“I can see you recording”: Hamilton actor calls out the sudden rise of bootleg clips of Broadway shows posted to social media

Broadway actress Jisel Soleil Ayon calls out audience members who take bootleg clips of Hamilton and post them on social media. She believes criticism of the performance from the subpar videos isn’t valid.

Rise in recorded Broadway performances

In a TikTok with over 449,000 views, Ayon, who plays Angelica in the Broadway production of Hamilton, sits behind the stage after a performance.

“I need to rant for a second,” she says. “We’re talking about bootlegs.”

Ayon says that bootleg clips, or videos taken by audience members on their phones, used to feel harmless. However, she notices a recent uptick in the posts garnering negative attention on social media.

She believes that the increase in bootleg clips is due to the return of Leslie Odom Jr. as a cast member.

“They come up on TikTok and everybody is commenting all of these judgments,” she says. “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.”

She says the show is best enjoyed live or through the professional clips provided by production, equating it to taking a selfie versus seeing yourself in the mirror.

Hamilton fans weigh in online

In the comments, fans agreed that seeing the show live is a completely different experience from the original cast performances and the filmed version of Hamilton available on Disney+.

“Part of the magic of the show, if you go see different casts, is witnessing each actor’s interpretation of their character. Each time I see it is like a new show,” another suggests.

“The whole point of theatre is to take on a role and make it your own; some people don’t understand that making it your own is what makes it so special,” one says.

@jiselsayon What’s that old saying? If you don’t have anything nice to say (about someone’s performance), don’t say anything at all (in the comments). It goes something like that #musicaltheatre ♬ original sound – Jisel Soleil Ayon

“This makes me so sad. I saw you last weekend, and everyone was PHENOMENAL. Any bootlegs do not do it justice!!” a third adds.

One theater fan pointed out that online clips simply can’t do live theater justice: “Literally can guarantee (from my firsthand experience) that the shaky, blurry, bootlegs, capturing 1/4 of the stage, zoomed in from far away – do not capture an ounce of the energy or reality of the performance. The current cast is literally SO good, and the show is in such great shape. Compared to a PRO SHOT PROFESSIONAL CLOSE UP CAMERA is so wild.”

“Even Leslie Odom, Jr. is not performing his role exactly the same way he did in his first iteration. People need to just enjoy each cast for their individual performances,” said another.

What do fans think about the bootlegs?

However, even fans who enjoy bootleg clips say the negativity in the comments should stop.

“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,” said an international fan. “But I’m against people judging a cast based on bootleg footage cause it’s obviously never an accurate representation,” they continued.

“I’m pro-bootlegs, but I do think there needs to be an understanding that the bootleg never quite captures that live energy and ppl should be aware of that before they fix their thumbs to start typing,” a commenter writes.

“I’m pro bootleg, I am not pro ranking people’s performances against one another,” says a fan.

“People are too comfortable anonymously tearing others down and hiding behind profile pics and accounts because I guarantee they would not say that to anyone’s face,” suggests a commenter.

“I don’t think Hamilton fans know how musicals work,” joked another.

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