Riedel on Hamilton transfer- Page 13
Riedel on Hamilton transfer
#300Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 8:16am
I like all those things- I just don't know who Hamilton is or even his significance in American history and when buying tickets I don't tend to take history lessons beforehand.
I think most people would have a vague idea who Queen Elizabeth II is.
I am genuinely asking- from someone who has seen it- what the show is discussing/ exploring/ revealing.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#301Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 8:53am
"OK so I am in the UK and have no idea why Hamilton has crossover appeal? When I next visit Broadway what are the unique qualities that will make me want to see a rap musical about an obscure historical figure?"
You raise a good point. Fact is, though, I'm sure most Americans have no idea of who Hamilton was, either. But that's not what's making them flock to the Public in droves. It's the "cool" factor of seeing the critically-hyped flavor du jour. The show could be about Hannibal, for all they know, or care.
Actually, at least in this show, despite all the time given to him, the man doesn't even emerge as a very compelling figure. He's just a nonstop talker and, really, a grating bore. I felt like telling him, "Words, words, words --- I'm so sick of words." His major contributions as Secretary of the Treasury do not exactly make for dramatic fare, and are minimally dealt with here.
So to answer your question, there is nothing in the show that would make you interested in seeing it except for the bragging rights that come with having seen the latest phenom.
As to your point of crossover appeal, I raised exactly the same question regarding Americans' interest in British Prime Ministers they neither know, nor care about, and who are uninteresting as characters in a play. Of course, I received holy hell for it here.
Maybe your remarks will be received more cordially.
trevytoe
Chorus Member Joined: 5/29/07
#302Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 8:58amI'm going to agree; I would bet the "average American" knows very little about Hamilton except that he is on the $10 bill. I don't think the show being about Hamilton is the draw at all.
#303Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:04am
That doesn't mean that the show can't do well, though. I mean, 1776 always tends to play pretty well, and though obviously the signing of the Declaration is an important historical moment, I doubt most people know much at all about the events surrounding it.
And I think people are severely underestimating the hype around this show- it's not selling out basically every night, it is sold out. For the entire run. I believe the most recent extension sold out within a matter of days. Whether or not the show becomes the same sort of massive success on Broadway remains to be seen of course, but it's not suddenly going to do poor business because it's moving uptown.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#304Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:10amI am going to admit that I did not know much about Hamilton outside of the the fact that he had SOMETHING to do with history, and wouldn't even have said "he's the one on the $10." This is something I wanted to see solely because of the merits of LMM. I have been researching more about Hamilton since seeing the show, so I guess that's good.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#305Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:13am
There's a HUGE difference between selling out a 300 seat space and selling out a 1300 seat space. That's more than four times the number of seats.
I'm not saying it WON'T - I have no idea, but it's not a given.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#306Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:16amI agree. I wonder if this wouldnt have done well somewhere like NWS?
MyLife
Broadway Star Joined: 12/2/06
#307Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:27am
I don't think you have to know who Hamilton is to enjoy it, at all. The music, lyrics, staging, and acting will teach and show you all you need to know. Yes the show is based on a historical figure but that doesn't mean you need prior knowledge to enjoy it. In a fictional musical you don't know the characters beforehand but that's part of why watching it is so great: by the end you know them so well. Would someone who has never seen the Wizard of Oz be unable to enjoy Wicked? in In The Heights, no one knew who this Usnavi guy was but the show was still a hit.
The first song/rap in Hamilton tells you everything you need to know to give you a foundation to understand, enjoy, and fall in love with the show.
#308Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:37amWe go to the theatre hoping for an interesting story, creatively told, with elements that make it a resonant experience. Americans love Shakespeare's history plays even though we know little of the history before we see them. The brilliance of Hamilton is that it takes a biography most of us know little about (other than perhaps the famous duel with Burr, and we don't even know its etiology) and makes it incredibly resonant in 2015. Do you like goose bumps? This show gives them. Unless you are someone whose only pleasure in life is disliking anything anyone else likes, you'll probably love this. It does everything we keep saying we want a musical to do, and it does it extremely well on every level. This is no niche show that should be off Broadway: it is the best musical of this century (one in which there has been a high volume of garbage) and will be received and heralded as such. What After Eight ignorantly calls the critic hyped flavor du jour (a canard I decimate elsewhere in this thread) is actually a show that finally makes those of us who have been horribly disappointed in what the musical theatre has been producing in recent years believe again that there is hope that the genre has not irreversibly become an exercise in mediocrity.
#309Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:44amlol just because you like it doesn't mean everybody else has to
Use my fabulous TodayTix code: JEYCY
#310Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 10:46am^That is absolutely true. But Hamilton is not a show that "just I" like.... In case you hadn't noticed. That does not mean everyone will love it, but most people who have seen it do. Hence the word of mouth.
#311Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 11:28am
If a show is good, it's good.
Not a lot more to say.
....but the world goes 'round
#312Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 12:15pm
lol just because you like it doesn't mean everybody else has to
lol just because you don't like it doesn't mean everybody else has to
see how that works Phillyhalfpint
#313Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 12:18pm
Exactly, tazber!
