Sexy Hamilton Parody Comes to the Clocktower Cabaret

While the blockbuster Broadway musical Hamilton is drawing fans to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through March 27, the Clocktower Cabaret will offer its own rendition of the beloved musical. The brainchild of Melanated Ménagerie founder ALLurrr’em VelvIT, Shanaë "Honestly Nae" Adams and Becky Ta'Ha Blu, ShhhHAMILTON: It's an American Her-Story retells the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton from a new perspective.

“We all love the musical Hamilton, but felt it did a disservice in not telling the story from the women’s side of everything that was going on, considering that the women were in very pivotal roles at that time," says VelvIT. “You’re getting another spin on the story, both sides of the story at once.”

"What Lin-Manuel [Miranda, the creator of Hamilton] failed to realize is the sham of a Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton was. A talented, intelligent, social climbing, baise garçon (fyck boi)," reads the show description.

Playwright Shanae Adams wrote the parody in two weeks, and six original songs help move the story forward. The show captures the progress of the Schuyler sisters, their relationships and the impact they had during the American Revolution. Eliza Schuyler married Hamilton, and her sisters Angelica and Peggy played large roles in his life, too. While Hamilton does include the sisters, ShhhHAMILTON puts their narrative at the forefront.

"Eliza helped Alex [Hamilton] write the Federalist Papers and was essentially his sounding board. Every decision he made went through her first, and she doesn't get any credit for that," explains Adams. “The textbooks never told us this story. It's not handed to us in the same way the men’s story was, or what women's main roles were."

ShhhHAMILTON tells the saga of the sisters from a queer, femme perspective — communities that history often erases or excludes. “We are often forgotten. This is another way of bringing us to the forefront to not be forgotten," says VelvIT. “A lot of the work we do in the organization and as the troupe in Melanated Ménagerie is putting the focus on femme bodies that often get overlooked."

To co-produce the show, VelvIT partnered with Chrysalis House, a sex-positive nonprofit that provides resources for sex workers and serves as a treatment center. The play also highlights the contributions of sex workers during the Revolution, exploring how they impacted and shaped the socio-cultural structures of a new country, with a focus on BIPOC. ShhhHAMILTON itself boasts a cast packed with underrepresented narrators and stars, including Eliza Hamilton played by Asya Toney, Angelica Schuyler played by Syre, and Peggy Schuyler played by VelvIT.
For the debut of ShhhHAMILTON, VelvIT reached out to the Clocktower Cabaret. The venue just off the 16th Street Mall has been a burlesque and nightlife staple in Denver since 2006. Its vintage aura and inclusive values, along with an extensive history of hosting comedies and musical acts, made it a perfect fit for the show's vision.

With eccentric performances and jabs at Miranda's masterpiece, VelvIT expects the show to be fun and engage the audience. It's dramatic and comedic, with elements of realism snuck in behind the flashy costumes and makeup. It gives Hamilton fans another reason to go out on the town, but with cocktails, good food and good company.

“It encompasses all of the things that we feel are important in theater, especially right now, at this moment in history," says Clocktower Cabaret sales manager Selena Arca. "That means not only making space for BIPOC performers and voices and artists, but also reimagining and envisioning history in an all-new way."

ShhhHAMILTON: It's an American Her-Story, 7 p.m. Sunday, February 20, and Sunday, February 27, Clocktower Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street; tickets start at $40.