From the brains behind Forbidden Broadway comes Spamilton: An American Parody, playing at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory until 8 September 2018. The show follows Lin-Manuel Miranda’s quest to write the perfect musical while also lovingly spoofing a range of other musical theatre shows and personalities. Even Miranda is a fan of this show saying: “I laughed my brains out.”
JASON DENTON plays Daveed Diggs, one of Hamilton’s original cast members with the role doubling up as several other well-known characters.
Jason’s theatre credits include: The School of Rock (New London Theatre, now the Gillian Lynne Theatre), Show Boat (New London and Sheffield Theatres), Save the Last Dance For Me (UK tour), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Stephen Ward (both at the Aldwych), Hot Stuff, Hello, Dolly!, Piaf (Curve Theatre, Leicester), Britain’s Got Bhangra (UK tour), I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky (Theatre Royal, Stratford East), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour)and Much Ado About Nothing (Complete Works Theatre Co).
Here he is in conversation with Musical Theatre Review’s Tal Fox…
How have the performances been so far?
So far they’ve been going really well, we’ve had a very receptive audience, they’ve been reacting to all the right bits and it’s been quite a nice surprise. When you are in rehearsals, it’s not always easy to know what is going to land, but we’ve been reassured by the director: “You guys are on to a good thing here.” To have an audience actually react to these things has been really exciting and reassuring.
Had you seen Spamilton before joining the cast?
No, I hadn’t seen it. When I was in the States at the beginning of the year working on a project I saw it advertised, but due to my schedule I wasn’t able to see it. I was very much intrigued and my friends that did see it said: “You need to see it, you should play one of the guys in it.” And funnily enough it’s the role I’ve been cast in.
Who do you play?
It’s the role of Daveed Diggs who is the actor who performed in the Broadway production of Hamilton. He originated the roles of Jefferson and Lafayette, it’s a double cast role. We have a character who is the actor, it’s kind of a play within a play when you get to that territory.
Liam Tamne and Jason Denton in Spamilton at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London. Picture: Johan Persson
How did this show come about?
The writer and director Gerard Alessandrini is already very well known for his spoofs under the title Forbidden Broadway. There are lots of cast albums and the show has been over in the States, as well as over here. Sophie-Louise Dann, who is currently in the show with us, has been in productions both here and in the States.
Hamilton has been such a huge hit, Gerard Alessandrini probably thought: “You know what, why don’t I do a Forbidden Broadway-style musical based on Hamilton and use Lin-Manuel Miranda’s quest to write the perfect musical as inspiration?”
So it’s not a literal play-by-play spoof of Hamilton?
No, we’re more looking at Lin-Manuel, who plays the role of Hamilton and wrote Hamilton and his journey to create the show and what may have inspired him. It’s great fun and there are lots of references to old and new musicals while keeping within the Forbidden Broadway vibe.
The good thing about that is that it doesn’t just appeal to the Hamilton fans, there’s plenty for the musical theatre lover too. There are references to well-known shows like Wicked as well, so it’s really something for everyone. I’ve got family that haven’t seen Hamilton but I know when they come to see us, they’ll get something out of it.
For people who have seen Forbidden Broadway, is it a similar set up?
Yes, I would say so, it’s that sort of style but it has a through-line, it’s not just a random mix of numbers. There’s the parallel with the Hamilton journey, but on the other side it’s also a behind the scenes look at the actors and what went into Hamilton with references to other musicals along the way.
Are the songs originals or spoof lyrics to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music?
That’s an interesting one, I don’t know if I should answer that! There are extremely familiar tunes in our show with some cleverly crafted lyrics. There’s a moment when the audience are all waiting for a certain word, and then we say it, because they know the original Hamilton. Gerard has done a really good job on that.
Eddie Elliott, Jason Denton and Julie Yammanee in Spamilton at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London. Picture: Johan Persson
Since Hamilton is so popular, is it daunting at all to be spoofing it?
Lin-Manuel Miranda went to see Spamilton when it was Off-Broadway and in a sense gave it his blessing. So when we knew the man himself, who wrote the show, had said: “Great job, guys, love it” that put us at ease. Being a Hamilton fan myself, I’m proud of what I get to do every night because I get a little bit of the seriousness of the Hamilton stuff but then I get the fun side. I’ve spoken to Hamilton fans after the show and they have absolutely loved it and they haven’t felt shortchanged.
