James Corden of The Late Late Show has become late-night’s viral king due to his festive “Carpool Karaoke” series, featuring everyone from Justin Bieber to Chewbacca Mom. And while the stunt may have peaked views and quality-wise with the inimitable Adele—who gabbed with Corden like a couple of British gossips, sang the Spice Girls, and furiously rapped Nicki Minaj’s verse in “Monster,” there still appears to be plenty left to belt out.
Just recently, for example, the gifted Corden got J. Lo to allow him to go through her phone and send a vague text to Leonardo DiCaprio about wanting to let loose and party, only to have the renowned ladies’ man text back, “You mean tonight, boo boo? Club-wise?”
Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio calls women “boo boo.” That’s his thing.
On Monday night, Corden hosted a special Tony Awards edition of “Carpool Karaoke” to drum up hype for the show, which he’ll be hosting on CBS the night of June 12. And of course, he had to have Pulitzer Prize-winning, MacArthur Genius Grant-receiving Lin-Manuel Miranda on, whose musical Hamilton set a Tonys record this year with 16 nominations.
The likeable pair opened with a medley of “Alexander Hamilton” and “Guns and Ships” from the Hamilton soundtrack, with Corden showing off some impressive rapping skills, before picking up a trio of Broadway stars: the legendary Audra McDonald, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Jane Krakowski.
After the quintet all crammed into the car and exchanged pleasantries—this is Broadway, after all—they sang a selection of Broadway musical classics, including “Seasons of Love” from Rent; “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli, featured in Jersey Boys (with several carpoolers hilariously forgetting many of the lines); and a booming rendition of “One Day More” from Les Miserables, with Miranda inserting the occasional WHAT! like a hype-man version of DMX.
Broadway lover or not, it’s well worth your time to see this much talent packed into one SUV.