Lincoln Center's Silent Disco Tonight of 'Warriors' Concept Album

Summary

All Of It Podcast Summary: "Lincoln Center's Silent Disco Tonight of 'Warriors' Concept Album"

Date Released: July 30, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest Hosts: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Issa Davis

---

Introduction to the "Warriors" Concept Album

In this captivating episode of ALL OF IT, hosted by Alison Stewart, listeners are introduced to a groundbreaking concept album titled "Warriors", created by the renowned Lin-Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis. Drawing inspiration from the cult classic 1979 film "The Warriors", this album reimagines the narrative with a feminist twist, portraying the iconic Coney Island gang as a group of resilient women navigating the perilous streets of the Bronx.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (00:09): "This is all of it from WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart..."

Album Overview and Artistic Vision

Alison Stewart sets the stage by highlighting the evolution of concept albums into Broadway sensations, mentioning classics like "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita," and "Hadestown." Similarly, "Warriors" transitions from a musical mixtape to a full-fledged theatrical experience, potentially paving the way for Miranda's next hit musical.

Alison Stewart (00:09): "They started as concept albums and became Broadway shows, even Hamilton."

The album delves into the tumultuous journey of the Warriors—a female gang framed for murder—embarking on a musical odyssey filled with diverse genres that reflect New York City's rich cultural tapestry.

Silent Disco Listening Party at Lincoln Center

The episode also promotes an exclusive Silent Disco listening party of the "Warriors" album, set to take place at Lincoln Center. Hosted by Miranda and Davis, the event promises an immersive experience featuring live appearances from the album's star-studded collaborators, including Nas, Billy Porter, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Philippa Soo, Amber Gray, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Alison Stewart (02:40): "If you want to gather up your own gang of ruffians to check it out together in person tonight, Lincoln Center is hosting a silent disco style listening party of the album."

In-Depth Conversation with Miranda and Davis

Revisiting "The Warriors" with a Feminine Lens (03:54 - 07:14)

Alison Stewart engages Miranda and Davis in a thoughtful discussion about the initial skepticism surrounding the adaptation of "The Warriors" into a musical. Issa Davis recalls her early reservations:

Issa Davis (03:54): "I saw that movie when I was way too young to see it on a friend's VHS, and it was just sort of inscribed on two stone tablets for me."

The transformative decision to reimagine the Warriors as women opens new narrative avenues, making every plot point more compelling and enriching the storytelling landscape.

Issa Davis (04:45): "When I mentally made the gender flip of the warriors as a female gang, it's such an agile testosterone movie that just recasting them suddenly made every plot point more interesting or compelling to write about."

Embracing 1970s New York Culture (07:21 - 08:37)

Davis elaborates on the vibrant cultural backdrop of 1979 New York, emphasizing the convergence of various music genres and subcultures. The influence of Fania revolutionizing salsa music in the South Bronx and the burgeoning ballroom culture reminiscent of "Paris is Burning" provided a fertile ground for rich musical exploration.

Issa Davis (07:21): "There's so many New Yorks inside New York. Setting it in 1979 allowed us to play with all the different musical subcultures that were happening at the time."

Lin-Manuel Miranda adds a personal touch, sharing his own nostalgic connection to hip hop's rise during that era.

Guest Speaker (08:14): "Hip hop is really exploring and exploding in 1979 when the film comes out. So in a lot of ways our album is a love letter to the film, but also a love letter to the origins of hip hop."

Musical Diversity and Storytelling

Blending Genres for Authenticity (13:39 - 15:10)

One of the album's standout features is its eclectic mix of musical styles, ranging from salsa and hip hop to rock and screamo metal. This diversity not only mirrors the multifaceted nature of New York City but also enhances character development and narrative depth.

Issa Davis (13:39): "We wanted to create the visual through what the lyrics were. Lin was just really open to all the things that I have to offer."

The collaboration between Miranda and Davis results in a sonic landscape that brings action sequences to life without heavy exposition, maintaining the album's momentum and engagement.

Guest Speaker (12:18): "In this particular narrative, there's no time for exposition. Everything that you learn, you learn on the go as they're fighting."

