Barack and Michelle Obama‘s time in the White House takes center stage in a new play called “44 – The unOFFICIAL, unSANCTIONED OBAMA MUSICAL,” which is now playing at a Southern California theater.
People are already outraged due to the satirical nature of the play, as it appears to take a mocking approach to a serious and historic time in history. But there is one particular scene that has the internet talking and blaming production for the sardonic portrayal of the first Black president and the former first lady.
A short clip of the play, uploaded by a TikTok content creator, shows actors portraying the Obamas as they sang about having an intimate rendezvous in the White House. While the viral moment got thousands of likes on the social media app, it also received plenty of side eyes.
In the play, vocalist T.J. Wilkins plays Barack, and “Smile” singer Shanice portrays Michelle. Dancing hand in hand, the two sing soulfully to one another. Shanice dons a light colored satin robe, while Wilkins wears a white dress shirt, a light blue tie, and black slacks.
Together they sing “Let’s Make White House Love” in front of a live audience who can be heard laughing in the background. As the duo continued singing to each other, actor Chad Doreck, who portrays former President Joe Biden, dances his way toward the stage couple and eventually joins in the song.
Doreck steps between the actors before hugging the fake Barack, who then pushes Doreck toward the back of the stage.
With him out the way, the main actors (Barack and Michelle) rejoin hands and come closer together before singing “I’m ’bout to make White House love to you.”
@mejustinbobby #44themusical #44obamamusical #barackobama #whitehouselove #shanice #obama ♬ original sound – Justin Bobby
The scene cuts to another part of the play with “Michelle” wearing a black mesh and glittery jumpsuit and “Barack” in his black suit. They stand in front of a screen with the American flag on it, and Wilkins sings his rendition of “America the Beautiful” in a gospel-like tone.
Fans online had mixed reactions in the comment section of The Neighborhood Talk’s post and on TikTok.
Two critics said, “Hey, so I don’t think I like this” and ” “The cease and desist on this is gonna be fun.”
Some even compared the musical to other popular musicals on Broadway, writing, “Y’all laughing but this is technically the same thing as Hamilton.”
Another said, “Let me find out Tyler Perry Produce this,” drawing comparisons to Perry’s early musical productions from the 2000s before he made the switch over to movies and sitcoms. Most of Perry’s musicals consist of predominately Black casts who often sing songs with gospel-like influences, a signature style that fans say this production seems to echo.
But there were some people who were sanguine about the play.
Two supporters claimed, “It’s different. I’ll give it that,” and “The play is phenomenal! You have to see it to understand all the satire.”
“44 – The unOFFICIAL, unSANCTIONED OBAMA MUSICAL” is meant to be a satirical musical about Barack’s presidency. The musical was written, composed and directed by Eli Bauman, who in 2008 was a campaign organizer for Barack himself.
The theatre production has already taken home seven 2023 Broadway World L.A. Awards with performances in NYC, Philadelphia and Chicago. At the Kirk Douglas Theatre in the L.A. suburb of Culver City, where it is currently running, performances will go on until June 22.
