A POC THEATERMAKER’S CONFLICTED FEELINGS ON SUPPORTING HAMILTON: a thread.

Is it just me or is anyone else having conflicting feelings on whether they should watch Hamilton on Disney+? On one hand, it is definitely problematic with its disregard to slavery and its potrayal of...

the white founding fathers. But as a POC who is going to theater and knows how rare it is for that many BIPOC actors to have the majority of the leads on a BROADWAY musical, I want to support all those talented actors( aside from the very problematic Lin-Manuel Miranda).

To some degree, the widespread success of ‘Hamilton’ proves to producers that BIPOC-centric work is popular/profitable and highlights to aspiring POC theatermakers that it is possible to make it in this industry. Supporting ‘Hamilton’ would not only ensure that these talented ...

actors get the recogination/jobs they deserve, but help me and other BIPOC theatermakers get more opprunties in the theater community. In my mind, at least, boycotting ‘Hamilton’ would have drastic effects for BIPOC theater artists.

In the end, this all connects to a bigger question of how do we deal with problematic art in the theater community? Boycotting those works feels like a simple, yet cheap(?) solution to this problem, with these works’ history and modern revelance,in terms of heart and storytelling

I’m still trying to figure out the proper solution to this complex question. But I think a great first step is acknowledging and educating yourself on what the problematic content is on the show you are watching. On the other side, making the audience aware of that content...

Is another way to hold the work accountable as well.

Thoughts from fellow theatermakers/arists on anything I have said?