Why Actors Shouldn’t Command Attention When They’re Off Script

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27921193202_4321eaaac0_bThat Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed and subjected to an obnoxious harangue last night at a performance of the Broadway production, Hamilton, is by now old news. USA Today and many users of social media, in reporting this, were evidently tripped up by the application of the word “irony” as they sought to suggest that Pence’s decision to attend the highly-acclaimed musical about our nation’s founding fit the meaning:

Social media reacted fiercely to Pence — who is a born-again evangelical Christian that believes marriage should be between a man and a woman — and the irony of his decision to watch the diverse Broadway hit . . .

The content of the harangue from Brandon Victor Dixon, the cast member who plays Aaron Burr in the show, evidenced a complete lack of self-awareness, to say nothing of the concept of irony:

Vice-president elect Mike Pence, we welcome you and truly thank you for joining us at Hamilton American Musical. We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.

We truly thank you for sharing this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men, women of different colors, creeds and orientation.

“We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.” [emphasis added]

As my friend Robert Pondiscio noted today on Facebook:

A show about a Vice President who shoots a rival and gets away with it? Are you sure you *want* him to be inspired by Hamilton?

Touché . . . though I suppose that doesn’t really work, either, when speaking of dueling with pistols.

About Julie Ponzi

Julie Ponzi is Senior Editor of American Greatness. She holds an M.A. in political philosophy and American politics from the Claremont Graduate University. She was an Earhart Fellow and a Bradley Foundation Fellow while studying at Claremont and also earned a Publius Fellowship from The Claremont Institute. Formerly the Director of Academic Programs at the Claremont Institute, she also taught American politics at Azusa Pacific University. Her writing has appeared in the Claremont Review of Books, The Online Library of Law and Liberty, The Columbus Dispatch, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and The Washington Times. She was also a regular and long-time contributor to the Ashbrook Center's blog, No Left Turns. She lives in California. You can follow her on Twitter at @JuliePonzi

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10 responses to “Why Actors Shouldn’t Command Attention When They’re Off Script”

  1. The left’s shallowness doesn’t provide for them to understand irony to say nothing of how to be courteous and gracious.

  3. The left lost their heart when JFK got shot, by an American communist.
    The left lost it’s mind when RFK got shot by a palestinian.
    The left sold it’s soul backing the clintons.

    There is nothing left to those people.

    • Good stuff Zoomie. I would make one amendment. The Left really lost it’s soul when it sold out to the thinking of the likes of Alinsky and Cloward-Piven and Ayers. The Clintons were just students of theirs who added their own personal corruption scheme to the mix.

      • You’re right, of course. What I’m trying to do is see if any of my basic ideas or slogans can catch on. To do that I go for the emotional … often times.

        Although a few years back the term ” intellectually dishonest ” was bantered about for a bit. A more urbane version of myself in person, when I would say, ” a lyin sack a shit “.

        The peepul need to be shaken out of their abyss. Of course I guess I should create a new set of e mail addresses and go on facebook so I can preach to others besides the choir. Over to huff po or daily kos.

        But then I would no longer be able to say I am the only person in Sily Con Valley that isn’t on facebook. I just never felt the need to expose myself to big brother quite that easily.

  4. While I find it reprehensible that these “actors” would use this forum to make their views heard (probably a calculated PR stunt in my opinion), what is particularly disgusting is that this was a date night out with his wife. So these actors accosted Mrs. Pence as well and that is despicable in a personal sense. I hope their “show” closes promptly and they have to find real work.

    • Won’t close soon. Wealthy white people from Blue Manhattan and vicinity buy the $800 tickets and they’ll keep on doing so. But there are plenty of signs that the influence they banked on wielding has waned and they’re fast becoming irrelevant.
      The winds outside CA, NY, et cetera have shifted.
      Pence is on the winning team.

  5. Can’t say a word about this one publicly… have a relative in Hamilton, so in the name of ‘Family Peace’…
    Crickets
    Ok… risking Harmony: Lafayette wasn’t an immigrant… (there, I said it/one of those ‘its’)

  6. The ultimate irony is that the actual historical Hamilton would be strong be supporting the policies of Trump. Burr on the other hand, had the habits of vilification and misrepresentation, the callous disregard for law, the hatred for limited government characteristic of modern Democrats.

  7. Maybe we should make dueling legal again? It would likely make us a more polite people.