SPAMILTON at the Menier Chocolate Factory - He's Not Throwing Away His Jokes

When Gerard Alessandrini saw HAMILTON he realized he was in trouble; what was he going to do when he wrote the next version of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, his hugely successful off-Broadway comedy revue, to encapsulate the whole HAMILTON phenomenon?  A single routine? No.. even a medley of songs that he had used in the past for big shows would not cut it, there was only one thing for it... it would have to have it's own show.  Now that HAMILTON has repeated it's huge success in London, the ever-opportunistic Menier have served up Alessandrini's piss-take.

It opened in 2016 and, being Alessandrini, is about more than just HAMILTON - it is primarily about that show's writer/star Lin-Manuel Miranda who has now been elevated to major stardom with everyone getting in on the act - it's the same over here where any show that has his dabs on is suddenly being rushed into production.  SPAMILTON has numerous references to his upcoming role in the remake of Disney's MARY POPPINS and some of the more in-house references even defeated me.  Needless to say - as with the Menier's last FORBIDDEN BROADWAY production - dotted around the audience were arseholes who's slightly too-loud braying said I KNOW WHAT THAT JOKE MEANS AND YOU DON'T - we had one such clown in front of us and it was only when a few women in the row in front of them turned around and stared daggers at her that she toned down the hysteria.

As such the wider ripples of the HAMILTON phenomenon are parodied and other shows and personalities come in for some gentle ribbing: the Book of Mormon blokes turn up to wail about the curse of being last year's hit-show, other hit shows are mashed up to be made relevant such as LES MISMA MIA and THE LION KING AND I while Liza Minnelli, Elaine Paige, Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews and Stephen Sondheim turn up to critique the show and Miranda.  In the show's most cutting number, George III turns up - and as in HAMILTON - the character steals the show with the "Straight Is Back" number, pointing out that now the history books are being raided for inspiration, shows about gays and drag queens are being shown the door.

It could have been more cutting about the show and it's creator - HAMILTON's woeful roles for women for example - but it was more of a cheeky poke in the ribs than a hard kick up the arse which might explain the Lin-Manuel Miranda press quote on the poster.  But it was certainly on point about the intricate plot having to be followed by a bewildered audience as exposition is spat out in tongue-twisting rap, the impossibility of getting tickets, and the cast who have practically all won awards but know they probably will not be picked for "the film when it happens"!

The cast of five meet themselves going off as they come on as they have so many roles to split between them but they are all very winning and talented - I also would not be at all surprised if they get a call when HAMILTON recasts!  Liam Tamne is a hoot as both Hamilton and his preening creator, Jason Denton is good as the bouncy Thomas Jefferson, Marc Akinfolarin made a good George Washington - wanting his One Big Song - and even more surprising as 'Annie'! - Eddie Elliott was a witty Aaron Burr ("sir") and Julie Yammanee was sensational as Philippa Soo, Eliza Hamilton, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Estefan!  The two 'guest stars' were Sophie-Louise Dann, a trifle overdoing it as Elaine Paige, Liza Minnelli and Julie Andrews but Damian Humbley was delicious as George III.

A special mention to music director Simon Beck who hammers out the score on his piano and the show does speed through it's 85 minutes quickly enough, but you do feel like the show is forever chasing iself to get to the end before the joke simply plays itself out.  See it for the hugely talented cast - but I would suggest it will all be lost on you if you have not seen HAMILTON.

The real joke is - as Alessandrini's King George puts it - the fun has gone out of musicals now they are all clamouring to get their own version of HAMILTON - if you had said only a few years ago that their would be a hip-hop stage version of the life of Sylvia Pankhurst or a 'rock documentary' of The Bronte Sisters or a pop jukebox musical of the life of Zelda Fitzgerald - well you would have thought it was a FORBIDDEN BROADWAY piss-take.  But no, these are real shows due on at the Old Vic, Southwark Playhouse and The Other Palace.

Be afraid, be very afraid...

HAMILTON at Victoria Palace - In The Room Where It Happened...