Highlighting Key Tracks

• "Survive the Night" (01:11): An energetic opening track introducing the female Warriors, setting the tone for their perilous journey.

• "Leave the Bronx Alive" (12:56): Transitioning from slow salsa to fast-paced merengue, this song encapsulates the transition from peace to chaos as the Warriors are pursued.

• "Quiet Girls" (16:13): A powerful anthem promoting queer representation, inspired by the original film's omitted gay gang subplot.

Issa Davis (15:42): "Quiet girls don't make it home. Quiet girls don't make it home."

• "Still Breathing" (18:29): Explores themes of resilience and survival amidst adversity.

Collaborative Synergy and Artist Involvement

The album boasts an impressive lineup of collaborators, seamlessly blending Broadway talents with hip hop legends. Notable contributions include Nas, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Colman Domingo, Amber Gray, and Jasmine Cephas Jones. This fusion creates a unique dynamic that enriches the album's narrative and musical complexity.

Guest Speaker (17:03): "We just love being able to have them centered as the gang and have all these other folks that, you know, whose names you might know a little bit better release all these different genres, too."

Davis shares anecdotes about the collaborative process, highlighting moments of creative synergy and mutual admiration among the artists.

Issa Davis (20:20): "They were enormous mutual admirers. So it was great to put them in the room together."

Innovative Storytelling Techniques

Miranda and Davis employ innovative methods to convey the story without relying heavily on traditional exposition. By translating action into musical metaphors and leveraging diverse genres, they maintain a dynamic and engaging narrative flow.

Issa Davis (11:36): "We are really trying to translate action into music."

This approach ensures that the story unfolds organically through the characters' interactions and musical expressions, keeping listeners immersed in the Warriors' journey.

Listener Engagement and Cultural References

The episode also features recognizable voices and cultural references, adding layers of authenticity and relatability. For instance, Bernie, the voice of the MTA, makes a cameo, connecting the album's themes to everyday New York experiences.

Guest Speaker (23:10): "Bernie is the voice of the MTA that stand clear of the closing doors."

Conclusion and Upcoming Events

As the episode wraps up, listeners are reminded of the upcoming Silent Disco listening party at Lincoln Center, an event that promises to further immerse audiences in the "Warriors" experience. Alison Stewart teases the next episode, which will spotlight memoirs and biographies, featuring a deep dive into the life of boxer Mike Tyson with author Mark Kriegel.

Alison Stewart (23:28): "Lin Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis will co-host a Warriors listening party at Lincoln Center at 9:30. Head to lincolncenter.org for more information."

Final Thoughts

This episode of ALL OF IT offers a rich exploration of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis's innovative "Warriors" concept album, blending diverse musical genres with a compelling narrative rooted in New York City's vibrant culture. Through insightful discussions and engaging storytelling, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the album's creation, themes, and artistic significance.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Issa Davis (03:54): "When I mentally made the gender flip of the warriors as a female gang, it's such an agile testosterone movie that just recasting them suddenly made every plot point more interesting or compelling to write about."

• Issa Davis (07:21): "There's so many New Yorks inside New York. Setting it in 1979 allowed us to play with all the different musical subcultures that were happening at the time."

• Issa Davis (13:39): "We wanted to create the visual through what the lyrics were."

• Issa Davis (16:13): "Quiet girls don't make it home."

• Issa Davis (20:20): "They were enormous mutual admirers. So it was great to put them in the room together."

---

This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and creative processes behind the "Warriors" concept album, providing a comprehensive overview for both longtime fans and new listeners alike.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

Foreign.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

This is all of it from wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. What do the albums Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Hadestown have in common? They started as concept albums and became Broadway shows, even Hamilton. The mixtape started out as music but made its way onto the stage and and if history repeats itself, Lin Manuel Miranda might soon have another hit musical on his hands. Lin, along with collaborator Issa Davis, have taken on a cult classic film, 1979's the Warriors. Like the movie, this concept album is about a Coney island gang who must fight their way back from the Bronx after they are framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. Except this time you'll hear that the journey plays out in song. It's a musical after all. And instead of testosterone laden young men, in this adaptation, the warriors are women. Here's a taste from the very first track. This is Survive the Night People of.

