The Cast of ‘Spamilton’ Explains It All for You
January 26, 2020 - San Antonio
The cast of Spamilton: An American Parody cuts through the noise and gets to the laughs. Photo: Roger Mastroianni.
Article By: Jade Esteban Estrada - Writer, San Antonio Sentinel
The national touring production of Spamilton: An American Parody is wrapping up a successful two-week engagement at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre.
Written by Gerard Alessandrini, the comedic mastermind behind the long-running parody revue Forbidden Broadway, this new show pokes fun at the Broadway musical Hamilton and many other blockbuster musicals like Gypsy, Camelot, The Book of Mormon and Sweeney Todd.
Six performers take the audience on a quick-paced musical trip through the early life of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of In the Heights and Hamilton. Along the way, Miranda engages in humorous conversations with a star-studded list of caricatures including Stephen Sondheim, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Barbra Streisand and other notable personalities of the Great White Way.
The one-act musical comedy originally opened in 2016 at The Triad, a well-known cabaret venue in New York.
For many, musical theatre can be an intimidating artform. Those outside of the New York Theatre District may find it challenging to keep up with its many subcultural nuances. Spamilton, however, serves as a friendly translator for the new audiences that big Broadway shows aim to engage and entertain. Not unlike the way Fox News and MSNBC interpret national politics for those who find political details overwhelming, Spamilton offers its spectators the low down on each celebrated musical to comedic effect. Happily, being a Hamilton disciple isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying this fun, well-written show.
That’s another reason why Spamilton is a musical for the people.
Spamilton: A Musical Parody plays January 13-26, 2020 at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre. For tour dates and ticket information, visit www.spamilton.com.
Jade Esteban Estrada covers arts and entertainment for the San Antonio Sentinel. Email him at jade@sasentinel.com.