Spamilton: An American Parody

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a “physical laugher.” That was one of the observations New York magazine writer Jesse David Fox wrote in a review of Spamilton, a parody of Miranda’s Broadway hit Hamilton, when he saw it 2016. Well, Fox technically saw it, but, as he indicated in his article, when he realized Miranda was in the audience that evening, he knew he “wasn’t just going to watch Spamilton. [He] was also going to watch Miranda watching Spamilton.” In doing so, Fox detailed the “Real Miranda,” as he refers to him in the review, “bouncing in excitement” and “explod[ing] out of his seat.” That said, it’s hard to get a better endorsement for a comedy show than to have the original’s creator “clapping and barking in laughter.” Written by Gerard Alessandrini, creator of the parody revue Forbidden Broadway, Spamilton will probably make more sense if you’ve actually seen Miranda’s critically acclaimed musical on founding father Alexander Hamilton, but theater geeks who haven’t will probably recognize some of the other musicals Alessandrini’s show roasts, including Chicago, The Book of Mormon and Sweeney Todd.