[Alison Stewart]

New York Cruise of the city who ruled this madness? Get it up, get it money Poppers at midnight There's a gathering after dark in Vancouver Auburn park hey boppers, Cyrus needs five burrows to see this through. This means you Hay Barker. The truce is on. No weapons but your fist, she insists hey barbers, keep your radio too tight and you're just right and you just might Survive the light warriors come out to play Survive the armies of the night warriors come out and play Dog who's stepping bright for the Bron this is the sound of something being born from the ashes of the Bron the siren squeal and the car horns across the cross bronze and what the Bronch wants is not a combative retaliatory response. It's a renaissance with Cyrus telling the truth. Underrepresented youths and unprecedented truce crews travel to the park and miracles can happen.

[Issa Davis]

When we gather in the dark Miracles.

[Alison Stewart]

Can happen when we gather in the dark.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Warriors features collaborators like nas, Billy Porter, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Broadway superstars like Philippa Sue, Amber Gray, Jasmine Cephas Jones and more. And if you want to gather up your own gang of ruffians to check it out together in person to Tonight, Lincoln center is hosting a silent disco style listening party of the album. It will be hosted by Lin Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis and featuring appearances by some of the album's star studded voices. That's part of their Summer for the City event series. Head to lincolncenter.org and click on Summer for the City to learn more. Lin Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis joined me for an all of it listening party when the album first came Out. So, ahead of tonight's Silent Disco at Lincoln Cent, let's listen to my conversation about it with Lynn and Issa. All right, Lynn, a friend emailed you with the idea for a Warriors musical, and you said, I love the Warriors. It'll never work. Here's why. What were your reasons then, and what made you decide to revisit the idea?

[Issa Davis]

My reasons then were, first of all, I saw that movie when I was way too young to see it on a friend's vhs, and it was just sort of inscribed on two stone tablets for me. I was just like, it's untou. And also, I think the action movie part of it scared me was, you know, action movies and musicals are always fighting for the same storytelling, real estate. We're going to fight and. Or sing in various combinations over the course of the evening and so. And then. But he incepted me, you know, thanks to Phil Weskren for sending me that email, because it was sort of bubbling in my head for a few years, and I finished Hamilton and I got on the other side of that whole experience, and then it was taking up all this real estate. And then I think another part that interested me was sort of when I mentally made the gender flip of the warriors as a female gang. It's such an agro testosterone movie that just recasting them suddenly made every plot point more interesting or compelling to write about. I love writing for women's voices. You know, Encanto was like a masterclass in writing for lots of different women's voices. And so I said, I need someone smarter and cooler than me to help me write this.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

That would be Issa. Why did you say yes to this project?

[Guest Speaker]

I mean, come, Lynn. Yeah, that's number one. And, you know, this is someone that I have known for years. You know, we first met when Passing Strange and In the Heights were both off Broadway, and then came on Broadway 2007, 2008. And so we've just kind of been playing around in the same sandbox for a while. And, you know, we both have this deep aesthetic kinship when it comes to having a kind of hybridity of genre and bringing, you know, hip hop, and in Lynn's case, you know, all of the Latin traditional music, you know, onto the stage, places that they've never been. So I, of course, had to say, I want to hang out with this person where, you know, it's not. It's never a half glassful, half empty. With Lin. It's like always a cup runneth over. And how do we Share that with people. And I also was really stunned by the film. I'd actually never seen it, even though I'd known it to be so important and crucial to the culture, particularly hip hop culture, particularly New York culture. And I just was stunned by the fact that there is this unbelievable promise of peace that, you know, Cyrus offers to all of these gangs in the city, and that's kind of abandoned in the film. And in a way, I wanted to see if there was a way that we could draw that idea through to the end, not in a moralistic way, not in a way that was preaching, but just allowed for.

[Issa Davis]

Keep the idea alive. Yeah.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah, exactly.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Why do you like to write for women's voices?

