Mandy Gonzalez brings Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songbook to life
The Broadway singer celebrates Miranda with a heartfelt evening of music and memories
Photo provided by Michael J. Lutch/BSO
Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda
Boston Pops
Conducted by Keith Lockhart
Featuring vocalist Mandy Gonzalez
Symphony Hall
Sept. 20, 2025
In this concert tribute, Mandy Gonzalez brings Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songbook to life with warm anecdotes and an uplifting energy that lights up the stage. Gonzalez’s connection to Miranda dates back to 2005, when she auditioned for Miranda’s musical In the Heights. She fondly recalls her initial meeting with Miranda and the rest of the creative team in the basement of the The Drama Book Shop, the humble beginning to a lifelong friendship and artistic partnership.
The evening opened with “Everything I Know-verture,” a triumphant, major-key overture from the orchestra that wove in familiar melodies, including a playful nod to “You’re Welcome” from Moana. As the music swelled, Gonzalez strided onto the stage to enthusiastic applause, her confident presence filling the hall. After greeting the audience and introducing both herself and the Boston Pops, Gonzalez dived into a repertoire that highlighted Miranda’s unique voice as a songwriter.
In her performance of “Spanish Me, English Me” from Sesame Street, Gonzalez reflected on her own bicultural identity. As a child, she listened to ¡Sesame Mucho!, the show’s first bilingual record, with her Mexican-American father and Jewish mother. One of the guest artists featured on the album was Vikki Carr, a Mexican-American artist whose voice inspired the young Gonzalez. Years later, when an agent pressured Gonzalez to change her name because it sounded “too ethnic,” she briefly considered adopting the moniker “Mandy Carr.” However, the thought of her father stopped her.
Stepping into the spotlight, she proudly declared to the audience: “My last name is not Carr with two R’s, it’s Gonzalez with two Z’s.” That spirit of self-acceptance is beautifully reflected in Miranda’s lyrics for the song, as both sides of her identity “fit together perfectly.”
In “Breathe” from In the Heights, Gonzalez revisited the musical that sparked her connection to Miranda and where she first made her own on Broadway as the character Nina. The song, which explores themes of self-doubt and imposter syndrome, resonated with Gonzalez’s own journey on the stage. There was an intimacy in her voice as she sang, shaped by the weight of lived-in experience.
Gonzalez opened up about an earlier Broadway chapter of her life: the ill-fated 2002 adaptation of Dance of the Vampires. At its premiere, Gonzalez had booked a fancy hotel for her parents, only to face an awkward silence over breakfast the next morning when they read the negative reviews. “I remembered my mom saying, ‘There might be some good ones,’” Gonzalez said with a rueful smile. “There weren’t.”
Gonzalez’s rendition of “Almost like Praying” put a spotlight on the song’s history and origin. The song was produced by Miranda in the painful aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Miranda, who is of Puerto Rican descent, penned the song as “a love letter to Puerto Rico,” as evidenced by his Spanish rhymes pairing “Puerto Rico” with “yo te quiero.” The song features Latin artists, each singing the names of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities to acknowledge every community affected by the devastating storm. Gonzalez highlighted how Miranda’s work was not only an art, but also a call to action. Her commanding voice bore the weight of the moment, filling the room with raw intensity.
Gonzalez also performed “One School” from one of Miranda’s lesser-known musicals, 21 Chump Street — The Musical on This American Life. In the musical, she acted as an undercover police officer posing as a new student to catch drug dealers on campus. She introduced rising star Philippe Arroyo, who previously starred in & Juliet on Broadway, as a guest vocalist. He played the smitten high school student who asks Gonzalez to prom, serenading her with the song "What the Heck I Gotta Do" from the same musical. The two exchanged hilarious banter in sing-song melodies, with Gonzalez deftly deflecting his character’s naive advances to the audience’s delight.
Gonzalez, who famously played the first replacement of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, naturally followed with a suite of melodies from the musical. Most notably, she performed “Satisfied,” the signature number of the character. It was an amazing portrayal; she seamlessly stepped into her role and brought her character to life with striking conviction. During the performance, lights shone on the audience as Gonzalez invited everyone to join her and sing along.
After the intermission, Gonzalez energized the audience by performing the chart-topping hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s Encanto. The song made history as the first from a Disney animated film to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 29 years. Taking advantage of the song’s structure that features a cast of gossiping villagers, Gonzalez delivered parts of the song in multiple languages, including German, Japanese, Ukrainian, and Chinese, to draw attention to its international success. Her versatility and range earned cheers from the audience.
Following “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was “Dos Oruguitas” (Two Little Caterpillars) from Encanto, a song that reminded Gonzalez of her own parents’ love story. Her father — a young man from a border town near Mexico — was serving in the Vietnam War, while her mother — only 17 and from California — was writing letters to soldiers. Her father was one of the recipients of those letters and eventually won over her mother’s heart. However, her maternal grandparents objected to the relationship. As a result, Gonzalez’s mother was prepared to be cut off from her parents to be with her love, but he managed to convince her otherwise, emphasizing that they were all a family. The song’s gentle melody mirrors the tenderness of this love story, a quality Gonzalez conveyed in her quiet, seated performance.
Afterwards, Gonzalez donned an apron labeled “Lin-Manuel’s Burger Palace” in her performance of “Delivery” from the musical Working. She shared that the first time she sang in this musical, it still featured a newspaper boy, a job that has now gone out of fashion in the modern world. Miranda revitalized the musical for today’s stage and added two new songs, including “Delivery.” In a climatic ending, as Gonzalez sang about her character’s “favorite part” of the job, the conductor humorously handed her a dollar bill with the line “keep the change,” drawing laughter from the audience.
In “Everything I Know” from In the Heights, a song that pays tribute to grandmothers, Gonzalez shared stories about her own grandmothers. Her paternal grandmother didn’t speak English fluently, but she carried the strength to raise nine children in America. Gonzalez recalled a poignant moment when her grandmother gently corrected her, “I’m not your grandma, I’m your abuelita” (the Spanish word for grandmother). Her maternal grandmother, whom she affectionately calls “bubbe,” (the Yiddish word for grandmother) nurtured her artistic talents from an early age. “She noticed a certain quality in my voice,” Gonzalez said with a laugh. “It was loud.” She sang the number in a strong voice imbued with gratitude and passion.
Gonzalez closed the concert with a powerful performance of “Fearless,” a song from her own album of the same name. Fearless originally started as a social media movement in 2017 when Gonzalez made a simple post to help bring people together and offer encouragement. She wanted a song to provide a voice for her movement, one that would capture both her personal story and a broader societal story. She knew the perfect person to ask to write it: Lin-Manuel Miranda. Her stirring rendition featured guest vocalists from the Boston Children’s Chorus, whose harmonious voices tied together the performance, echoing the key lyric of “walls come down” from the song.
As the final note faded, the crowd jumped to their feet, erupting in thunderous applause. Mandy Gonzalez’s powerful voice delivered a tour de force, guiding us through a magnificent journey across Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songbook. Filled with anecdotes and personal history, the experience was decadently rich.