After finishing a show, the actress, Jisel Soleil Ayon (@jiselsayon), who currently plays Angelica in the Broadway production of Hamilton, is on TikTok speaking out about the increase in the number of bootleg clips of Hamilton circulating through social media.
Audience members have a tendency to record videos of the performances and post them online.
According to Jisel, it used to be “pretty harmless,” but now, the videos have received a ton of negative attention. She believes that the surge in bootleg clips is due to the return of Leslie Odom Jr. as a cast member, who portrays Aaron Burr in the play.
The well-known actor and singer is also known for his roles in The Good Wife, Murder on the Orient Express, Abbott Elementary and more. His presence has drawn new attention to Hamilton, and with that, a new wave of online scrutiny.
Jisel thinks that the harsh criticism of the performances has been unwarranted and that the show is best enjoyed live or through professionally recorded videos rather than blurry, shaky bootleg clips.
“They come up on TikTok and everybody is commenting all these judgments,” she said. “Look, when you come see a show, have all the judgments you want. But if you have not seen the show live, I don’t want to see a single negative comment.”
In addition, the actress pointed out that in many cases, the lens on people’s cameras reflects the stage light, which distracts the actors on stage and produces grainy, poor-quality videos that are then uploaded onto social media.
The resulting clips can misrepresent what audiences actually see in the theater.
“We are human beings and performing live,” Jisel continued. “You are never going to be 100% every single show. If you cannot give the audience a performance worth their money…you don’t do the show. But we are hired in these positions for a reason. We’re not on Broadway for no reason, but we are also not robots.”
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In the comments section, fans of Hamilton shared a mix of support and understanding. They also apologized for how theater etiquette has gone downhill in recent years.
“I’ve seen Hamilton three times (including a couple of weeks ago). Each performance was different, but all were amazing. I’m so sorry you are all being subjected to such awful, disrespectful behavior,” commented one person.
“As someone who lives on the other side of the world and will never get to see a show live on Broadway, I will always be pro-bootleg, but I’m against people judging a cast based on bootleg footage because it’s obviously never an accurate representation,” declared another.
“I saw a bootleg and someone was judging Hamilton for ‘not looking enthusiastic enough’ when it ended, and I was absolutely flabbergasted,” added someone else.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