[Guest Speaker]

That's an interesting.

[Issa Davis]

It's so much more fun. Well, I think part of it is subconsciously, I'm always trying to write the best school musical possible. I fell in love with theater not by seeing shows, but by being in the school play. And when you're. When you have a really good school play, there's lots of parts for everybody, and there's lots of parts for women because they audition to guys at an 8 to 1 ratio. I remember trying to, like, convince, like, my friends who were guys, like, please don't play basketball. Like, come. Come audition for the musical. We need dancers. And. And. But I also. I mean, it's just. Yeah, that's. I guess that's my answer.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah, yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

The movie is all about the 70s. What was interesting about New York in the 70s that you wanted to bring forward?

[Issa Davis]

Well, I mean, I think the fun about writing musicals set in New York, which this is my third, third, fourth go round doing that, is that there's so many New Yorks inside New York. And so, you know, setting it in 1979, obviously, from the perspective of 2024, allowed us to, like, play with all the different musical subc that were happening in 79 at the time, not just the ones represented in the film. You know, there is a gang in the South Bronx, and I am very aware that Fania was, like, revolutionizing salsa music in the 70s, pretty much out of the South Bronx. So we. I got to write the best Fania impression I could for that. You know, ballroom culture is happening. Like, we're setting the table for Paris is Burning and that incredible subculture. So we get to write to that. So it was sort of like this open world playground of all these different genres and subcultures and something.

[Guest Speaker]

You know, I grew up in the Bay Area, but I remember that moment, you know, when rapper's delight came out. I remember exactly where I was. And so there's this way in which hip hop is really exploring and exploding in 1979 when the film comes out. And so in a lot of ways our album is a love letter to the film, but also a love letter to the origins of hip hop.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I watched the film last night.

[Guest Speaker]

Uh huh.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It was so good.

[Issa Davis]

Isn't New York gorgeous in it?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It was gorgeous.

[Guest Speaker]

Those rain slicked streets and all the outfits that they all wore. Bobby Manix, the one really well behaved.

[Issa Davis]

Gang that puts tokens in so that they no one's jumping the turnstile.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So good. I'm speaking with Lin Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis about their new concept album Warriors. Let's listen to the warriors who are introducing himself. This is Roll Call from the album.

[Alison Stewart]

Kochi Cowgirl, Fox, Cleon, Ajax, Rembrandt, Swan Bund Kochi, Cowgirl, Fox, Cleon, Ajax, Rembrandt, Swan as far as you can see from the top of the wonder wheel the warriors are here Come out, come out, come out, come out From Coney Island Creek to the Stillwell subway station the warriors are here Come out, come out, come out, come out and play we keep it safe, we keep it clean Goes down, we intervene Every summer We go to war with every five.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

You know, as you're writing the album, do you have a visual of what you're writing about?

[Guest Speaker]

You want me to answer that?

[Alison Stewart]

I do.

[Issa Davis]

Because honestly, I write very filmically, like. And that's the fun and challenge for my collaborators. When I was writing the Battle of Yorktown for Hamilton, I was picturing a literal battle in Yorktown. And then it's. And then the fun is bringing it into collaborate when you're doing a stage piece, bringing into collaborators to sort of translate that with this. The fun was the musical landscapes that.

[Guest Speaker]

We were playing in. Yeah, yeah, I think, I mean it's, you know, it's case by case, but I feel like it's the number one thing was just the sonic aspect of it. Right. And that we wanted to create the visual through what the lyrics were. And you know, something that I think was also like really amazing about this collaboration was that Lin was just really, really open to all the things that I have to offer. I'm also a composer. So like both of the tracks that you just played are ones where we collabor musically. And that also to me is a huge part of being able to envision something is what the sound does to your body, what it makes you feel like, how it makes you shake and that actually creates the scene as well.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

How did you deal with the idea? I guess, like, it's exposition that has got to happen a little bit because.

[Guest Speaker]

This is a little.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It reminded me of a podcast. I know that's really weird to say. Or like the one that Daphne Ruben Vega did. Do you remember that? Oh, you know what I'm talking about.

