Daniel Pollack-Pelzner at the Cambridge Public Library

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Daniel Pollack-Pelzner—cultural historian, theater critic, and professor of English and theater at Portland State University—for a discussion of his highly anticipated biography of Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda, titled Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist. He will be joined in conversation by Dani Snyder-Young—esteemed Northeastern University theater professor, who appears in Lin-Manuel Miranda as his director for the Wesleyan production of Jesus Christ Superstar that launched him into collegiate superstardom.

Ticketing

RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of Lin-Manuel Miranda and pick it up at the event. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner will sign copies of his book after the presentation.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

About Lin-Manuel Miranda

An intimate and captivating exploration of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s artistic journey, revealing how the creator of the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In the Heights found his unique voice through bold collaborations and a seamless blend of cultures, redefining the world of musical theater.How did Lin-Manuel Miranda, the sweet, sensitive son of Puerto Rican parents from an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan, rise to become the preeminent musical storyteller of the 21st century? Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist offers a compelling narrative that traces Miranda’s path from a friendly but often isolated child to the winner of multiple Tonys and Grammys for his Broadway hits Hamilton and In the Heights, a global chart-topping sensation for his songs in Disney’s Moana and Encanto, and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Genius Grant.Miranda’s journey is a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and cultural synthesis. Despite not being a musical prodigy, Miranda’s insatiable drive to create art and learn from those around him propelled him to synthesize his Latino heritage with the pop, hip-hop, and Broadway musical styles of New York City. The unique blend allowed him to craft a new way of telling American stories.Drawing on over 150 interviews with Miranda’s family, friends, and mentors, including insights from Miranda himself, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner delves into the formative experiences that shaped Miranda’s artistic vision. From his early musicals in high school and college to the creation of his professional masterpieces, this book reveals the sources of Miranda’s creativity—not only as innate genius, but also as a result of exceptional openness and collaboration. With full access to Miranda’s inner circle, this behind-the-scenes origin story is sure to captivate his legions of fans and beyond.

Bios

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner teaches English and theater at Portland State University. He received the Graves Award from the American Council of Learned Societies for outstanding teaching in the humanities. As a cultural historian and theater critic, his articles about playwrights from Shakespeare to Quiara Alegría Hudes have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. His pandemic spoof, "What Shakespeare Actually Did During the Plague," was adapted into an Emmy-winning broadcast for PBS, and his New Yorker profile of Cherokee playwright and lawyer Mary Kathryn Nagle is being adapted into a feature documentary. He is the scholar-in-residence at the Portland Shakespeare Project and a frequent guest lecturer at theaters around the country. Born and raised in Portland, he received his B.A. in History from Yale and his Ph.D. in English from Harvard. He met his wife in an elementary-school production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; they now live in Portland with their two children.

Dani Snyder-Young is a scholar of applied theatre and contemporary US activist performance. She studies the ways socially engaged performance projects impact their audiences and their participants. Her books include: Privileged Spectatorship: Theatrical Interventions in White Supremacy; Theatre of Good Intentions: Challenges and Hopes for Theatre and Social Change; and Impacting Theatre Audiences: Methods for Studying Change, co-edited with Matt Omasta. She has published articles in Theatre Journal, TDR, Theatre Survey, Theatre Research International, Theatre Topics, RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre Research, Applied Theatre Researcher, Qualitative Inquiry, and Youth Theatre Journal. She leads the Data Theatre Collaborative, whose Civic Data Theatre process reimagines what community meetings and data-informed democracies can include. Dani’s artistic work as a dramaturg and director focuses on socially engaged and community-based performance. At Northeastern, she directs plays centering the voices and experiences of women, including The Wolves, How I Learned to Drive, and the ensemble-devised The Princess Saves Herself in This One. Dani began her artistic career in Boston in 1999, working locally with Boston TheatreWorks, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, New Repertory Theater, Boston Playwright’s Theater, Coyote Theater, Other Side Productions, Playwrights’ Platform, Peabody House Theatre Cooperative, and Shadowboxing Theatre Collaborative. Regionally, she has worked with Barrington Stage Company, Gloucester Stage, Hangar Theatre, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her devised work with young people has been performed in New York at the Public Theatre and the HERE Arts Center, and she was a founding member of the Present Tense Theatre Company. Internationally, she has worked with Misery Loves Company of Prague, Czech Republic. Dani was an ensemble member of Halcyon Theatre in Chicago from 2013-2018 and is a member of Actor’s Equity Association. Prior to joining the Northeastern faculty in 2017, Dani taught at Illinois Wesleyan University, New York University, and Pace University. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and an MA and PhD from New York University.

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.