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Who Was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Video Game Competitor During His In The Heights Days?
This week’s installment of Broadway Babies reveals which Broadway star’s kid grew up backstage at Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Andréa Burns is a Broadway veteran. Having made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of Beauty and the Beast in her early 20s, understudying Belle, Burns boasts a résumé of top Broadway shows, including The Full Monty, The Ritz. She also originated such roles as In The Heights’ Daniela, The Nance’s Carmen, and Gloria Fajarda in On Your Feet!. For at least the past 13 years, there’s one person who’s been there every step of the way: her son, Hudson.
Read More: CAST COMPLETE FOR NATIONAL TOUR OF ON YOUR FEET!
Growing up the kid of a Broadway actor is an experience unlike any other—from backstage visits at mom’s work to opening night parties to meeting your parents’ friends who just happen to be famous. In Playbill’s Broadway Babies series, Juli Wesley, daughter of Broadway personality Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, interviews the kids of Broadway greats to find out what these stage favorites are playing Mom or Dad.
Burns’ son, Hudson, has had a ton of fun, especially during her run with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. “I feel like I had family there,” he says in the video above. “I was backstage a lot. My mom had this mirror in her dressing room and I would stand in front of it and I would act out all of the opening number. I would totally do it with a magazine that was lying around I’d be like this is my paper and welcome to my coffee store in that dressing room.
“I played video games backstage with Lin-Manuel Miranda during In The Heights. He had this whole thing set up in his dressing room.”
But Hudson hasn’t always felt 100 percent comfortable. Hudson admits he’s been starstruck. “There’s Sutton Foster,” he says. “I was super starstruck by her and now I totally know her.”
Hudson clearly has the charisma of his mom, but he also has her big heart. The youngster is raising money for Revolución Latina, which is related to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and gives Hispanic kids who don’t have the resources to learn dance the opportunity to learn from Broadway dancers. Click here to donate to his campaign and learn more about the organization.
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Missed out on Broadway Babies last episode? Watch Brian d’arcy James’ daughter below: