Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Christopher Jackson, “On ‘Hamilton,’ 'In the Heights,' and Hollywood”
12 April 2018, 19:00 EST
Lesley University
Washburn Auditorium
10 Phillips Place
Cambridge, MA 02138
Sponsors: Mosse Lectures, Mosse Foundation, Lesley University
Moderated by Richard Zauft, Dean of the College of Art and Design, Lesley University
Tony-nominated for "Hamilton: An American Musical," Broadway star Christopher Jackson inspired the Lesley community this April in Washburn Auditorium. He shared his experiences as an actor, writer and musician and implored the young artists in the room to keep working hard.
2018 Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture: @-lesley/community-engagement/strauch-mosse-visiting-artist-lectures
The Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture Series, funded by Lesley University Chair of the Board Hans Strauch and the Mosse Foundation, brings world-renowned artists to campus.
More than a third of Lesley’s undergraduate and graduate students are engaged in the arts, whether through the university’s art and design, creative writing, community arts, or expressive therapies programs. This visiting artist lecture series serves as a catalyst for artistic and cultural inquiry. It reinforces arts integration across our schools. And best of all—it’s free and open to the public.
Excerpt from Lesley University story on Christopher Jackson's lecture, by Georgia Sparling: @ristopher-jackson-on-hamilton-and-hollywood
Landing the titular role in the Broadway production of “The Lion King” left Christopher Jackson disillusioned.
“I thought more would have come from being in my first Broadway lead,” said Jackson, who would eventually originate the role of George Washington in the Broadway hit “Hamilton.” “I thought I was moving into some things, but Hollywood did not call.”
Jackson, who spoke at Washburn Auditorium on April 12 for the Strauch-Mosse Spring 2018 Visiting Artist, found that getting everything he thought he wanted was hollow. He’d missed one crucial detail.
“I forgot to cultivate the relational aspect of the business,” he said.
Then Jackson met two guys – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail — who invited him to workshop a hip-hop- and rap-infused musical that would eventually become the Tony Award-winning Broadway show “In the Heights.” Eventually, they would also cast Jackson in a little musical about a treasury secretary.
But before “Hamilton,” Miranda and Kail, aka Lin and Tommy, invited Jackson to join a reading. That changed everything for the young actor.
“I had the most fun sitting in a room doing that first reading of ‘In the Heights’ than I had doing anything,” he said. “They were doing the thing and I wanted to be a part of that.”
It no longer mattered that he was broke. In fact, he willingly ate cans of beans and tuna just to have the $1.50 he needed to hop on the train to the next rehearsal.
“In this world where buildings are falling down and lives are being completely destroyed, how about we meet in a basement and make something beautiful?” Gesturing to a row of high school students wearing “In the Heights” T-shirts, he said, “Now it’s on your shirt and that’s crazy to me.”
About that George Washington gig…
Jackson first heard about the idea for “Hamilton” between numbers on the set of “In the Heights.”
Backstage one night, Miranda told him: “I’ve got the next thing. It’s about the treasury secretary. It’s Alexander Hamilton, don’t tell nobody.”
Being cast as George Washington in this unlikely hit was, at first, a moral conundrum given that the founding father owned slaves and Jackson is African-American.
“It was always difficult to navigate for me,” he admitted.
Jackson visited the slave quarters at Washington’s Mount Vernon estate to gain perspective on that lesser-researched side of history.
“I felt it necessary to honor those who never had a name, who never had a story told about them,” he said. “Every aspect of my performance involved them as well.”
And those roles have set the actor apart.
“If it weren’t for Lin and Tommy, nobody would know how to cast me. I’m too light to be dark and too dark to be light,” said Jackson. “It’s tragic and that’s the only reason it’s worth laughing at.”
Jackson now has a starring role on the CBS show “Bull,” which has been an adjustment, but also an opportunity to encourage diversity on set.
“I’m gently saying, ‘Hey, we have a unique opportunity to talk about the things that people are talking about right now,’” he said. “I’m not cynical. I tend to believe that every half a step that’s made is a step in the right direction.”
