‘Spamilton’ Offers Great Fun as It Satirizes a Modern Classic

Alci Rengifo

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the major Broadway phenomenon of the last millennium is “Hamilton.” The rousing take on American history has gained legions of followers and a few detractors here and there, but now Gerard Alessandrini, renowned for his romps on “Forbidden Broadway,” has decided to aim a satirical eye with “Spamilton,” a wickedly charming experience about its namesake and Broadway bombast. It doesn’t just spoof the Founding Fathers epic and its cast, it also aims at the entire edifice of Broadway culture from the last two decades or so. Now performing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Alessandrini’s vision provides a refreshing escape from high art and into the raucous party of high satire.

“Spamilton” tells the story of Lin-Manuel (William Cooper Howell), a talented Latin writer and composer who is driven by the goal to save Broadway and plans to do so by staging a grand musical about one of the Founding Fathers. The character is an obvious riff on “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. In the show’s glorious opening number, “Lin Manuel as Hamilton,” the lyrics declare, “”How does a whipper snapper/Student of rap/And a Latin/Trapped in the middle of a Manhattan flat/Win Broadway accolades/While pther writers kiss the corporate dollar/Grow up to be a hip-hop opera scholar?” The number is performed by Wilkie Ferguson III as Leslie Odom Jr., the cast member from “Hamilton” who scooped up a Tony for playing the notorious Aaron Burr. Yes, the show is that kind of satire. But the show takes on a different tone from the original, putting aside politics for debates about artistic integrity (even if the animosity between Burr and Hamilton is still quite present). As Lin-Manuel pursues his dream, the commercial temptations of Broadway try to sink their claws into the rebel.

Staged in a bare setting, where the focus is on the personalities stepping into the spotlight, “Spamilton” is the kind of funny, (tenderly) biting spoof audiences will welcome in these politically tense times. It is a satire, but not viciously so, it pokes fun but without deep cuts. The songs are both critiques of the industry and comments on the hype “Hamilton” inspired. Songs like “In the Hype” satirize the media craze over the show while “What Did You Miss?” aims at its famously dense lyrics. Miranda’s own persona is pulled down to earth when Lin-Manuel croons, “I’m slightly obnoxious/Too broad, too pained/My voice is strained/and thin/I’m Lin-Manuel!” What is satire after all, if not iconoclastic. Glenn Bassett as Crazy King George is a character that even bemoans the masculinity of “Hamilton,” and in the number “Straight is Back” laments the idea that Miranda’s opus has made Broadway less gay.

Yet Alessandrini isn’t doing a hatchet job here. The tone of “Spamilton” remains friendly and even adulatory. Lin-Manuel has a bit of an ego (as expected) but he’s also heroic, daring to defy commercialism, singing “I’m not gonna let Broadway rot” in the number “His Shot.” While the show never moves  to SNL level, it seems to acknowledge that “Hamilton” was indeed vital, groundbreaking musical theater, but it couldn’t help but become a franchise-like phenomenon. The costume design by Dustin Cross and lightning design by Karyn D. Lawrence stay close to the original, and the music numbers are not straight parodies, but sound close enough to be obvious winks. Other numbers like “The Lion King and I” are where the real sharp edge lies. These are designed to stab at Broadway’s consumerist side and its catering to mass, pop taste.

The cast channel the original “Hamilton” lineup with not contempt, but friendly rib-nudging. Zakiya Young is a riot as Renée Elise Goldsberry, with the vocal range to match. Howell has great presence and channels both actor and brilliant composer in one personality. Pulling off humor, in particular satire, is no easy feat as anyone will tell you. But the “Spamilton” cast does it with artistry and a real, playful sense of joy.

“Spamilton” satirizes a modern classic, but stands on its own as a good time. Its themes are broad and its tone enjoyable. And like true populist art, it will cost a fraction of the admittance price for the original.

“Spamilton“ runs at the 47th Street Theatre in New York City and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles through Jan. 7, 2018.