alright, so single dad au rules, lawrence is somehow adopted -- alex takes the sesame street gig because it pays well and because his kid is the only thing he cares about, might as well make something he can watch. as far as lawrence is concerned, and as far as alex is concerned within lawrence’s hearing, the whole thing is real, the puppets and the set and all of it. which means when lawrence assumes that george is alex’s best friend in the whole world, alex can’t exactly deny it without shattering the illusion. and -- fine, they are friends, it’s not like alex has much of a life between work and the kid, so maybe he’s closer to george than to anyone else who isn’t his son. but they’re not hang-out-after-work close. alex goes from filming to his baby and back again. he’s worried that if he starts spending too much time with george beyond that stoop on sesame street that -- that he’ll forget the way things really are, and start to believe the illusion, too. 

but of course lawrence wants to visit the set. and they have their ways of doing it without breaking it to the kids that it’s all a show, and lawrence is a smart kid but also has a big heart full of belief and imagination, so it’s fine. then lawrence meets george. it’s not that -- alex knew he’d love george, everyone does, but it’s immediate, george is lawrence’s favorite person (aside from alex -- hopefully) the moment he crouches down to say hello to him. lawrence wants a hug, so he gets a hug, and george is so thoroughly gone on this kid immediately, he’s the sweetest thing, bright like his dad, and curious, and hilarious, and it’s just. immediate. george can understand why alex was so reluctant to tell anyone he was a parent, of course he wanted to keep this wonderful little boy to himself. it’s a perfect afternoon, lawrence is so impossibly happy, and alex is so much softer around his baby, so much more open to the magic of things. 

No WAIT.

ew ew ewwww

While Shakespeare’s work ostensibly turns on Hamlet’s grief for his father, Custis’ production spotlights the father-son relationship nearly to the exclusion of all other dynamics. Washington commands the stage as effectively as King Hamlet’s ghost as he has in any of his leading roles, and it is this presence that renders Hamlet’s wide-eyed, obsessive attentions not only believable but also strikingly necessary. “Wicked or charitable”, neither the audience nor Hamlet can look away. 

Hamilton’s take on the play’s protagonist is at turns tragic and infernal; nowhere in sight is the noble, tortured hero of past iterations, including Washington’s own portrayal. Yet even at his most damnable – his casting off of Ophelia is particularly difficult to stomach considering the quiet dignity and strength Schuyler imbues the character with – the viewer finds themselves hard-pressed not to recall Hamlet wrenching free of restraining arms to chase his father into the dark, more lost child than bitter wretch or clever wordsmith. 

“Alexander?”

But George doesn’t, because he knows full well what he’s getting into. He knows that when Alex isn’t talking, it’s because he’s content in the silence. He knows that when Alex burns toast, it’s because he got distracted by George’s eyes. Alexander’s ambition isn’t a downside in their relationship, and it was never meant to be.

But George doesn’t, because he knows full well what he’s getting into. He knows that when Alex isn’t talking, it’s because he’s content in the silence. He knows that when Alex burns toast, it’s because he got distracted by George’s eyes. Alexander’s ambition isn’t a downside in their relationship, and it was never meant to be.