Christopher Jackson, “On ‘Hamilton,’ 'In the Heights,' and Hollywood”
12 April 2018, 19:00 EST
Lesley University
Washburn Auditorium
10 Phillips Place
Cambridge, MA 02138
Sponsors: Mosse Lectures, Mosse Foundation, Lesley University
Moderated by Richard Zauft, Dean of the College of Art and Design, Lesley University
Tony-nominated for "Hamilton: An American Musical," Broadway star Christopher Jackson inspired the Lesley community this April in Washburn Auditorium. He shared his experiences as an actor, writer and musician and implored the young artists in the room to keep working hard.
2018 Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture: @-lesley/community-engagement/strauch-mosse-visiting-artist-lectures
The Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture Series, funded by Lesley University Chair of the Board Hans Strauch and the Mosse Foundation, brings world-renowned artists to campus.
More than a third of Lesley’s undergraduate and graduate students are engaged in the arts, whether through the university’s art and design, creative writing, community arts, or expressive therapies programs. This visiting artist lecture series serves as a catalyst for artistic and cultural inquiry. It reinforces arts integration across our schools. And best of all—it’s free and open to the public.
Excerpt from Lesley University story on Christopher Jackson's lecture, by Georgia Sparling: @ristopher-jackson-on-hamilton-and-hollywood
Landing the titular role in the Broadway production of “The Lion King” left Christopher Jackson disillusioned.
“I thought more would have come from being in my first Broadway lead,” said Jackson, who would eventually originate the role of George Washington in the Broadway hit “Hamilton.” “I thought I was moving into some things, but Hollywood did not call.”
Jackson, who spoke at Washburn Auditorium on April 12 for the Strauch-Mosse Spring 2018 Visiting Artist, found that getting everything he thought he wanted was hollow. He’d missed one crucial detail.
“I forgot to cultivate the relational aspect of the business,” he said.
Then Jackson met two guys – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail — who invited him to workshop a hip-hop- and rap-infused musical that would eventually become the Tony Award-winning Broadway show “In the Heights.” Eventually, they would also cast Jackson in a little musical about a treasury secretary.
But before “Hamilton,” Miranda and Kail, aka Lin and Tommy, invited Jackson to join a reading. That changed everything for the young actor.
“I had the most fun sitting in a room doing that first reading of ‘In the Heights’ than I had doing anything,” he said. “They were doing the thing and I wanted to be a part of that.”
It no longer mattered that he was broke. In fact, he willingly ate cans of beans and tuna just to have the $1.50 he needed to hop on the train to the next rehearsal.
“In this world where buildings are falling down and lives are being completely destroyed, how about we meet in a basement and make something beautiful?” Gesturing to a row of high school students wearing “In the Heights” T-shirts, he said, “Now it’s on your shirt and that’s crazy to me.”
About that George Washington gig…
Jackson first heard about the idea for “Hamilton” between numbers on the set of “In the Heights.”
Backstage one night, Miranda told him: “I’ve got the next thing. It’s about the treasury secretary. It’s Alexander Hamilton, don’t tell nobody.”
Being cast as George Washington in this unlikely hit was, at first, a moral conundrum given that the founding father owned slaves and Jackson is African-American.
“It was always difficult to navigate for me,” he admitted.
Jackson visited the slave quarters at Washington’s Mount Vernon estate to gain perspective on that lesser-researched side of history.
“I felt it necessary to honor those who never had a name, who never had a story told about them,” he said. “Every aspect of my performance involved them as well.”
And those roles have set the actor apart.
“If it weren’t for Lin and Tommy, nobody would know how to cast me. I’m too light to be dark and too dark to be light,” said Jackson. “It’s tragic and that’s the only reason it’s worth laughing at.”
Jackson now has a starring role on the CBS show “Bull,” which has been an adjustment, but also an opportunity to encourage diversity on set.
“I’m gently saying, ‘Hey, we have a unique opportunity to talk about the things that people are talking about right now,’” he said. “I’m not cynical. I tend to believe that every half a step that’s made is a step in the right direction.”