[Issa Davis]

I do know what you're talking about. Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, it reminded me of that. Listening to a podcast and having to follow the story along and you have to deal with all the exposition. How do you do that while also retaining, like, your creativity?

[Issa Davis]

Yeah, well, I think. I mean, that's. The creativity abhors freedom. We love a restriction, we love a limit. And like, we need to get from A, B to C. And we also have to hit this. And that was the fun of. It was again, like musicalizing what are essentially action sequences. So when we're writing Leave the Bronx Alive, it starts as this slow salsa. Because in my mind, in the movie, the bus is slowly patrolling this train station and guarding it. And then when the Turnbull acs see the warriors, it turns into this fast paced merengue. And now they're on the hunt. And so, you know, we're all doing Peter and the Wolf, but, like, it's. It's. We're. We're really trying to translate action into music.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah. And I think the short answer to it is that there's no time for exposition in this particular narrative. And everything that you learn, you learn on the go in as they're fighting.

[Issa Davis]

There's no time for seven. I want songs for the warriors.

[Guest Speaker]

Right. There's no time to meet.

[Issa Davis]

You'll keep them and learn about them as they're on the run.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Well, let's listen to a little bit of Leave the Bronx Alive. Ooh.

[Alison Stewart]

You can't leave the Bronx alive. Only the strong survive a second. You can't beat the Bronx alive. You got nothing. Only the strong survive nothing. I said a good.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

You know, there's so many different kinds of music on the album. I was listening to it on the way home, and all of a sudden there's a rock song and then there's a salsa song and there's hip hop. Why did you want to incorporate so many different kinds of music? You could have just stayed with hip hop. What do you think?

[Guest Speaker]

I mean, I think it's because that, you know, I and Lynn and our producer, Mike Elizondo, we are all eclectics. We love being able to both love and also express through character all of these different kinds of styles. And it's because there are so many New Yorks. Right. That we wanted to bring that about. And there. It couldn't. I mean, I can't imagine this album as one particular, like, one single style of music that would not get at what this is. I mean, you don't hear that in the film either. There are different styles of music that are there. So I think it's. We both have a dedication to diversity, period, you know, when it comes to our storytelling and representation. And it's also just fun. It's so much fun.

[Issa Davis]

It's so. I mean, when Isaac. The idea to have Luther sound like a screamo metal God, I was like, she played me this track, and I was like, I can feel my grandmothers in heaven crossing themselves on my behalf. Like, this is so scary. This is exactly right. It's, like, scary and chaotic and virtuosic and, like, that's exactly Luther, who was like, a maestro of chaos. And so. Yeah, so it's just. It's fun. I mean, the fun of writing musicals is you're getting to match tempo and temperament to character.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

The song that we've all been obsessed with is Quiet Girls.

[Guest Speaker]

Glad to hear that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Tell us a little bit about this before we play this song.

[Guest Speaker]

Oh, well, I mean, first of all, we have some treasures of the theater and film and the screen on here. Billy Porter, Kayla J. Rodriguez, Michael Kilgore. Kilgore. I mean, we claim that time. We were claiming that time. But, you know, what we really wanted to do with this was to make sure that we had this queer representation here. And, you know, that was something that was supposed to happen in the original film.

[Issa Davis]

Yeah. We heard a podcast interview with Walter Hill where he said he had a gay gang, but that was not gonna fly with Paramount in 1978, and he cut it from the script. And so we were like, oh, this is a sign. Like, we. We were headed that way anyway, and it was like a ratification.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah. So this is the house of Hurricane, and they are, you know, letting people know that you have to let your flag fry fly.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Let your flag fly.

[Issa Davis]

And they're on roller skates. Old school 70s roller skates.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Let's listen to quiet girls Got something.

[Alison Stewart]

To say Let them know if you bout something, let it show hold on to the past Let it go Let the people know if you want to survive Burn bright Light them up and blaze through the night. If you know something, make it home. Cause quiet girls don't make it home. Quiet girls don't make it home White girls don't make it home Quiet girls don't make it home Quiet now learn something then clear the closing doors this evening we're here and we won't be ignored this evening Ah, your enemies are coaching the doors are closing yo, what you gonna do stand there frozen girl? I was just like you thinking, what.

