Hey, Lizzo! Kaila Mullady and Andrew Bancroft Want to Rap with You in Broadway's Freestyle Love Supreme

Freestyle Love Supreme has been wowing audiences since with their improv and freestyle rapping for the past 15 years, and now they're doing it on Broadway. Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Veneziale and Thomas Kail, Freestyle Love Supreme has a different cast every night telling stories they create in the moment. Current cast members Kaila Mullady and Andrew Bancroft stopped by Broadway.com's #LiveatFive to talk to Paul Wontorek all about making their Broadway debuts, what this show means to them and more.

The cast of Freestyle Love Supreme is a blend of those who have been with the group since its inception and those recently brought on board, which is beautifully represented by Bancroft and Mullady. "I flirted with the group 10 years ago, and it's been official for over six years," Bancroft said. "I put a ring on it. I knew Anthony [Veneziale] and we actually started a group called The Freeze in San Francisco many years ago; Daveed Diggs was a member before joining Freestyle Love Supreme. When I moved here six years ago, there was a break after In the Heights quieted down and before Hamilton started where we did a number of shows at Lincoln Center and Joe's Pub. I auditioned to be what we call "microphone one" during those shows, and that's how I got on board."

Unlike Bancroft, Mullady's first time with Freestyle Love Supreme was on stage at the Booth Theatre. "I've been beatboxing my whole life and the community is pretty niche, so I've know Shockwave [Chris Sullivan] for a while now," she said. "I used to come into the city and do street performing. I've always loved theater and improv and Shockwave is really the only other beatboxer in the community that loves doing theatrical stuff, so we would always pass gigs back and forth. I didn't even know that Freestyle Love Supreme was coming to Broadway. I got a random call in June when I was in Vancouver and Shockwave was like, 'Hey, you wanna come to Broadway?' and I was like, 'Hell, yeah.'"

Both Bancroft and Mullady have spent their lives honing their craft, but they never believed it would bring them to the bright lights of Broadway. "It's an honor and dream of mine," Bancroft said. "I've always loved theater and and I write music and write musicals but when I came to New York I was like, 'I don't sing like Chris Jackson or write like Lin-Manuel Miranda, so the paths for me getting to Broadway seem slim.' I never thought it would be this way and it's the most fun possible way to do it. It's validating that I belong here and have opportunities."

Having previously performed with a group that had its eyes set on a bigger stage, Mullady is thrilled that freestyle and beatboxing is in the spotlight. "When I was with North Coast, we sold out an off-Broadway run and thought we could take it further," she said. "When we got to the point, they said, 'Kids, improv will never be on Broadway.' They didn't understand that when you hone your craft, it's not going to fail. We show the beauty of what the human mind and instrument can do, and it's just as good as any other show on Broadway. I'm so proud to be a part of that."

Not only is Mullady 'living her dream,' but she's helping others achieve theirs as well. "My cousin was nonverbal until he was about eight years old," she said. "When I would babysit, he wouldn't want to be with his speech therapist so we would beatbox. No kid wants to sit there with a card and practice reading out 'baseball,' but when they're practicing beatbox or watching battles on YouTube they don't realize they're working on speech goals. Beatboxing is really just articulating your letters. We've been doing more research and trying to expand beatboxing and show how it can also help people and heal people as well."

With a rotating cast list full of surprise appearances, the duo get a front-row seat to some of the best in the business. As much as they love working with people like James Monroe Igleheart and Wayne Brady, they do have some ideas about other celebs who should join them on stage. "I think improvisers like Amy Poehler and Fred Armisen would be really great," Mullady said. Bancroft quickly joined in agreement and offered another plea to get a certain chart-topping artist on the stage; "Lizzo, are you listening?" he said. "Please come join us and bring your flute!"

See Bancroft and Mullady in Freestyle Love Supreme, playing at the Booth Theatre.

Watch the full #LiveatFive episode below!