Talented ‘Spamilton’ cast sells a good-natured ribbing of ‘Hamilton’
Chipper and breezy, “Spamilton: An American Parody” is a loving spoof of that little musical that opened on Broadway in 2015 — the one that people still won't shut up about.
Brought to you by Gerard Alessandrini, the man behind years of the “Forbidden Broadway” musical spoofs, “Spamilton” takes aim not only at Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit “Hamilton” but at Miranda himself. The superb cast lampoons with affection, though.
In fact, the most savage barbs are often saved for other shows. One song describes Manuel as creating “Hamilton” to elevate Broadway's quality because “He saw ‘Little Mermaid'… it made him think of suicide.”
So it's not just “Hamilton” that comes in for its share of knocks: composer Stephen Sondheim, Walt Disney Theatrical and divas such as Bernadette Peters, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli are all targets as well.
It's fascinating, not to mention commercially shrewd, to realize that people who dislike “Hamilton” but like theater in general, will enjoy this. On the flip side, so will those who like “Hamilton” but think more traditional Broadway is over-the-top.
The show itself is very New York-centric, with frequent references to original “Hamilton” cast members Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs. Playing the latter is the very sunny and very silly Tristan J. Shuler, who crushes a fabulous number based on TV's “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
Some of it may go over people's heads, I fear. Does anyone under the age of 50 know that JFK and Jackie Kennedy listened to the cast album of Broadway's “Camelot” before going to sleep? (Though President Barack Obama preparing for bed dressed like “Where's Waldo” is an amusing sight gag.)
Although overall this is smart parody, one segment isn't up to the standards of the rest, simply because it ignores reality to make a joke. The “Hamilton” crew crows about dethroning “Book of Mormon” as Broadway's hot show — but last week “The Book of Mormon” played to 100 percent capacity, and grossed more than $1 million. So the joke just doesn't work. Parody should be funny because it's based on truth.
A few of the references already feel dated; “Bright Star” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” barely made a blip on the theater scene, for example.
But this goofy cast sells it all with style. Rendell Debose makes the best surprise cameo from another show. T.J. Newton's Lin-Manuel is comically pleased as punch with himself. Datus Puryear is an imposing Leslie Odom-as-Aaron-Burr.
As all the show's women, Marissa Hecker is a whiz with comic timing and has impressive vocal skills — breath control, impersonation, intonation. She also wields a mean puppet or two.
And music director Catherine Stornetta admirably keeps it all on track.
At its best, “Spamilton” pokes fun at what even the most fanatical can recognize as “Hamilton” flaws: “What did you miss?” scoffs at the lyrics that can't be understood. “Can you believe you paid 800 bucks for this?” runs one lyric.
And as the familiar tunes resound with their new lyrics — “Mickey Mouse has his eyes on me” — the laughs come frequently and heartily.
“Raise a glass to Broadway,” the cast sings. And while we're at it, let's raise a glass to those who create the magic on Broadway — and those who see the humor in it.