Broadway: "Hamilton"

I don’t know. If you are going to Broadway to see a musical, and two shows (such as Waitress) have great reviews, which do you see? The only that is only on Broadway, or the one that has a DVD out.

Sure, Hamilton might be better, but the DVD might be good enough that you might feel inclined to see something different.

If I’m deciding to go to a concert and I have the choice between two highly rated musicians, one who I own the music for and am very familiar with and the other I’ve only heard people talk about, which would I choose?

But having the music is available different from having the whole production at your disposal.

Almost all musicals release a cast album, so there is no reason why you could have the cast album for both of them.

It’s just an example. A lot of people would rather see something they are familiar with instead of something they are not sure about. Releasing DVDs could also bring attention to smaller productions that don’t have the fortune of cultural ubiquity that Hamilton does.

Perhaps, but since it’s Hamilton making this call, are you surprised that the calculations are different?

Why should I go to the museum? I can look at the paintings online? Why should I go to the concert? I can listen to the album on my phone? Why should I go to the football game? it looks better on TV anyway.

It is a wonder anyone ever goes to see live art or competition, when you can just watch from home.

I feel like you are comparing Apples and Oranges, but I will try my best.

You decide to go to a museum. There are half a dozen in the area, but you only have enough time to see one of them. All of them cost you several hundred dollars.
Two stand out. One is about ancient Rome, and other about the Mongol Empire. On Netflix, you notice the one about ancient Roman also has a video tour guide on Netflix, which goes through all the exhibits and all the interesting items. You and your significant other can watch it anytime you would like.

Which do you see? Obviously, you would go to the museum about Rome, because you love Rome and hate everything about the Mongols, and since you have seen the video tour guide, you can annoy all your friends with trivial and be a know it all.

Me, I would go see the Mongol Museam, because that one I won’t get to see again, ever

I’m guessing that Hamilton is the most in demand play in theater history so I don’t think comparisons to anything else really make sense. They’re not going to harm their take from the shows at all due to a movie and/or DVD release. It’s pretty much sold out everywhere as it is.

I would pay $100, maybe more, for a DVD of the original cast performance. I think that many others would as well. As mentioned above, there seems to be one ready to go but they’re sitting on it, presumably until the various theater runs end. If they ever do.

I think that much of the magic was with the original cast. Lin and company put a lot of work into the original casting and prep. I saw the 2nd string a month after the originals left and it didn’t floor me like the cast album did. My daughter saw the original on her own, and then the later show with me and she felt the same… she felt bad on having sold us on seeing it.

$50 to $100 or so per ticket is perhaps reasonable. More than that, no. I don’t know what the touring groups are charging.

In a heartbeat. I’d buy one for myself, and a few more for Christmas presents.

I think in Indianapolis, it was 200.00. I got that information second hand, so I can’t say for sure.

$215 for a good seat in Minneapolis. I’ll let you know in October if it was worth it.

I saw it in Chicago (non touring) for 80 bucks a seat in the nosebleeds.

I’m sure it will be.

Like Jon, I saw it in Chicago just earlier this month. ~$200 per for pretty good seats.

I know we would definitely pay a hefty pricing for the original cast video and would undoubtedly get our money’s worth.

I just got an email from the CIBC theater saying that they still have tickets available for summer productions of Hamilton, and their 2019 ticket sales will be opening up soon.

Some decent seats direct are 250$ a piece.

Wow. I am glad we went with the 80ish obstructed view seats. Sure we couldn’t see part of the stage, but fuck 160 bucks for a night out vs 500 is pretty stark.

I saw it in DC. The cast was phenomenal and the performance and staging exceeded my high expectations even after listening to the soundtrack many times. Quite cool to see it about 15 miles from (the pride of) Mount Vernon!

I saw this with my wife and thought it was pretty terrific. In this particular performance:

Acting standout was the dude that played Aaron Burr, who would have twirled his moustache if it was longer, and would have pulled out a strawberry handkerchief if he got any more like Iago – his oily self-serving ambition made him more fun to watch than the original soundtrack guy was fun to listen to.

Not doing so well was the guy playing Alexander Hamilton, which is a pretty big part. Lin-Manuel Miranda originally played the role like a puppy, eager to love and to be loved by all. This guy played the role like a wooden puppy. Not so much on the emoting, never mind portraying a guy burning with potential and need for satisfaction. Way too much Jeff Sinclair, not nearly enough John Sheridan. He got the words out without stumbling, I guess. Some friends I was with saw a production in Chicago, and said that this guy — Joseph Morales — played the Hamilton role there too, and he was better here. Glad I didn’t see it in Chicago!

The Schuyler Sisters were lovely, and it would be churlish of me to point out that Angelica, the smartest character in the play, spat out the wrong word in the middle of “Satisfied”.

The choreography and blocking ranged from adequate (why do so many characters speak or sing with their backs to the audience? Why don’t character’s actions match the lyrics, like “come downstairs” when he isn’t coming downstairs, or “I can see George Washington smile” when George remains stone-faced) to transcendent (the final duel is a standout).

Anyway, yeah, it was good.

Hamilton is a fantastic show! The soundtrack is amazing. Worth to see and worth any penny paid for it.

I wonder when I’ll get a chance to see it with my kids. Will they still be kids at that point? It came briefly through Denver, and I spent a morning in the lottery queue, but didn’t come close to getting tickets. I know one day it won’t be the most in-demand event in existence, but it’s hard to predict when a second tour or a Denver production might appear. It makes me sad I couldn’t take all my Hamil-head kids to see it when the hype was high.

If possible, you might need to make a trip of it. That is what I did with my daughters - took a long weekend to Chicago. We, of course, did quite a bit else while there, but the centerpiece was the show and it is something the girls will remember for a long time.

Hamilton is coming out locally, but I doubt we’ll be able to get tickets any time soon (maybe not until 2020), so I am glad we decided to take them to this summer while, as you mentioned, the “hype was high” with them.