Renaissance Man: The Lin Manuel Miranda Story (An Unauthorized Biography) – Book Excerpt
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Miranda could be a true romantic when he felt he had found his soulmate. Vanessa Nadal was that in spades and as the relationship quickly advanced to the level of ‘serious,’ he was quick to point out that the love of his life was all that and more. She was multi-degreed and multi-employed in the areas of law and science, light years from his world but intelligent in every sense of the word which only added to his attraction to her. She was comfortable, understanding and supportive in his world and would never allow him the luxury of feeling sorry for himself. If things were not going Miranda’s way, creatively, he could count on Vanessa to set him straight with the notion that everybody goes through those moments and, as she offered in a tweet, “He should keep writing and get back to his piano.”
During his 2008 Tony Award acceptance speech, Miranda was quick to point out Vanessa when he said, “Vanessa, who still leaves me breathless. Thank you for loving me when I was broke.” On another occasion, as chronicled by US, he credited Vanessa for being in his corner when he experienced those dark days. “My wife’s the reason anything gets done. She nudges me toward promises by degrees.”
And so it was on September 5, 2010, that Miranda and Nadal would become husband and wife. But not before Miranda would offer up a full-blown theatrical extravaganza to honor his wife and their magic moment.
Sometime in early August, Miranda secretly gathered a rather non-professional group of family and friends in the New York rehearsal hall of his friend and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler and began a month-long, stealth rehearsal. Miranda would acknowledge in a Glamour story that he knew he was not dealing with anything, for the most part, resembling professional performers. “What we lacked in polish, we hopefully made up for with love and joy.”
The couple were married at the Belvedere Mansion in Staatsburg, New York. As Judge Rolando T. Acosta said the magic words that made Miranda and Nadal husband and wife, a chorus of Broadway singers sang majestically in the background. The ceremony was time honored, carrying with it a flourish that enhanced the joyousness of it all.
Following the conclusion of the ceremony, the wedding party and countless guests repaired to a massive tent outside on the lawn of the mansion where the celebration continued. A 22-piece orchestra provided the musical backing. The celebrity contingent was much in evidence as Ruben Blades and Gilbert Santa Rosa joined in the festivities, happily rapping along with the bride and bridegroom. The dance floor was filled to overflowing with multi generations of both families, a very cultural and ethnic vibe permeating the atmosphere. Finally, it was time for family and friends to step up to the microphone and offer best wishes to the happy couple.
First up was Nadal’s father who, after a few perfunctory remarks, brought Miranda to the stage for more loving sentiments. That’s when Miranda’s long-planned surprise was unveiled. Miranda suddenly broke into full-throated song, uttering the now familiar refrain of Fiddler on the Roof’s L’Chaim (To Life), complete with highly enticing dance moves. The look on Nadal’s face told the tale, beaming at her now husband’s theatrical dedication. The look would quickly change to one of unbridled joy when, suddenly, a literal flood of family members and friends flooded onto the stage and erupted into a full-blown song and dance extravaganza. With Miranda as the focal point, the sight of totally inexperienced relatives dancing and singing their hearts out through a fairly tight, choreographed and electric musical experience, full of spirited vocals and highly athletic, given the age of some of the participants, dance moves.
The mini-performance ended with thundering applause and cheers. Only Miranda could have pulled together such a loving and theatrical tribute to his wife. “Everyone in the performance had one thing in common,” Miranda would later tell Glamour, “and that was that we would do anything to show how much we loved Vanessa.”
About the Book….
Lin-Manuel Miranda created the Broadway hit-musical of the decade in Hamilton. His earlier production In The Heights set theater audiences dancing to a hip hop/ Latin beat. And if you have children or are a child at heart, you know all about the music of Moana. But there’s a lot you don’t know about this pop culture genius. Miranda’s story is the classic American Dream on full display. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Miranda’s life-long obsession with music, theater and the possibilities of creating for The Great White Way drove him through the ups and downs of the highly competitive world of Broadway and, through sheer drive, determination and an abundance of creative talent has made his way to the top of the entertainment world. Through extensive research in a number of widely divergent sources, Shapiro has pieced together the life and times of Lin-Manuel Miranda, replete with all the large and small moments that comprise the character of a literal creative renaissance man, composer, actor, culturally and socially savvy and multi-Tony-Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning giant of the Broadway stage whose future is only limited by his imagination which is always on the go and creating worlds to come Renaissance Man: The Lin Manuel Miranda Story is a blueprint for success, an inspirational guide to following one’s dreams and, perhaps most important, the answer to the question of what following your dreams can bring.
