It’s Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column (full of crazy ramblings, Oxford commas, and “theater” with a “re”) from a San Long-time Franciscan wearing an N95 mask. I’m talking about security of location and dramatic substance, or lack thereof.

I am neither the first nor the last to underlines thisbut Hamilton (through January 5, 2025 at the Orpheum Theater, SF) might be the epitome of “Obama-era pop culture.” Interpret this however you want. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical historical biography is a celebration of the glorious eight-year period when white liberals convinced themselves they were living in a “post-American America.” -racial” (despite all the evidence). on the contrary), so they celebrated a musical where the white founding fathers are all played by PoC artists. It’s a story in which the United States is not a land stolen from indigenous tribes, but rather a former British colony that can only thrive when proud immigrants take the reins. It’s a story that introduces its few female protagonists with a “Yaaas, kween!” banger, only for those same women (sisters, mind you) to be reduced to two women fighting over the same man.

Based on this summary, you may be surprised to know that I still enjoy the series. Make no mistake: All of the above is true, with the series essentially being a hip-hop version of Aaron Sorkin’s American Mythology, albeit slightly less misogynistic than Sorkin’s work. Nonetheless, it remains a damn entertaining musical. Like many works capturing the zeitgeist, it retains a certain quality of enduring entertainment, even as it receives well-deserved scrutiny. This doesn’t change the fact that several tracks appear on my workout and dance playlists (back when I was training before the eviction). As Amédéeits blatant historical license doesn’t take away from a fascinating story about all-too-human enemies who ended up changing the world, even if they didn’t live to see all those changes.

Of particular note when looking at Hamilton looking back, one realizes that his hip-hop-infused, PoC-led success was used as a mainstream liberal rallying cry against the then-incoming early Trump era. While true leftists and progressives listened to Kendrick Lamar and took to the streets, the hashtag “activists” applauded the casting of Hamilton for attacking then-new Vice President Mike Pence to his face. While white, liberal members of Generation X clung to reruns of The west wing (created by the aforementioned Sorkin) during Dubya’s dark eight years, white liberal Millennials clung to pink knit caps and Hamilton soundtrack to their anti-Trump dreams of waiting for a Democratic savior. In a way, it was a confirmation of their “post-racial” illusion, since there was now work by almost all PoC to unite the center-lefts in the idea of ​​American exceptionalism.

Once again, I really enjoy the series. But as an artist, art critic, and staunchly left-wing activist, its flaws stand out to me. I always sing along with the songs, but it has never been my favorite musical. (It is Pass strangein case you’re curious.) And I sang during the opening night of his post-election tour in San Francisco. No matter the hypocritical rules attached to film screenings of Wickedit’s ridiculous to ask music fans to do nothing while watching their favorite show, as long as they’re not disruptive.

Besides, a bit like this year’s an earlier revival of WickedI found myself once again at the Orpheum to see a show that I had enjoyed in the same theater years ago. As I saw for the first time Hamilton just wanting to know what it was about (I knew the original version played by my old stage kissing partner, Daveed Diggs) and having become a convert, I went in this time armed with a Flo Mask, an Aranet4 and eight others years of skepticism.

Yet I sang. The enduring belief about criticism is that we approach every work prepared to hate it. This has never been true for real critics: we intervene in context. This context may be reinforced or tempered by the face value of the work itself, but this context will color everything. It was no great feat for me to roll my eyes at some of the creative choices in this production while simultaneously smiling (behind my Flo Mask) at the sight of the children in the audience falling in love with the musical as a format . In fact, it may have been this last fact that made this production’s flaws even more pronounced.

Bottom line: Almost every man on this list is wrong in their role. The opening night featured the “Philip” (which alternate with a cast of “Angelica,” depending on the date), and all the central men – including Blaine Alden Krauss in the eponymous lead role, Simon Longnight as Lafayette and Jefferson, Eddie Ortega as by Hercules Mulligan – all seemed to deliver on their promises. mid-energy performance. Oh, they hit each of Miranda’s rapid-fire lyrics at just the right time, but it never got beyond simple recitation.

Deon’te Goodman at least puts in some effort in his turn as Aaron Burr, and Paul Louis Lessard devours all the wooden sets as King George, but Hamilton and his confidants come off more like karaoke cosplay . Kameron Richardson seems particularly lost in the role of George Washington. Not only is he at least a foot shorter than Krauss-as-Hamilton, but Richardson never finds the gravitas needed to play “the dollar bill guy.” In fact, he seems confused most of the time, as if he’s looking around for a clue as to what to do next.

However, if the men in the cast are nothing but embers, the women are hell. Starring Lencia Kebede as Angelica Schuyler, Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama as Eliza Schuyler-Hamilton and Milika Cherée as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, the ladies showed up understanding the mission and not just ‘no grade lower than an “A+”. Not only is each an excellent singer, but they are all expressive actors who embody the joy and sorrow of their respective characters. Miranda’s script unfortunately fails the Bechdel test, but watching these ladies give their heartbreaking versions of “Satisfied” and “The Best of Wife, the Best of Women” is worth the price of admission alone. All three are so good that most of the men with them can’t help but pale in comparison. Given that men are supposed to carry the show, this is a bit disappointing.

It’s also disappointing to know that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic that started months after I first saw the show. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten used to mine being one of the few masked faces in a crowd. Fortunately, this disappointment was tempered by the knowledge of a solid HVAC working at the Orpheum. During the three-hour show, CO² readings on my Aranet4 peaked at around 1,054 ppm during the second act, hovering in the mid-900s for most of the show and dropping to 903 ppm during the final bow.

This pandemic was in full force about four years after the Broadway cast Hamilton » blasted Mike Pence to his face, prompting Trump to come to his defense. Yet after those four years, when Trump attempted to overthrow the government, he responded to the news that Pence’s life was in danger with the callous response of “So what?“. Four years later, Kendrick Lamar has gone from hip-hop activist to Super Bowl headliner.

We also have another damn Trump term coming. It’s at times like this that I remember that even though Hamilton was the quintessential work of the Obama era, there was another particular work created during the Obama administration that ended up justifying its existence simply by being published when Trump took office: the work of Jordan Peele . To go out.

Peele, who did a lot of work describing the 44^th POTUS on his sketch show Key and Peele-wrote To go out like a direct reprimand to the “post-racial” pretension of the Obama era, which included the murders of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown, among others. It was a kick in the ass to complacent white liberals, happy to rest on their laurels about progress, rather than in fact, go further. (I’m tempted to make a comparison to Joe Biden’s undeserved “victory lap” on COVID, but this article is already damn long.) While hindsight makes us frown at the Pulitzer and Tony Prize. Hamiltonthe Oscar winner To go out has somehow become even more relevant in the decade since its original release, which may be scarier than the film itself.

Yet if you’re looking for comforting, liberal musical fare, the current output of Hamilton maybe the treat that will see you through to January. Until then, people may need the security found only in their favorite songs.

HAMILTON runs through January 5, 2025 at the Orpheum Theater, SF. Tickets and more information here.