Review: 'Spamilton An American Parody'

West Hartford, CT - Playhouse on Park and The Bushnell have partnered to host the tour of SPAMILTON AN AMERICAN PARODY. Performances are presented in the relatively intimate space at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford and they run there through September 8, 2019.

This rolicking and eminantly clever parody was created, written and directed by the creative mind of Gerald Alessandrini, a mind that must work at triple the speed of the rest of us. SPAMILTON was originally produced by John Freedson, David Zippel, Mr. Alessandrini and actress singer radio host on Sirius Xm On Broadway Christine Pedi at The Triad Theater in New York City. There are now 25 editions all over the world.

The creator of SPAMILTON reminds audience members how President and Mrs. Kennedy liked to listen to the cast album of CAMELOT every night before they fell asleep, therefore dubbing the JFK Presidency as the CAMELOT Years. He goes on to note that the Obamas championed their favorite musical, HAMILTON, and how fun it is to fantasize that the couple listens to that amazing cast album every night. To my mind, he correctly predicts that we may very well look back on 2014-2016 at The HAMILTON Years.

From the author/director’s notes in the program:

“My fanciful imagination also extends to what Lin-Manuel Miranda might actually be thinking and doing. It’s best to keep in mind as you watch SPAMILTON that in no way is this an actual biography of Mr. Miranda, fellow cast members or even a factual account of the creation of HAMILTON. It’s all a figment of my twisted imagination and hopefully a glorious mash-up of theatre today and my wildest musical comedy dreams. Many thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda, his co-creators and all the great Broadway composers and lyricists for allowing us to use their great songs for parody and comical purposes.”

I loved every single second of this 80 minutes, so much so that my face ached from smiling and laughing. Part of it was that, even from the last row, I felt that the six cast members were making eye contact, and I wanted to show them how much I was enjoying the rapid-fire comedy. Admittedly, I probably appreciated the non-stop Broadway riffs more than the casual patron, but I would venture a guess that everyone in the venue had a great time. Perhaps not as much as the cast, although they were clearly working just as hard as the members of HAMILTON do, or so I have heard.

Gerard Alessandrini is also the creator of the parody revue FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, so I wasn’t surprised that SPAMILTON also parodies a boatload of other Broadway musicals “in a most delightful way.” I couldn’t write fast enough to note then all in my program, but I was pretty proud of myself that I got CAMELOT, which I expected, as well as GYPSY, CHICAGO, THE KING AND I, ASSASSINS, THE BOOK OF MORMON and SWEENEY TODD. There are also spot-on portrayals of personalities like Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters and Liza Minnelli and a great homage to Stephen Sondheim. My other show notes of what I picked up included Broadway.com, MATILDA, Don Quijote, AVENUE Q, GUYS AND DOLLS, THE CHER SHOWS, THE LION KING, Harry Potter, PIPPIN, PHANTOM, orphan ANNIE and WICKED.

The musical arrangements were written by Fred Barton (FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, Emmy Award for THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS) and Richard Danley with music supervision by Fred Barton. The easily packed set was designed by Morgan Large, with a surprisingly large number of costumes designed by Dustin Cross. The fine lighting was designed by Michael Gilliam and Gerry McIntyre gets the credit for designing the excellent choreography. Mr. McIntyre did the choreography at the CT Rep at UConn Storrs for CANDIDE, LEGALLY BLONDE and HAIRSPRAY, which was honored with a CCC Award. The fact that the show’s logo includes A. Hamilton thumbing his nose in silhouette sets the tone of your hilarious evening. Glenn Bassett provided the props and the onstage poster design.

The high energy cast is made up of amazingly talented singer/dancers who can rap (and quick change) with the best of them. Chuckie Benson took on the roles of Ben Franklin and George Washington and many others and also served as the dance captain. As the only woman in the cast, Paloma D’Auria had to play all of the leading ladies, and probably had the most costumes to change; Marissa Hecker is credited as a swing. Ms. D’Auria, a 2018 graduate of Marymount Manhattan, played Jovie in the national tour of ELF and is thankful to be clowning around with the SPAMILTON family.

Adrian Lopez did amazing work in the role of Lin-Manuel Miranda; Mr. Lopez holds a BFA from SHSU and in his bio thanks “his friends, mi familia and every teacher I’ve ever had.” Dominic Pecikonis donned the required wig to play Daveed Diggs and many others in his national tour debut. Datus Puryear (the national tour of 50 SHADES THE MUSICAL!) was memorable as Aaron Burr and Leslie Odom, Jr. and others.

Brandon Kinley, the other swing, appeared in the role of King George III; he appeared in SPAMILTON in Chicago and is glad to be back in the Spam Fam again.

At the piano were the nimble fingers of musical director Curtis Reynolds, who also has acting credits like the Balladeer in ASSASSINS. Somehow, Mr. Reynolds also serves as the King George III standby, and I would have loved to have seen how manages that. Suffice it to say that he played the 26 Broadway pieces beautifully, and it was certainly not an easy score to handle alone.

If you have seen HAMILTON, and for the record I am VERY envious if you have, you will adore this parody. If you have only memorized the melodies on the HAMILTON original cast album and are working on the lyrics as I am, the same advice applies. Probably my favorite part of the musical numbers was hearing how Mr. Miranda’s lyrics had been tweaked to fit into the parody theme. Examples of some of the titles: “Raise a Glass to Broadway,” “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Cries,” and “In the Hype” (because they have not forgotten IN THE HEIGHTS.) If you hate HAMILTON, I will go out on a limb and say that you should still give this show a chance. I was glad to see that only a handful of single seats were available on the night that I attended on opening weekend, so don’t wait to get your tickets. Call the box office at 860-523-5900 x10 or visit https://playhouseonpark.tix.com/m/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=2704

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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