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Daniel Pollack-Pelzner: "Lin-Manuel Miranda"

 Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is a nice person, and his new book is a bit *too* nice. For example:


*Pollack-Pelzner describes the war within "Hamilton." The original cast wanted a tiny percent of the profits from the show. But the producer--Jeffrey Seller--held out. He held out for approximately seven months. Why? ....DPP describes the tension, but he seems hesitant to suggest that Seller was (quite simply) greedy. I've read Seller's memoir. It's not hard for me to imagine that Seller was simply greedy.

Also, the 2015/16 cast is (to me) partly responsible for a major, irritating trend on Broadway--absenteeism. When I saw the show, literally every star but Rory O'Malley "phoned in sick." This was ludicrous. I think a tougher journalist might have explored the trend of absenteeism. What does a star owe to a show--even when the star is flirting with new possible Netflix deals?

*DPP suggests it's a victory for women that Angelica has a rap solo. But the show doesn't pass the Bechdel test. 

Right now, younger critics of the show are gently mocking a particularly grating passage, in which Eliza tells Alexander to "get back to bed." (This is like that old trope--the male hero does interesting things, while the female supporting player exists to say, "Stop. Don't go and do that interesting thing.") 

With just a bit of condescension, Hamilton calls his spouse "the best of wives and best of women"--before blatantly defying her. The obvious tension between Hamilton's words and his behaviors seems to call out for further exploration--but Miranda/Hamilton just keeps chugging along. This passage could have yielded an interesting chapter in DPP's book.

*I appreciate the bold lines that DPP draws between various songs and their sources of inspiration. "You'll Be Back" is an echo of "Herod's Song." And "Wait for It" is "Stars," from "Les Miserables." The opening number is a reworking of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"--in the final moments, each cast member except *Miranda* bows his/her head. It's only Miranda who stares out at the audience. The bowed heads tell us--via subtext--what we're here for. We're here to witness a requiem for Alexander Hamilton.

I can see what this book *could have* been, but I'm happy that the book exists.

*P.S. "Click, Boom" echoes the button from "All That Jazz." "Click, Boom." "That JAZZ."
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