Do you find that audiences have already seen Hamilton?
I wouldn’t say most of them, but I feel like we’ve had a few because it’s so hard to get a ticket [for Hamilton]. I think there’s a lot of people who have listened to the soundtrack so they’re aware of certain songs and melodies so they can make that comparison. I spoke to a lady the other day who hadn’t seen Hamilton at all and absolutely loved it. She loved the show, she loved what we did, because there’s some visual comedy as well. It’s not just all about what you hear, the mixture is also that you see something and it’s hilarious.
Have you seen Hamilton?
No, I’ve only seen bits on the internet, their promos and the bit at the White House, and I auditioned for the show and did a few rounds. I was given an awful lot of material to learn in a short period of time. It was 40 pages in six days, which I did manage to learn, which I’m quite proud of. It didn’t work out for me in the end, but I got feedback.
When I was auditioning for Spamilton, they said: “We’d like to hear a song in the style of Hamilton.” I just thought, I actually know a lot of the score, what should I do? When auditioning it was quite useful being so knowledgeable about the show.
Is the audition process different since you also spoof theatre personalities?
The audition process was different in the sense of I did a bit of Hamilton, and then they asked me for another musical theatre song and a comedy song. Then they wanted to hear my falsetto, so I did a little bit of Smokey Robinson. Then they said: “We want something a bit more baritone-y” so then I did a bit of ‘On the Street Where You Live’. It was such a varied audition process, I was in there for quite a while, so it helped being quite versatile.
How does the show work with everyone in multiple roles?
Director Gerard Alessandrini and the choreographer Gerry McIntyre have structured the show in a way so that the performers are able to quickly change costumes. The hard work, in a sense, has been done for us, the main thing for us is that we just need to be on top of our lyrics and where we are next.
It works really well because each scene that comes on gets topped, it’s quite fast-paced so there’s a nice distraction while the next person is getting ready. It’s been a bit tricky but we have a basic costume and then you put something on top to represent somebody else and it’s quite tongue in cheek the way it’s been put together.
What attracted you to the show?
I like doing comedy and I haven’t really had a chance to do much of it professionally, although I have done bits and bobs of improvisation. When I heard about it when it was on in the States I thought: “That’s pretty cool, I hope I get a chance to see it.” I didn’t, but when I saw it was coming over here and the audition came through, I couldn’t get to that audition quick enough because this was my chance.
The reactions that we get each night are just great, it’s such a fun job. Everyone is very talented, there’s no messing around, but we all have a bit of fun. It’s just a really cool job and I feel really lucky to have landed something like this. It’s nice to have a bit of fun on stage and not all doom and gloom.
How are audiences responding to the show?
There’s a moment in the show when the audience is expecting a certain thing, and then it arrives, and you can hear them really enjoying it. And then we surprise them with something they’re not expecting and that reaction brings the house down.
(Front) Julie Yammanee and Liam Tamne. (Back) Eddie Elliott, Marc Akinfolarin and Jason-Denton in Spamilton. Picture: Johan Persson
What would you say is your highlight of the show?
I get a chance to rap really fast and part of my job is to make sure that even though I’m rapping fast, everyone in the audience can understand every single word I’m saying. That’s been quite a challenge in rehearsals but it’s been quite rewarding getting to that point where you have directors coming up to you and saying: “Look, Jason, really good job today, I heard every word and it’s only going to get better from here.” One of my songs that I really enjoy doing is ‘What Did You Miss?’, it’s lots of fun.
Is the rapping quite hard to get a handle on?
I believe that my audition for Hamilton helped and made it more accessible for me, so coming into rehearsals with these guys, I felt like I was already on the front foot. We’ve re-written words here and there so it’s a completely different show. I’ve been swing in a few productions where I’ve had to learn multiple roles and I think that’s really helped my brain, so when learning all the material for Spamilton, it’s just stuck to me like a sponge. It’s a case of, pick it up, get on stage and do it.
What would you say to someone with one night in London debating whether to buy tickets for Hamilton or Spamilton?
Come to Spamilton, come for a little bit of fun, I think you get a big bang for your buck. We’re not too expensive and it’s a nice night out. We’ve had really good reactions so far and a lot of that audience haven’t been Hamilton fans so we’re obviously doing something right.
Tickets for Spamilton are available HERE.
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