by Ziye Hu.
FRESNO, Ca. - The American Theatre Wing has awarded 27 year-old property manager Jason Martinez a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award earlier today, shortly after Martinez’s YouTube account - where he posts under the username “bringmedown93”, consisting of over 50 Elphaba riff compilation videos - accrued over 10 million views altogether, marking a monumental achievement for the world of musical theatre.
“People think that you have to be a fan of musical theatre to do what I do, which is categorically untrue,” he said during his acceptance speech. “I am actually just a fan of hearing 65 short, thin, brunette white girls singing the same phrase over and over again, one after the other, until you can no longer tell who is mix-belting and who is belt-mixing.”
A former national tour Elphaba - who asked to remain unnamed - expressed her frustration with being compared with so many other actresses who just also happen to have amazing breath control and the ability to vibrato on a high F.
“I gave so many great performances as Elphaba, but of course the one matinee where my runs weren’t as creamy and my riffs weren’t as silky gets recorded and spliced into these videos,” noted the anonymous actor. “I can mix like Vosk and growl like Tucker too, you know. Honestly, would it be unprofessional for me to post the bootleg I asked my brother to record?”
A former West End Elphaba - who also requested to remain unnamed - had a different opinion on the Tony honoree.
“I auditioned for the part five or six times and never got it, but then my fate changed when I stumbled upon a compilation video and heard a muffled recording of Lindsay Mendez opting-up at the end of ‘The Wizard and I’,” noted the performer. “When I next auditioned for the role, I stole her riff and they gave me the part!”
She was disappointed to later find out she was not included in the Tony win.
Martinez has made a career - albeit not a paid one - out of compilation videos for shows including Hamilton, Mean Girls, and most recently, Six. He is currently working on a piece titled “The Evolution of Kyle Dean Massey”, and continues to deny any allegations that he is a legitimate fan of musical theatre.