Playbill: The most buzzed-about musical of the fall so far isn’t a big Broadway musical with a gigantic cast. Instead, it’s a musical running Off-Broadway in a 400-seat house, with a cast of just two actors—who sing, rap, and play their own instruments. It’s called Mexodus, and it’s utterly astounding. The New York Times called it an “electrifying theatrical experience” while the Daily Beast asks: “Could this show be the next Hamilton?”
4 comments:
As a huge fan of Rap I think rap deserves a much bigger spotlight the the theatre scene. I understand that many believe that rap is much harder to write but there's something powerful about the rap industry especially now with the political messaging that has been coming out from the works of those like Kendrick Lamar. A "Rebellious Industry" has now become majorly mainstream and art has always been at the forefront of political messaging, and naturally Rap is to come next in this cycle. It's really surprising that rap hasn't become mainstream in musicals sooner. Considering how much the Hip Hop genre has grown in the last few years. With millions of listeners tuning into creators like Tyler the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, Etc. Maybe one day the Guns and Ships rap will become the second slowest rap on broadway with this ever growing industry. Again love rap hope it continues to grow into more musicals.
Let me start of this comment by saying that I have had the opportunity to see a production of Mexodus live at the Berkley Repertory theater in Berkeley, CA. It is an amazing production especially from a technical theater standpoint I personally have never seen any theatrical production that comes close to being something like the production of Mexodus. To me every part of this production was amazing. The story was engaging, emotional, and entertaining which when parried with the music of this production make for a truly unique and jaw dropping performance. The fact that the two on stage actors are live recording and mixing their voices, instruments, and actions to create music that pairs with the story perfectly. Which also functioned as great music on its own. The story and musical style then creates a near perfect platform for acting, media, and scenic design to create a truly incredible theatrical performance that I agree has the potential to become 'The Next Hamilton'
This is a really interesting concept, and when reading kinda reminded me of tick tick boom in the way it was structured and performed. I think that it relates to Hamilton because of the rap element and the fact that it is about historical events. I understand the worry of one of the writers when the comparison to Hamilton is due to two black actors rapping in a musical context. I think it is really interesting how it's only they two pretty much doing the majority of the show. From acting to playing all of the music live, I think it would be very immersive, and this is what gives the tick tick boom comparison to me. Telling a story in this manner, I think, is one of the most interesting and engaging because you get to build a connection with the characters, as they are the only two in the show. Overall, I think that this show would be a wonderful watch and definitely has potential because it is so different then anything on right now.
Mexodus sounds super cool! I absolutely love rap, and I feel like it is slowly growing a larger audience. First, rap was a niche genre used for self-expression. Now, rap is increasingly being used for social and political change. Some of my older favorites are Tupac and Nas. Currently, I am really into the messages that Chance The Rapper and Kendrick Lamar are telling through rap. Rap has grown so big that it has now been represented at a few recent Superbowl halftime shows. I feel though, that rap should be represented even more in the theatre industry. I saw Othello: The Remix, which was the classic story of Othello told in a modern lens through rap. It was absolutely amazing, and I feel like we need more theatre like it! Being from Texas, Mexodus sounds extremely interesting to me. I learned about this Exodus to Mexico in my Texas history classes in high school. These are really important stories that need to be represented on stage. Rap has been proven successful in theatre before, and I think it should continue to be created.
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