(l to r): Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton, on Broadway. Photo: Joan Marcus
Among the highlights of the Grammy Awards broadcast on February 15 will be a performance by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Broadway’s Hamilton, a tribute to the late David Bowie by Lady Gaga, and another chance for Tony Bennett to win for Traditional Pop Vocal Album with The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, by Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap (Bennett and Lady Gaga won that category in 2015 with Cheek to Cheek).
The performance from Hamilton will be broadcast live via satellite from the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. It’s a lucky chance for audiences to glimpse the Broadway musical that has become the hardest ticket to come by in New York City, and this is only the eighth time in the Grammy Awards’ 58-year history that musical theater will be featured in the program. Providing an even closer look at the cast and musical in fall 2016 will be the Great Performances broadcast Hamilton’s America, a documentary showing Lin-Manuel Miranda and his colleagues during the two years leading up toHamilton’s Broadway opening.
As composer and lyricist for Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda could win his second Best Musical Theater Album Grammy (his first was for In the Heights). The nominees for Best Musical Theater Album are:
“An American in Paris”
“Fun Home”
“Hamilton”
“The King and I”
“Something Rotten!”
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Nomination Interview for the Grammy Awards
Miranda talks about his musical influences, the inspiration behind Hamilton, and how he hopes the show will expose hip-hop and musical theater to new audiences.
Lady Gaga’s David Bowie Tribute
Lady Gaga, who won even more fans with her tribute medley to Julie Andrews and the Sound of Music at the 2015 Oscar Awards, is in rehearsals now for her tribute to David Bowie (reportedly three or four songs). Directing her is Nile Rodgers, the Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist who produced Bowie’s Let’s Dance album. On Friday, Rodgers shared this tweet:
Great day rehearsing @TheGRAMMYs #DavidBowieTribute. @ladygaga and I took a photo during a break. Peace EVERYBODY pic.twitter.com/JCagzGVNfR
— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) February 12, 2016
The 58th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast February 15, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, on CBS. See the full list of performers on the official Grammy Awards site.