If you love Broadway musicals, you should experience “Spamilton,” which continues at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady through November 2. For theater buffs, it’s 90-minutes of pleasant entertainment. Actually, it’s a good time for just about anyone.
As the title suggests, the central idea of the show is paradying “Hamilton.” To be specific, most of the spoofing centers on “Hamilton’s” creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who the show claims was born to save Broadway from lack of originality.
Indeed, one of the better moments has Jared Alexander (who is excellent playing Lin-Manuel) turn “My Shot,” into the funny and clever, “I Won’t Let Broadway Rot.”
To offer some idea about the good natured chiding that takes place, Lin-Manuel’s flaws are mostly excesses of virtue. He’s too talented, too ambitious, too nice a guy. The show finds his vulnerability to satire through his celebrity status.
However, though “Spamilton” is never nasty or rude, that doesn’t mean it’s not funny. Creator Gerald Alessandrini, who has made a career spoofing Broadway with his annual cabaret “Forbidden Broadway,” has an unerring talent for finding and exaggerating the slightest pretension in almost every musical ever written.
While “Hamilton” is at the center of the work, there is virtually no Broadway classic that is not lampooned. Some are funny mash-ups like “The Lion King and I”. Others are too easy targets like “Cats,” “Phantom” and “Camelot.”
On the subject of easy targets, Paloma D’Auria’s impersonations of Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters and Barbra Streisand are right on the money. The idea isn’t exactly genius, but they are delicious fun.
Not to worry, there are many clever moments, as when the show takes “Another Hundred People Just Got Off of the Train” from “Company” and turns it into “Another Hundred Syllables”.
Too, the recurring bit of having the beggar woman from “Sweeney Todd” pleading for “Hamilton” tickets instead of alms is truly clever. The punch lines that come from getting the wrong tickets are hilarious like the word-play that suggests the title of the musical “Something Rotten” is a good description of “School of Rock.”
If you are a theater geek you probably revere Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim gets referenced frequently and does get some ribbing. But don’t worry, he is mostly treated like theater royalty.
In fact, one of the satisfying things about “Spamilton,” is at its heart it loves Broadway and the people who create theater.
The cast is terrific as each actor catches the persona of the person being roasted. And they do it without losing their own personalities.
For 90-minutes they keep their focus as they sing, dance and make the audience laugh - all without an intermission. It’s great work in a show that flies by.
“Spamilton” is not “Hamilton. What it is is a caricature and a tribute to the original. And it’s a lot of fun.
“Spamilton” continues at Proctors in Schenectady through November 2. Schedule and ticket information at 518-346-6204 or proctors.org
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