There is an odd alchemy that happens in a theatre that is the home for a hit show; the audience are excited that they are the lucky ones in the seats while the cast - especially within the first few months of opening - are confident in their show and their contribution within it and can relax in the joys of a good run.

It is always an exciting atmosphere to experience, it's happened a few times for me in the National Theatre: Richard Eyre's original production of GUYS AND DOLLS, the premiere of WAR HORSE, and the recent revivals of ANGELS IN AMERICA and FOLLIES; in the West End there were the original casts of 42nd STREET, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and THE BOOK OF MORMON and on Broadway there was Patti LuPone's GYPSY and WICKED.

And now I can add HAMILTON at the Victoria Palace...

As the World and it's significant other knows, HAMILTON is Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop musical biography of the American founding father and first Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, a man who could obviously start a fight in an empty room and who ended up dead after a duel with the Vice-President and longtime adversary Aaron Burr in 1804.  However the term 'hip-hop musical' does the show a dis-service as Miranda's punchy, intricate score incorporates rap, hip-hop, r&b and pop but all filtered through a definite Broadway musical idiom.

While appearing in his earlier Tony award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS, Miranda read Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton and was taken with the idea that this controversial historical figure had been a poor white immigrant from the West Indies who had risen to the higher echelons of American power.  After a lengthy workshop period HAMILTON opened off-Broadway in 2015 and quickly moved to Broadway later that year, winning the Pulitzer Prize and 11 Tony Awards.  The London production has just won 7 Olivier Awards. 

The show is totally sung/rapped-through but not for Miranda the dreary, bum-clenching  recitative beloved by Lloyd Webber but his tricky, intricate rhymes are spun across the stage with fizzing dexterity by the cast which keep you involved in the fast-moving action of the plot of Hamilton's rise from poor immigrant to George Washington's secretary and then onto the USA's first Treasury Secretary.  I had "Aaron Burr, sir" stuck in my mind afterward...  I hasten to add, Owen and I appeared to be the only ones in the theatre who did not know the score: the girls next to me screamed with laughter ON every joke line and knew every swerve of the music.

Thomas Kail's production is a whirl of inventive movement and, certainly in the first half, conjures up the feeling of a country in the tumult of changing times.  The second half - as the plot concentrates on Hamilton's personal and political troubles - feels becalmed with one too many standard love songs for Hamilton and his wife Eliza.  It's a natural consequence of telling a tale of life after war but it is noticeable.

As good as Kail's direction is, equal praise must go the non-stop choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler, the ensemble helping to shape the story through dynamic moves and martial line-ups.  David Korins' tiered wooden stage certainly gives the show a strong look, Paul Tazewell's costumes help define character - I particularly liked Jefferson's flashy mauve and purple outfit which immediately gave his cocky, larger-than-life character a Prince-like sheen.  Our seats in the upper circle also gave us the chance to fully appreciate Howell Binkley's excellent lighting.

My main problem with HAMILTON was with the female characters.  Eliza and her sisters Angelica and Peggy are introduced with the swaggering "The Schuyler Sisters" - think Destiny's Child in hoop skirts - giving them the persona of liberated women who want to be in the thick of intellectual company.  Eliza marries Hamilton while Anjelica hides her unrequited love for him in writing letters.  At the end of the first act Anjelica leaves for married life in England but as she is a much more interesting character than dreary Eliza, the show suffers for her being sidelined.  Hamilton, of course, has an affair with a married woman which bring shame on him and Eliza but apart from a solo number along the lines of "You Hurt Me And I Hate You", all Miranda can have her do is mope around the stage being noble.  For a show that aims to be radical in it's story-telling, Miranda's stereotypical female characters are disappointing. Owen also pointed out that the female ensemble's costumes of figure-hugging leggings and tight bodices was all the more obvious against the male ensemble's loose clothes.  A CHORUS LINE's 'tits and ass' song seemed all too relevant.

As I said, the cast are feeling pretty fearless as they are in THE show to see so there are plenty of eye-catching performances.  Jamael Westman certainly commands the stage with his rangy height and swagger but Hamilton remains a cypher; everyone says what they think about him and we build up the character through the reactions of others to him but he remains ultimately unknowable, so his fate left me unmoved.  It's a knowing irony that Hamilton goes through the show telling the world he's not going to throw away his shot... but he does in the end.

