For two SHSU alumni, the road to success came shortly after graduation. Adrian Lopez and Dominic Pecikonis both star in the off-Broadway tour of “Spamilton,” the 80-minute parody of Broadway hit “Hamilton.”
“Spamilton” will be coming to the Hobby Center in Houston from May 28-June 9. Lopez plays “Hamilton” playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Pecikonis plays original Broadway cast member Daveed Diggs, as well as other cameos throughout the show.
Through the SHSU Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre, the pair were granted the opportunity to take their shot.
“It’s all kind of a domino effect,” Pecikonis said. “I got nominated for ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ at Sam Houston, and that show was the reason I’m here. It all trickles back down to Sam.”
From SHSU to a national tour, both Pecikonis and Lopez have traveled this road together.
“Dominic and I actually had similar paths,” Lopez said, who plays in the starring role of the show. “He won the Kennedy Center scholarship the year before me; then the following year, I won the scholarship. It was almost like we were following in each other’s footsteps.”
Those footsteps took both of them from SHSU to New York for the Open Jar residency, which is where they got their big break.
Their director for the Open Jar residency sent out invitations to casting agents to come see the actors’ showcase. Through that, a casting director noticed their pictures and picked them out from just a photo. After three rounds of auditions, the rest is history.
“I always have to tell people that it’s not necessarily the norm,” Pecikonis said. “We didn’t really experience the true struggle yet, I think. We just feel really lucky every day because we did get to have this opportunity right away. Who knows when the next one will come, but we are trying to be very present in the fact that we have this opportunity now.”
With a chance to step in the spotlight, Pecikonis spoke about how this opportunity will prepare him for what comes next.
“I’m realizing a lot of work just falls into your lap, and you have to be ready for it,” Pecikonis said. “It’s not necessarily what you go looking for. I’m just going to keep auditioning and grinding and see what happens. I don’t really have an idea of what will happen. I’m just excited for whatever comes my way.”
“SPAMilton” will run from May 28-June 9. Tickets are available for purchase at thehobbycenter.org.