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This misfire is neither about the attack on the US Capitol, nor is it really a musical; there are only a handful of songs, although these are catchy and performed with verve by the comedy duo Kiely Sugayan and Jessie Ballard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two introduce themselves as queer thespians from Brooklyn, and tell us they both happen to have been born on January 6. From this coincidence, they have concocted a fanciful tale of having traveled to Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 to celebrate their birthdays together. Once there, they do a little street theater, portraying Lincoln and his assassin\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 which they apparently believe will help them break into the D.C. theater scene, and thus advance their dream of a Broadway career. Police mistake them for insurrectionists and throw them into jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The duo pour their over-the-top energy into this story, which\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 to repeat \u2014\u00a0\u00a0did not happen. The women were indeed both born on January 6, and they do identify as queer thespians from Brooklyn,\u00a0\u00a0but they did not celebrate their birthday in Washington in 2021; they didn\u2019t even meet one another until 2022.\u00a0\u00a0I had one question from beginning to end of \u201cJanuary 6th\u00a0The Musical\u201d: What is the point? (I also asked myself when at the very start they roped in three audience members to sing the American national anthem: Should I stand?) It would be easy to call this show a satire, but that\u2019s simply wrong, unless you can tell me what it is supposed to be satirizing. The show is bizarrely apolitical. It seems intended solely as a showcase for their comedic talents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some people have found \u201cJanuary 6th\u00a0the Musical\u201d funny; one such person recommended it to me after he overheard my saying I had an interest in puppetry. (There was one poorly used puppet midway through the hour.)\u00a0\u00a0I wonder how many of those who have found the show entertaining are Americans.\u00a0\u00a0Are any of these worried about the rise of authoritarianism in our country; are they simply able to disconnect the show from the actual historical moment in which it is set?\u00a0\u00a0For better or worse, \u201cJanuary 6,\u201d like \u201cSeptember 11,\u201d is shorthand that conjures up a dark moment in American history.\u00a0\u00a0But it\u2019s not just in the past. The current American president has not just pardoned the violent insurrectionists; he is trying to give them taxpayer money for their efforts on that day. \u201cJanuary 6\u201d represents the continuing threat of fascism. It would be stupid to call Sugayan and Ballard collaborationists, and stuffy to call them amoral. I just hope that, when coming up with the next project on which to focus their charm and talents, they will be more aware of the world in which they are living.<\/p>\n
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A sticker they duo gave to the volunteers from the audience who sang the American National Anthem<\/p>\n