Westman is easily overshadowed by the sheer star quality of Giles Terera as Aaron Burr, an actor whose time has definitely come and who steals every scene he is in.  His Burr is the respected man who cannot quite make the top table, who loses out to the flashier, more headstrong Hamilton for the big jobs and whose needling jealousy only grows with every slight.  Playing Salieri to Hamilton's Mozart, Burr finally gets his chance to influence affairs and they come to an irreversible breaking point.  Terera's watchful reserve explodes in the second act with the number "The Room Where It Happens".  Tipping a silent nod to Sondheim's "Someone In A Tree" from PACIFIC OVERTURES, it's about how it's all about being in the right place at the right time.

There is also a teasing, lip-smacking performance by Jason Pennycooke: he is a passionate Lafayette in the first act but really explodes in the second act as Hamilton's other béte noir Thomas Jefferson.  Embodying the cocky swagger of Prince or James Brown, his Jefferson turns up from the safety of France after the Independence wars are won and sings the jazzy "What'd I Miss?"  Jefferson then locks horns with Hamilton over the latter's finance bill - the verbal spats in Congress nicely played as rap turf battles.  It is when Burr and Jefferson both run for President that Hamilton, having to chose between his two evils makes a fatal choice.  Along with Terera, it's great to see Pennycooke finally have a role to show off all his talents.

Obioma Ugoala as George Washington certainly had the gravitas to play the role but his voice was more suitable to singing than to the rap recitative.  As I have said above, the roles for the women are frustrating in that the roles are imbalanced: Rachel John tears the roof off the Victoria Palace with her mid-first act number "Satisfied" - a real showstopper - but then has little to do but join in group numbers while the Steam-Whistle Soprano Of Death that is Rachelle Ann Go commandeers the second act as Eliza.  Her big solo "Burn" doesn't so much shred our hearts as our ear-drums and she also takes the main part of the last song "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" - an honour which really should go to Rachel John.

There are many witty put-downs in Miranda's lyrics but there are few musical moments where you can just sit back and enjoy them - the brunt of the songs are rammed with exposition - but luckily for us (and the show) there are several musical interludes from the quite delicious Michael Jibson as King George III.  He is absolutely hilarious in King George's dummy-spitting vignettes, they have the same tune but the attitude changes:  "You'll Be Back" has George in a snit that his subjects have chosen Independence, "What Comes Next" has the King scoffing at the idea the Americans can govern themselves, and finally "I Know Him" has George rubbing his hands in glee at the internecine fighting following Washington's retirement.  Jibson just won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Musical Actor and it is justly deserved, despite only 9 minutes stage-time.

The booking method for HAMILTON has come in for criticism for the mouse-in-a-maze way of actually getting to your seat.  We booked when the tickets went on sale but no actual tickets were issued; Owen had to turn up with the original e-mail confirmation, the credit card used and a Government-issued ID!  Just to get in to a theatre...  The reasoning is that it will ensure that the seats go to paying punters and not ticket touts.  But is this really about people power or just a way for Cameron Mackintosh to get every single pound?  Owen discovered the day before that the card he booked with so long before the show had been thrown away when it expired, luckily a call to Ticketmaster got a substitute card put on the booking!  We had to queue for about five minutes to get to the door, they checked the e-mail and card, ticket stubs were printed using a PDQ-style machine... and we were in.  "Allow an hour" to gain entrance?  It took about 15 minutes all-in-all.  Though they never asked to see the passport... go figure!

I came out of it quietly thinking I would like to see it again.  But knowing the clamour for tickets I would probably get tickets for the 383rd cast change with Aston Merrygold from JLS as Alexander Hamilton, Kenny Lynch as Aaron Burr and Sinitta as Angelica.  Maybe they will have filmed it by then?  Lin-Manuel Miranda said last year it was on the cards, now THAT will be a casting feeding-frenzy...