I don't see any hype at all surrounding this show. I went to see it totally without expectation, like many people. Because I loved it so much, I told all my friends to see it. Magnify that by the hundreds who saw it each day. Hype? Not at all.
#314Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 12:48pmwhat do you mean CarlosAlberto? I know that, thats why i said it. I have no opinion about this show, I'm just saying not everybody has to like it. damn
Use my fabulous TodayTix code: JEYCY
indytallguy
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/08
#315Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 1:30pm
"I just don't know who Hamilton is or even his significance in American history and when buying tickets I don't tend to take history lessons beforehand."
Point taken, but as others have noted, you don't have to do any history homework prior to seeing the show, but you'll leave knowing more history and about Hamilton.
A quick look at his Wikipedia listing and the summary of the book on which the musical is about all the homework I think anyone might want to do ... if even that.
P.S. And who is the Queen of which thee speak? I'm kidding, of course. While I know of Queen Elizabeth, I really don't know her full story though, anymore than I knew Hamilton's.
Amazon listing for Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton book
#316Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 3:09pm
"I don't see any hype at all surrounding this show. I went to see it totally without expectation, like many people. Because I loved it so much, I told all my friends to see it. Magnify that by the hundreds who saw it each day. Hype? Not at all."
Maybe I am using the word "hype" incorrectly, but when I said that I mean word of mouth/buzz. I can't think of another show in a long time that has a much buzz as this show does right now on this forum. That alone would be enough for me to see it.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#317Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 3:30pm
Hype has the connotation of being exaggerated, misleading, a promotional ploy, something manufactured, etc. It's not really the same as word of mouth. The word of mouth for this show has been excellent!
Updated On: 2/26/15 at 03:30 PM
#318Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 3:49pm
It's all a matter of perspective, my friends. No denying that this show has gotten a lot of people talking. Good, bad, or indifferent.
I will say that, for the record, I don't think the "press conference" was necessary. At all. I'm happy it's moving, though, I guess. Congratulations to everyone who's been championing it since day 1.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#319Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 3:55pm
"Hype has the connotation of being exaggerated, misleading, a promotional ploy, something manufactured, etc."
What was the bite-your-nails-in-suspense build-up to the monumental "announcement" that the show would be transferring to Broadway, as it turns out, several months down the road. They could have informed us of that in a simple press release the very day the decision had been made.
#320Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/26/15 at 4:18pm
I am invariably surprised by how easy it is for some folks to have trouble understanding the complexities of show business and why we do what we do, even when it seems unnecessary. For those of you who think the press conference was unnecessary, here is the "why."
There was a lot of BS propagated (mostly by Riedel) regarding the show, disputes between producers, disputes between producers and creatives, etc etc.
The press conference was NOT about telling the public when the show would transfer: it was about something much more important: morale, cohesion, support. It was for the company, not the public. A press release would not have put the toxicity in the air to rest: it would have left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. All of that is now gone. Think of it not as a press conference but as a pep rally.
One more point. It is easy for us to forget that the theatre is almost sui generis in its dependence on being live and face to face. That's what makes it exciting for audiences but it is also essential for theatre to function. In film, in the recording industry and on the internet, people who are pissed off at each other can generally function just fine because we can build walls between them. You can come in and do your scene today; we will have your nemesis come in next week. In the theatre we cannot do that. Not only does everyone have to get along, but they have to do it again tomorrow and the day after and after and after. This is what draws many of us to the theatre, whether we are making it or consuming it. And when the train starts to come off the track, sometimes you have to do things that don't quite seem necessary from the outside looking in, but oh boy are they essential.
seahag2
Featured Actor Joined: 2/15/15
#321Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/27/15 at 1:24amRegarding the show's content: what part of Hamilton's life does it touch on? All I really remember is he was a major contributor to the Federalist Papers.....(I should know more, I took APUSH last year lol) I'm asking for my history/government teacher. She wants to know if it could be used as a teaching tool in the future.
so I smile like Mona Lisa and I lay my Visa down
#322Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/27/15 at 10:33amIt covers all of his life, the first half focusing on his Revolutionary War career through the Constitutional Convention, the second half covering his role as Secretary of the Treasury through his death.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#323Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/27/15 at 10:34amWasn't sure where to put this but here seems good; does anyone have a recent-ish song list?
#324Riedel on Hamilton transfer
Posted: 2/27/15 at 11:14am
Directly from the Playbill:
"Alexander Hamilton"
"My Shot"
"The Story of Tonight"
"The Schuyler Sisters"
"Farmer Refuted"
"You'll Be Back"
"Right Hand Man"
"Helpless"
"Satisfied"
"Wait for It"
"Stay Alive"
"Duel Commandments"
"That Would Be Enough"
"History Has Its Eyes on You"
"Yorktown"
"Dear Theodosia"
"Non-Stop"
-----
"What'd I Miss"
"Take a Break"
"Say No to This"
"The Room Where It Happens"
"Schuyler Defeated"
"Washington on Your Side"
"One Last Ride"
"The Adams Administration"
"Hurricane"
"The Reynolds Pamphlet"
"Burn"
"Blow Us All Away"
"It's Quiet Uptown"
"The Election of 1800"
"Your Obedient Servant"
"The World Was Wide Enough"
"Finale"
TodayTix Code: XGAXA
Videos