[Issa Davis]

Did I do to deserve of this hate?

[Alison Stewart]

So good.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

That is so good.

[Guest Speaker]

It Stand clear of the closing doors.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

You have interesting people on the project. You have NAS, Ms. Lauryn Hill to like, Colman Domingo, Ember Gray. What did you like about mixing, first of all, the Broadway stars, the Broadway names with the hip hop names?

[Issa Davis]

Yeah, I mean, Coleman was in Passing Strange, right? So they're old buddies, and that's like. That was like the Heights. Passing Strange crossover was complete when Coleman joined us on the project.

[Guest Speaker]

And he's rapping. I mean, come on.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

That was interesting, right?

[Guest Speaker]

Well, we take it on faith that.

[Issa Davis]

He can do anything.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Of course.

[Issa Davis]

Just do anything. We didn't know, right?

[Guest Speaker]

We're just like, come on in.

[Issa Davis]

But, you know, our warriors are really all theater stars. And honestly, that began as us just calling our friends to do demos for us. Like, we called a lot of these folks in. You know, there's a lot of Hampton Hamilton alums in there, a lot of just friends of ours. And then when we heard them all singing together, we were like, oh, there's a thing happening. Like, it's. There's a chemistry happening here. And at one point, Issa finally turned to me and she was like, what pop star are we gonna get that is better than what's happening right now? And so they kind of fell into the snowball as it rolled down the hill.

[Guest Speaker]

And we just love being able to have them centered as the gang and have all these other folks that, you know, whose names you might know a little bit better released all these different genres, too. Yeah. Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Let's listen to Still Breathing from Warrior and he's folds.

[Guest Speaker]

Come on.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, right. You look, you still alive. Cyrus unified a city in discrete pieces Cyrus was the one and only the streets Jesus. Cyrus said you can't survive alone you need your demon Cyrus told these kids wake up and start dreaming Some demons shot Cyrus at 12:15 this evening. It fostered me to find the reason the weapon, the heaving, trying to focus but we haven't even had our grieving what are you doing? To kill everything you believe in but you're still breathing Cyrus was still breathing Cyrus, I'm sorry you dreamed of peace but we still beefing I wish that I shed your dream in peace but it's killing ceaseless we'll stop until the treasonous fellows deceased bleeding our only leaders Leading us to the warriors who are the warriors? Cleon, wake the fuck up and tell me what your story is. Watch what you say. May I say you forgive me, but it's deocide and we decided you get to live.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

See, what did bring all those people? What did it do for each, for each other? Like, what did they get from each other?

[Issa Davis]

What do you mean? I'm not sure I understand it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Sort of like, what did they bring out in each other? Whether it's the Broadway star versus the pop star.

[Issa Davis]

Yeah, well, that's a great question, because I think the thing that's central to all of these genres is storytelling. And they all go about that very differently. You know, it's a very different conversation with our MCs who represent the Burrows in the opening number. And in hip hop, like, you write your own verses, you write your own feature. And that was a big mind shift for some of them to be like, no, you're playing a character and you're writing these lyrics, you know, Busta Rhymes. Being like, you. You are the only person I have let write lyrics for me. I don't let other people write my lyrics. That's like a real code of honor thing.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah. And it was a huge leap with Miss Lauryn Hill as well. Right. But I mean. Yeah, I don't. I mean, because of the fact that, you know, we got to bring people together in the studio. I mean, one of those really exciting moments was when Stephen Sanchez, who's this incredible young crooner, was in the studio with Joshua Henry, who's just like.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right.

[Guest Speaker]

Two of these. Unbelievable.

[Issa Davis]

Him singing on the Wheels of a Dream. He's rehearsing for Ragtime right now.

[Guest Speaker]

No, I haven't seen that. But to see them in the studio together and to see how they have these very different gifts, but very powerful ones, and Stephen was just like, wow, you really know how to sing, don't you? And, you know, it's really great to be able to have that kind of process.