So there you are... HAMILTON not only lives up to the hype, it transcends it. An abiding memory of the show is the explosion of applause that greeted the line “Immigrants, they get the job done". This American cultural immigrant does just that.

HAMILTON... NOW AND FOREVER

IN THE HEIGHTS - Latino Manhattan comes to Kings Cross!

The Southwark Playhouse's acclaimed production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's IN THE HEIGHTS has shimmied itself across London to the site-specific theatre that is also where the stage version of THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is playing... well you know how much I love visiting a new theatre!

IN THE HEIGHTS was a big hit on Broadway with much being made of it's urban-influenced, hip-hop score, it ran for nearly three years and after being nominated for 13 Tony Awards it went on to win 4 including Best Musical and Best Score.

Miranda is Broadway's darling but I suspect there is an element of people falling over themselves to praise him to show how inclusive they are.  I did enjoy the show as it has a good heart and is particularly strong on vibrant female characters.  Sadly the most obvious part of the show is Quiara Alegría Hudes' book with it's ultimate conclusion that "happiness is found in your own back yard".  How revolutionary.

The musical shows 24 hours in the lives of the inhabitants of a street in the Washington Heights area of New York in summertime - for some life goes on as it always has done but for a few life is changed.  Usnavi runs a small bodega which doles out coffee to all and sundry who either live or work near-by: Kevin and Camila run a cab firm employing Benny who is learning his Spanish from the drivers (badly), Usnavi employs his nephew Sonny to work in his store while also looking out for Abuela Claudia, the elderly woman who raised him when his parents died, and Daniela is the gossipy owner of the local beauty salon who employs Vanessa, an ambitious girl who is trying to get out of the barrio who Usnavi secretly loves.

Kevin and Camila's daughter Nina unexpectedly arrives from her university in California and after countless enquiries about how she is doing, confesses that she has dropped out, unable to focus on her work while bearing her parent's aspirations for her success.  Benny asks her out, Sonny gets Vanessa to agree to go out with Usnavi and they all head for a club where a fight erupts just as the barrio's electricity goes down due to the summer heat.  In the morning realities are faced, some end happily, some bittersweet.

So... no great shakes storywise but Miranda has written a score that includes lightweight rap and hip-hop beats along with more standard fare.  As I said the score definitely favours the female characters and while they are fairly obviously drawn they were well performed by the cast with verve and personality plus!  The most eye-catching was Victoria Hamilton-Barrett as Daniela, she was actually heavily pregnant and her participation in the dance numbers had me on the edge of my seat!  She didn't get as many laughs as she possibly could have but maybe her energy was expended in just getting on.

I had a raised eyebrow over the casting of Jade Ewan (the last member of the Sugababes) but she was actually very effective and sang very well as did Josie Benson as the fearsome Camila, Queen of the cab office.  Lily Frazer as Nina also had a fine singing voice but was hampered by having such a drippy character to play.  Eve Polycarpou certainly belted out her numbers as the ageing matriarch but the character was quite cloying as she was only there as a plot device in a mu-mu.

I enjoyed Sam Mackay as the big-hearted Usnavi who had a likable presence although he seemed to be imitating Eminem in his raps.  David Bedella was absent without leave so Vas Constanti played Kevin, the put-upon owner of the cab office and he sang well.  I also liked Joe Aaron Reid as the ambitious Benny, trusted by Kevin and Camila but only so far much to his anger.

The ensemble were also very hardworking and contributed greatly to the main success of the show which was the exciting urban choreography of Drew McOnie.  The dance numbers tend to stop the show rather than add to it's flow but that doesn't stop them being quite thrilling.  Luke Sheppard (who directed the recent CASA VALENTINA) does a workman-like job, keeping the action flowing from song-to-song, from dance routine to dance routine.

I am glad I saw it and would recommend it to anyone who wants a colourful, brash show that ultimately is all quite safe.  The show has been extended but the house wasn't full on the night we went.

I would also recommend a visit to the Kings Cross Theatre which, although feels like quite a temporary space, had the most smiley, happy front-of-house staff I have encountered for a while.