Art in the Time of Coronavirus

[see original/parody lyrics further below] Confined within home for over 2 months during the Covid lockdown, theatre critic Raymond ZHOU penned this parody of Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was performed by 12 Chinese musical actors, via a “cloud” link, to cheer up the public as well as themselves whose life and work have been severely affected by the pandemic. This project was coordinated by Magnolia & AV clips were edited by Mancy. 著名剧评人周黎明借新冠流行宅家两月之际，“斗胆”把汉密尔顿开场曲改写成抗疫歌，并尽可能地保留了原作的韵脚及词汇。诸位音乐剧新星及好友联手相助，“云”合此曲。向全球医护人员致敬！也盼隔离早日结束，生活、工作复常。 演员Actors [出场为序/in order of appearance]: 郑艺彬 Ray, 张泽 Echo, 党韫葳 Yunwei Dang, 刘阳 Kain, 徐丽东 Li-Tong Hsu, 夏振凯 Kai, 朱梓溶 Angelina Zhu, 丁汀 Tiffany Ding, 覃子瑄 Abby, 丁臻滢 Jenny Ding, 翟李朔天 Apollonas, 胡芳洲 Fangzhou Original / Parody lyrics: How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore How does a bastard, a rogue and cousin of SARS And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot And a bounce ball dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot In the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor In a rainy plain by the river squashed in squalor Grow up to be a hero and a scholar? Grow up to be a Grim Reaper caller? The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father The miniscule bounce ball with spikes ‘stead of a garter Got a lot farther by working a lot harder Got a lot farther by working a lot harder By being a lot smarter /... By being a self-starter /... By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter By a couple months placed himself as a top world darter And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted And every day while the healthy are infected and carted Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up away on empty streets, he struggles and keeps his guard up Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of Inside, he is longing for something to be a part of The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter The brother is ready to become a villain and thwarter Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned He whips up a hurricane and devastation reigns Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain Many saw their lives drip, dripping down the drain Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain Put a pencil through the lung, making holes and stain And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain From nothin’ he’d refrain, till he's caused ultimate pain Well, the word got around, they said, “This kid is insane, man” Well, the word got around, they said: “This guy is insane, man” Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland Took up shelter from Maine to Seine to Spain “Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came, and We've gotta run and hide cos we'd better avoid the strain The world's gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?” What have we got ourselves in? What’s this unseen chain? Alexander Hamilton Covid-19 quarantine My name is Alexander Hamilton We are in Covid-19 quarantine And there's a million things I haven't done And there's a million things we can't attain But just you wait, just you wait It’s still "Just you wait, just you wait When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden Forever insidious he has himself masked and hidden Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden People won't find out till days or weeks after bitten Half-dead sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick Half-dead sittin’ in their own sick, more went sick And Alex got better but his mother went quick He sneers and cheers as many cities bent quick Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide Someone has to move in with their in-laws, a kinda suicide Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside Left nothin’ to do, with bruised pride, with new angst inside A voice saying /... “Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.” "Mate, you gotta fend for yourself" He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf Kids started retreatin’ and readin’ boring stuff on the shelf There would have been nothin’ left to do /... For someone less astute /... He woulda been dead or destitute /... Without a cent of restitution /... Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord Started workin’, havin’ no more foodstuff to hoard Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford Tradin’ luxury for dinner rolls and toilet rolls aboard Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on Scammin’ for every app they can get their hands on Plannin' for the future see him now as he stands on Plannin’ for the future see them now as they stand on The bow of a ship headed for a new land /... In New York you can be a new man In lockdown you can be a new man In New York you can be a new man (Just you wait) In lockdown you can be a new man (Just you wait) ... Alexander Hamilton Covid-19 quarantine [Sorry, no space left to include more lyrics here]