The last time Mandy Gonzalez performed at Carnegie Hall was in early 2020 when she was fighting breast cancer and the world was about to enter a devastating pandemic. Since that terrible time, she wrapped up her multi-year run as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton and appeared as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. on Broadway, launched her Fearless middle-grade book series, and thankfully received a clean bill of health.
On November 21, Gonzalez will return to Carnegie Hall for Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda, with the New York Pops. Because it's not just Hamilton, Gonzalez was also the original Nina Rosario in In the Heights. Her voice throbbing with emotion, Gonzalez talks about why returning to the Hall is such a powerful full-circle moment.
How do you feel about coming back to Carnegie Hall under these new and happier circumstances?
Mandy Gonzalez: It means so much to me! I did a Valentine’s Day concert with The New York Pops at the Hall in 2020 right before everything happened. At that time, I was going to chemotherapy for breast cancer and everybody at my hospital was talking about COVID-19. I was also in Hamilton on Broadway, and my doctor was like, “Do you think you can do all of it?”
The fact that I made it through that evening was so special. But the fact that I get to come back five years later cancer-free is a total triumph for me. I grew up listening to albums with my bubbe. She loved big torch singers. We listened to Judy Garland’s Carnegie Hall album pretty much every day of my life. To be able to stand on the same stage that she stood on, and that other artists I love and admire have stood on—Liza Minnelli, Eydie Gormé, Ethel Merman—is truly an honor. And to be with The New York Pops, singing my dear friend Lin-Manuel’s music, is such a celebration of life for me.
You and Lin-Manuel Miranda have been working together for almost two decades. Can you share how this evening came about?
I thought of the idea two years ago while doing a concert with the Boston Pops. That was the first time I sang any of Lin-Manuel’s songs with a symphony. I think he is one of the most transformative voices of our generation, and he is like family to me. I realized his music needed to be heard with an orchestra, and I wanted to be the one to do it. A lot of times when I perform with symphonies, I’m the only one from the Latino community. My being there brings in a new audience, so that was also a big part of why I wanted to do this. I called and talked to Lin-Manuel about it, and he gave me permission to use his entire songbook. Then my director Dick Scanlan, my arranger Dan Lipton, and I began building the show. I sent Dick a playlist of songs I love and that’s how the story started to weave within the music.
Since you starred in two Broadway musicals written by Miranda, In the Heights and Hamilton, fans expect to hear that material. But will there also be surprises?
Definitely! There are going to be songs that everybody knows and loves from Hamilton and In the Heights, and the movies Moana and Encanto. But there are so many Easter eggs, like a short musical he wrote for This American Life called 21 Chump Street and songs from Sesame Street. You are going to learn so much about Lin-Manuel and his music, but you’re also going to realize how much his music is part of our lives and our culture.
What about special guests? There's one person in particular audience might hope to see on stage with you.
I can’t share anything specific beyond saying it’s a love letter to New York City and to Lin-Manuel and to his music and to this incredible institution. And you can’t celebrate all that without having some big surprises!
While this concert is dedicated to Miranda and his work, will you also talk about your own life?
Yes! I talk about the many ways that our lives have intertwined— even though we grew up quite differently and my own journey as an artist, an advocate, a wife, and a mother.
Miranda certainly knows your backstory well. He even wrote the title song of your solo album Fearless just for you, chronicling your parents’ incredible courtship.
It’s a beautiful story. My Mexican American father was drafted at 19 into the US Army and went to Vietnam, and my Jewish mom grew up in the Valley in California. She wanted to join the Peace Corps, but her parents said no. So she did the next best thing, which was to write to soldiers who didn’t have anybody to write to them. One of those soldiers was my dad, and he was the first to write back, and he sent a picture. My mom was 17 and they corresponded throughout my dad’s service. When he came back, he showed up on my mother’s doorstep. He didn’t have anything, but he had fallen in love and wanted to be with my mom.
She was from a totally different world. It was so taboo at that time, but my mom followed her heart and was fearless—like Lin-Manuel writes in the song. They’ve been married for more than 50 years now, and they brought us all together. I come from survivors, but I think we all do if we’ve made it this far in this country. That’s a universal story that everybody can relate to, wherever your family is from. Especially right now, this is a very important tale to tell, that we are all a part of the American dream. And the fact that the story is going to be told on the stage at Carnegie Hall during this time, I couldn’t be prouder.
