Posted on 10/26/2018 1:28:23 PM PDT by BillyBoy
I just had an argument with a Facebook friend who called me "closed minded" when I said I had zero interest in seeing the Broadway musical 'Hamilton'.
She says she won't talk to me until I check out the show for myself instead of "pre-judging it"
I told her that I know it getting universal acclaim, but after reading about concept, it sound really stupid...it appears the premise is "Let's intentionally cast ethnic minorities and women to play white men from the colonial era so 'modern audiences' can 'relate' to the story. I hate when they do that in movies so I doubt I would enjoy it any more if they do that politically correct stunt on Broadway (It's playing here at the Chicago Theater District and they cast "Miguel Cervantes" in the title role of "Alexander Hamilton", just like how the Broadway version has "Lin-Manuel Miranda" as Hamilton ::rolls eyes::)
I also explained that I'm not AGAINST an actor playing another ethnicity, if they can BELIEVABLY pull off that role. For example, I had no problem with Cuban actor Andy Garcia playing an Italian-American mafia figure in The Godfather III. I can buy him as Sonny Corleone's son. On the other hand, I CANNOT buy the very white and very British Benedict Cumberbatch as "Khan Noonien Singh", a Sikh from India. Ridiculous Stunt casting like that ruins the story for me and insults the audience's intelligence.
My friend replied that the musical is great because the music, lyrics, and story are incredibly powerful. My response to that is that is IF the musical is really good and compelling with catchy songs and a strong story IN ITS OWN RIGHT, then they could cast people that actually FIT the roles and it would still work. They wouldn't NEED some gimmick like Snoop Dogg plays Thomas Jefferson. Let's see "Hamilton" performed with actors who actually look and sound like the colonial era founding fathers, and see if still attractions the same "buzz" as the politically correct version does.
That would be interesting. It is difficult to imagine a snappy musical number about the ‘Report on Manufactures’ or on funding the Revolutionary War debts.
I haven’t seen it but everything I know about it I find offensive. Hamilton, for all his faults (mainly undermining the Adams administration) is the grandfather of American conservatism, I am disturbed that some Broadway fruitcake has appropriated him.
It may very well be “good” and less offensive than it appears on the surface. I wouldn’t know and am unlikely to find out unless someone puts a good recording up on youtube.
Pence’s comments about the booing, telling his kids some bs like “This is what democracy sounds like”, lowered my opinion of Pence, unless he meant it as a criticism of democracy (which he didn’t). I’m worried Pence is still living in 2015 with all it’s boilerplate niceties.
It is seductive propaganda to a right that is overeager to be seen as cool and hip.
The destruction aimed at Thomas Jefferson, etc., just somehow gets dismissed as collateral damage, I guess.
I had no problem with his reaction to the booing. He didn't stoop to their level and behaved like a gentleman. Hopefully it shows swing voters and independents just how hypocritical the left is when they lecture the right about "civility" when THEIR side is the one constantly rioting and viciously demeaning anyone who doesn't agree with him.
I DO have a problem with Pence gushing over (and yes, "gush" is the accurate word... he could have just as well given a bland generic "eh, the show was alright. My kids were entertained for two hours." response if he wanted to be polite and not rip on) Hamilton. Agree with others that sounds like conservatives just want to be seen as "hip and cool" by agreeing with the left about how awesome their politically correct stuff is. Reminds me of the conservatives who agree with the left's premise that JFK is kind of heroic great figure who was stuck down in the prime of his landmark presidency right before he could restore America to greatness.
Unless, of course, Hamilton really IS like "The Godfather" of Broadway musicals that is universally seen as brilliant across the board. I doubt that is the case given the whole background of the show and what I've heard about the intent of the creator, hence the reason for my vanity post.
Of course, I was just with a group of hard-left Bernie Sanders supporters from Chicago who told me they loved the movie "Team America" (we were all recalling the scene where the arabic "language" in the movie consisted solely of the words 'Durka Durka Muhammad Jihad') , which is odd since it was clearly made to mock their side. So who knows?
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