accept cash. Stop by from 5 to 9 p.m. June 6, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 7, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 8. June 6-8: Capital City Pride has an entire weekend filled with Pride events in the East Village of Des Moines along the fourth through seventh blocks of East Grand Avenue. The free events include festival booths, musical acts, a 5K on June 7, pet pageant, drag queen story time, silent disco, parade on June 8, and more. Domita Sanchez, Slayyyter, Bob the Drag Queen, and Aly & AJ are among the headliners. For the full schedule, visit More: Capital City PrideFest celebrates in the East Village. See the Des Moines pride schedule June 6: First Friday returns to Mainframe Studios, 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, focusing on the nonprofits at the massive arts center from 5 to 8 p.m. The free events include the work of the arts and culture-focused nonprofits at Mainframe Studios: ArtForce Iowa, Central Iowa Blues, City Sounds, Civic Music Association, Des Moines Arts Festival, KFMG, M/A/S/S, Momentum, and the Oak Studio Teen Tech Center. All five floors of the center are open, and the night includes a silent auction, food and drink for purchase, and music provided by Iowa Blues Hall of Famers Scott Long, J.C. Anderson, and Friends. More: Where to find 19 great happy hours across the Des Moines metro, from 3hop to Zavy Kitchen June 6-7: Catch one of four remaining performances of 'Squeamish,' a tale of a woman who is a recovering alcoholic with a fear of blood who goes off her psychotropic drugs after her nephew dies. The production looks at phobia and compulsion 'as two sides of the same coin, a minimalist work of psychological horror about craving what terrifies us most.' The performance at The Haunt Speakeasy, 500 Locust St., Des Moines, takes place at 6:30 and 7:45 p.m. June 6-7 for $34 per person. More: Want in on a secret? Here's where to find hidden speakeasy bars in Des Moines June 6: Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park, 2201 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines, kicks off its Summer Daze Music Series with Whiskey Myers, the rock band out of Palestine, Texas, known for 'Stone,' 'Ballad of a Southern Man,' and 'Brocken Window Serenade.' Whiskey Myers' 'What We Were Born To Do" tour features special guests Bayker Blankenship and Pony Bradshaw. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. show start at $50. More: Des Moines has concerts nearly every day in June. Here's where to find them. June 6-8: Actor Harvey Fierstein's 'Torch Song,' a two-act revival of the 'Torch Song Trilogy,' tells the story of Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing, Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970s into the 1980s. A visit from his overbearing mother reveals that he needs one more thing — respect. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show on June 6-7 and 2 p.m. show June 8 start at $45. See it at the Stoner Theater on the first floor of the Des Moines Civic Center, 221 Walnut St., Des Moines. Continues through June 15. June 6: New Wave acts from the '80s take over Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave., Des Moines, at 8 p.m. Relive the era with bands such as A Flock of Seagulls ('I Ran (So Far Away),' 'Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You),' 'Space Age Love Song,' and 'The More You Live, The More You Love'), Bow Wow Wow featuring Annabella ('C30, C60, C90 Go!,' 'Go Wild in the Country,' 'Do You Wanna Hold Me,' and 'I Want Candy'), and Animotion ('Obsession'). Tickets for the show start at $39. More: Your guide to 20 Des Moines metro breweries, taprooms and their craft beers June 7: The fifth annual Raccoon River Palooza takes over the nature lodge at Raccoon River Park, 2500 Grand Ave., West Des Moines, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The free event includes live music, cardboard boat races, activities for kids, local food trucks, beverages, and more. Find the full schedule online at June 7: Learn about AI, gravity, and zoo animals at Big Grove Brewery, 555 17th St., Des Moines, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the patio. This free event for kids and adults starts with two special animals from the Blank Park Zoo at 10 a.m. Register online: Then, the Science Center of Iowa offers interactive experiments with artificial intelligence, and SteamStarz conducts parachute drops to learn about gravity on the patio from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All events are free. June 7: Discover your favorite new craft brew during the Iowa Craft Brew Festival from noon to 4 p.m. at Water Works Park, 2251 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines. More than 75 breweries, cideries, wineries, and distillers from all over Iowa come together to share their craft at this event with unlimited tastes. New features for the 15th year include arcade games, mini golf, and new Iowa breweries. First-time festival goers can even receive a commemorative ICBF button. Pick up tickets for $65 for VIP, $50 for general admission, and $22 for designated drivers. June 8: The Ironman 70.3 heads to Des Moines, and whether you're swimming, running, and biking or just cheering on these athletes, you can take part. The 70.3-mile competition starts at 2101 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, with a 1.2-mile swim in Grey's Lake, a 56-mile bike ride through Des Moines and West Des Moines, and a 13.1-mile run through downtown Des Moines, culminating in a finish in front of the historic Iowa Courthouse. The race starts at 6:30 a.m. June 8: Progressive rockers Coheed and Cambria play Vibrant Music Hall, 2938 Grand Prairie Pkwy., bringing their hits such as 'Welcome Home,' 'Devil in Jersey City,' and 'Gravity's Union.' Heavy metal rockers Mastodon join the band on 'The Infinite Arc' tour. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. show start at $64. June 8: Will Christina Reeder, the "hot mom" who gave comedian Matt Rife cookies at his show at the Funny Bone in West Des Moines, be at his 7 p.m. show at Wells Fargo Arena, 233 Center St., Des Moines? Find out if they continue their flirtation when he takes the stage with his 'Stay Golden' tour at the Well. The stand-up comedian has a Netflix special, more than 39.4 million followers, and more than 3 billion views globally. This December, Rife will release his first book, 'Your Mom's Gonna Love Me,' a memoir where 'he reveals (without apology, of course) what led him to becoming comedy's biggest lightning rod before he reached 30, in a story full of bold and hysterical takes on everything from rap battles with ex-cons to Matt's struggles with depression and his many brushes with failure before finally hitting it big.' Tickets start at $50. More: Comedy star Matt Rife's 'hottest' mom Christina Reeder says she's 'average on the looks' Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Things to do in Des Moines this weekend: PrideFest, Matt Rife, 'Hamilton'
