Hamilton is Still So Good. Sorry Not Sorry. 🤷🏾♀️
Yes, I cried at the reunion.
Tuesday’s stream was chaotic in my signature way. As a part-time Theater Girlie, I broke down how this year’s Tonys were the best I’ve seen in a looooong time, how Sabrina delightfully called out the “Manchild” Epidemic, and Teyana showed once again she's a true auteur.
Let’s start with the 78th Annual Tony Awards. They served exactly what I’ve always loved about theater: middle-aged women belting effortlessly, stunning choreography and costumes, and just enough drama to keep me (and Cole Escola) on the edge of my seat.
Cole Escola TICKLED me. I love how deeply they committed to the bit. Escola’s Bernadette Peters impression became one of they’re signatures, and it’s been clear from the start that this wasn’t a send up, it was an homage.
I don’t think a tribute can get anymore serious than commissioning a custom gown and wig for your very first Tony Win. Here’s a bit more on their Bernadette Peters reference from Playbill.
Dedicated fans of Peters found the homage instantly recognizable to the look she wore at the Tonys in 1999, where she collected her second statuette for Annie Get Your Gun. The William Ivey Long-designed costume piece was featured in her performance from the revival. With no time to change, Peters was still donning it when she returned to the Tony stage to accept the award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Let’s talk about this moment. Right after Escola became the first out non-binary actor to win a Tony for their performan in Oh, Mary!, they learned that Nicole Scherzinger bested Tony Queen Audra McDonald in the year’s most talked about race, Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
I’m not mad at it, but I see why some people might be.
Every video I’ve seen of Scherzinger performing as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard is STUN-NING, and her deep love for musical theater pours out in interviews. The only problem is that most of the world (including me) is totally convinced she’s a Trump voter. And no, we shouldn’t allow electoral politics to swallow up every moment of our interests and existence, but that’s a BFD in the theater world, aka one of the about three places where it’s still in fashion to be openly “woke.”
That’s how we get to “four more years” from Escola. Hilarious.
The lady brought the house down. There’s no denying it.
But the real emotional gut-punch of the night? The original Hamilton cast reuniting to celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary on Broadway. I’m a second-tier Hamilton fan (there’s a group of semi-deranged fanatics whose dedication I could never rival), but I followed the cast’s social media posts about rehearsals closely.
The final performance overly delivered. When the “mixtape” ended Lin and I both had tears in our eyes.
I mean…COME. ON. I could watch that all day.
Side note: not me turning my partner into a Hamilton person (“I thought you didn’t like rap! They’re spitting.” 😏)
Anytime someone mentions Hamilton, we gotta talk about the discourse. The show still holds up as a piece of musical theater presented by a stacked cast from the top of the call sheet down, but its politics do not hold up. At all. Frankly, they barely worked in the Obama times.
I don’t care to defend my Hamilton affections because good art can have bad politics (I mean, look at Cowboy Carter! 😂). I totally understand the objections. Yes. it is true that the founders of the United States perpetrated unimaginable cruelties and critics like Ishmael Reed correctly called out the hagiography and the wayward desires of a certain kind of POC who years to see themselves placed atop a pedestal in the American story.
It’s a fraught thing. There are cases where I’m willing to deny myself the pleasure of consumption because the work is simply too compromised. This isn’t one of those times.
Special shout outs:
Cynthia Erivo’s opening number was so fun even though it relied on a well-worn award show gag.
Months of hearing mixed reviews of Audra McDonald in Gypsy depressed my expectations for her Tony Awards performance. I am so ashamed of myself for doubting her! She was magnificent!
Megan Hilty and the cast of Death Becomes Her delivered the show’s most vibrant performance.
Congratulations to Branden Jacobs Jenkins, a legitimate genius.
I think about this performance ALL THE TIME.
Moving on the pop side of things, I LOVE this freaking music video. My height twin delivered another pop gem. Is Sabrina Carpenter the hardest working woman in pop music not named Taylor or Beyoncé? I’m thinking yes.
Finally, I hope Teyana Taylor’s upcoming project does everything she wants it to. Passionate, dedicated creatives deserve the world, and she seems to have been screwed over repeatedly by professional relationships with sometimey men.
The closer:
I’ve resisted the mules wave for years, but they finally got me.
"Good art can have bad politics" definitely gives me something to chew on. Love this wrap up, Kim!