[Issa Davis]

They were enormous mutual admirers. So it was great to put them in the room together.

[Guest Speaker]

It's really fun.

[Issa Davis]

Fun.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

What did you listen to? What concept albums did you listen to when you were a little kid?

[Issa Davis]

I mean, Jesus Christ Superstar on rotation. There's a Reuben Blades album called Maestra Vida that was like this two part sort of concept salsa album that was big for me. Prince Paul or Prince Among Thieves is like the hip hop concept album. It's like tells guy's entire day of his life.

[Guest Speaker]

Yes. De La Soul is dead. Yeah. Like one of De La Soul.

[Issa Davis]

Yeah. Like the skits on De La Soul. Like, like there's of a lot. A lot of 90s hip hop albums are concept albums even Ready to Die. They've got skits and they've got sort of things that. That hang through throughout. So I mean it doesn't feel like a huge leap for us because we have a steady diet of it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

We're going to listen to a little bit from Orphan Town. This has has one of your Hamilton alumni on it. Yeah.

[Issa Davis]

Freestyle of supreme. Yes. Utkarsh. Yeah. He's on Ghosts right now, but he moonlights as one of our orphans.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Let's take a listen.

[Alison Stewart]

Can I see your hall pass? Someone show these ladies where they have gone wrong. You get across our lawn with your colors on. Get gone. Easy, easy. We are only passing through on our way downtown from the meeting in the Boogie Dog. We've got no beef with. With you. What meeting?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Forget it.

[Guest Speaker]

It was nothing.

[Alison Stewart]

What meeting? It was chaos. A waste of time. I'm sensing a little condescension. Do you think we're not big time orphans. Rise. We got a rep as heavy as the whole West Zone. That's right. We would have been invited to the conclave. God, we lost our invitation. They write about our rumbles in the New York.

[Issa Davis]

The New York Someday, the New York York Times.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

A.

[Issa Davis]

That's my favorite part of that scene in the movies that they actually carry around their own trust clippings.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

They're so good. Before we wrap up, I do have to play a listener. A voice that our listeners will recognize from the album.

[Alison Stewart]

Stand clear of the closing doors, you slow po.

[Guest Speaker]

Are you talking about Bernie? Bernie?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Explain to folks who Bernie.

[Guest Speaker]

Bernie is the voice of the MTA that stand clear of the closing doors. That comes from her voice. And we are so thrilled. I'm so glad that we got that. She makes us legit.

[Issa Davis]

Yeah. She did all the MTA Stand clear. Like all of those announcements for years for the subway system. And we. We brought her into the studio to. To record our. All of our subway drops.

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah. So shout out to Bernie. Thank you so much.

[Issa Davis]

We love Bernie.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Lin Manuel Miranda and Issa Davis will co host a Warriors listening party at Lincoln center to at 9:30. Head to lincoln center.org for more information. Coming up on the show tomorrow, we continue our week spotlighting memoirs and biographies with a look into the life of boxer and Brooklyn native Mike Tyson. Author Mark Kriegel joins us to talk about his book Baddest man, the Making of Mike Tyson. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you. And I will meet you back here tomorrow.

[Guest Speaker]

Hey, everybody, it's Babs from brunch with Babs. And do I have a tip for you. If you share my passion for classic.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Style and joyful living, you're gonna love Birch Lane.

[Guest Speaker]

Their timeless furniture and decor is carefully.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Crafted to bring joy to your home for years to come, just like the.

[Issa Davis]

Memories you make there.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Plus, it's delivered fast and free.

[Guest Speaker]

Shop my hand pick Birch Lane collection.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And more classic [e-mail] Society doesn't want to talk about menopause. And when they do, they don't make it sound very pretty. So Walgreens is helping women change the perception and take back the narrative. Because nothing is sexier than being in control. Menopause is confidence. Menopause is power. Menopause. Menopause is hot. Let's frame menopause together. Watch the menopause is hot [e-mail] Hotel.