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There’s a certain Lin-Manuel Miranda production in town right now that’s getting all the attention. But the surprise announcement that a famous name will be joining another Lin-Manuel Miranda production currently playing at Portland Center Stage may actually upstage the traveling version of Hamilton.
Improviser extraordinaire Wayne Brady is scheduled to guest star in Freestyle Love Supreme on April 15 and 16. That includes the 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday shows as well as the 2 pm Saturday matinee.
A six-time Emmy Award winner and Grammy nominee, Brady is perhaps best known as a regular member of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the American adaptation of the British improv show of the same name where performers take suggestions from the audience as launching points for skits.
He also starred in staged productions such as Kinky Boots (Broadway), Chicago (Broadway), Hamilton (Chicago) as well as TV shows like The Good Fight and Black Lightning. Brady is also familiar with hosting duties, first for his titular variety show in the early 2000s, and currently as MC of Let’s Make a Deal.
Freestyle Love Supreme is the original hip-hop musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale. Similar to Whose Line?, actors take suggestions from the audience and spin them into instantaneous riffs and full-length musical numbers.
Tickets are still available for Brady’s dates at Portland Center Stage, but the company warns that they are selling fast. And if you missed out on seats for the now sold-out Hamilton at the Keller, not being in the room where it happens isn’t so bad if you’re getting serenaded by Brady.
SEE IT: Portland Center Stage at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., 503-445-3700, pcs.org. Wayne Brady shows: 7:30 pm Friday and 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday, April 15-16. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday-Sunday. 2 pm select Thursdays, through May 1. $25-$92.