Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Will the West End love Hamilton? 10 previous Broadway transfers
WhatsOnStage.com: As the London production of Hamilton goes on sale amid much fanfare, garnering extensive interest far beyond the usual circle of musical theatre enthusiasts, let's take a look at some other recent transatlantic transfers.
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8 comments:
Most people would think that if it was a hit on broadway it would be a hit everywhere. Clearly this is not the case. With just a few exceptions it seems that most american hits did not far well in London. Personally I think its because the shows were written for an american audience. London is completely a different culture and so is there theater scene. Shows like Ghost transferred from London and did not do well. One show that is transferring this year from London is called The play that went wrong. I am wondering how it will do since the whole cast is from London also.
It is hard for me to imagine a show like Hamilton not being successful in any location, but after reading this article I understand that there is more that goes into a successful production then just amazing songs and a great story. The one element that truly shapes what show is good and what show is bad is the audience's reaction. The audience and the environment created by its individual members for the whole group is what truly sets the tone for a show. Being the show Hamilton is very American in the nature of both the plot and the stakes of the show, I wonder if some of that intensity and emotion will be lost of a foreign audience? What is so important about Hamilton is how it comments on the state of America socially and politically, and perhaps that will not hit to home as much for a British audience. I look forward to watching the progress of Hamilton in the future.
This article didn't seem interesting to me at first until I thought about it a bit more and realized how weird it is that a musical so deeply rooted in American revolutionary history as well as the history of rap culture in the past few decades is being put on in London of all places. I mean, I guess I understand that big, popular shows such as Jersey Boys, yeah, of course go on to bigger and badder things internationally but it just seems strange. Obviously there's a huge number of American shows that showcase American culture that have gone on to succeed globally since people around the globe still continue to be intrigued by the history we've had going here but there's another handful of shows that the article clearly states, "haven't fared as well." Would the British public have the same kind of patriotic connection to the biography of Alex Hamilton as we've had here? Probably not. They were most definitely involved in the history but they were...y'know...the bad guys?! I wish the producers of Hamilton London luck with their production but I feel that they should not expect as strong of a reaction from them as they've gotten in the U.S.
It's going to be very interesting to see how Hamilton does over in London, as it is a story that many British people won't be as familiar with. While I've been in school in the US I think I've had about 4-5 years of American History education, but that isn't really the case there. I was born in the U.K. and when I first moved over the US we read a book about George Washington in class. I asked my teacher who he was and everyone in the class was shocked I had no idea who he was. When I went back to the U.K. to see family recently I was talking to them about this show and they didn't really know who the people the show is about were. Of course there are some American history classes in the U.K., but it's definitely not on the same level that we have here. Bringing a show that's so deeply rooted in American history and culture to a different country may confuse some audiences, especially when the plot moves along as quickly as it does in Hamilton. However, this show is such a huge success its notoriety alone will still probably fill all of the seats anyway.
I'm quite curious to see how this does in the West End. The show is written, at least from what I've seen, by and for American audiences--with its quips towards the revolutionary-era Monarchy and British rule in general. But surely that shouldn't make it a show unappealing to British audiences. What I'm curious about is the American history part of it--will British audiences be able to pick up on the history that is not completely laid out in the show--it's taught in our classes in the US, but I'm not sure what the education on the American civil war is in the UK. And along with that, like Mark said, a lot of the classic hip hop/rap references in the show are also rooted in American culture, so I'm curious to see how that all translates over. But musicals have transferred with no problem before, so I don't see why it will be a huge problem here.
I can't imagine Hamilton not doing well anywhere. However, it will be interesting to see audiences react to the show. While it is "an american musical" I don't think that is the reason Hamilton has risen to such fame and popularity. Hamilton's success is from the story, music, set, costumes, and actors, and anything else that makes Hamilton "Hamilton". The "American Musical" is destined for success wherever it goes. I think that it might be an interesting to see how the London audiences will react once they do see it. Not because it's a touchy or sensitive subject (I think the whole America becoming America and not Britain deal has passed the "too soon" phase), but because of the differences in how it is taught and observed in both places respectively. We celebrate our independence and spend a large chunk of time educating students about how we got to where we are today as a nation, but something tells me that they don't have the same 4th of July BBQs across the pond.
It's really difficult to say whether or not Hamilton will be successful on the West End. If I had to guess, I would say that it will be successful, but perhaps there will not be people so desperate to get tickets that they will camp out in front of the theatre for a week in hopes of scoring a cancellation ticket. As many others have pointed out, I think a lot of Hamilton's success comes from (most) everyone's familiarity with the story. I'd wager that most people raised in America are at least kind of familiar with the American Revolution, and already know who Washington and Jefferson are. Part of what makes Hamilton so great is that it takes a basic story that we all know, sprinkles in some history that probably most of us didn't know, and shows it in a completely new way. The first time I saw Hamilton was while it was in previews, so it was already very successful but not nearly on the scale that it is today. However, when Washington was introduced, everyone in the audience lost their goddamn mind. Now, Chris Jackson is a great performer, but I highly doubt 95% of that audience knew who he was. However, EVERYONE knows George Washington, and everyone loves that guy! I wonder if British audiences will react that way for King George's introduction. Anyway, Hamilton is a spectacularly written show, as we all know and have discussed ad infinitum, so I think it's pretty much impossible for the show to flop. However, it'll be interesting to see how much of Hamilton's success rides on the AMERICA aspect.
I saw an interesting article the other day about how Hamilton has, in total, the same amount of iTunes soundtrack purchases in the rest of the world (all countries included) than in the United States. So I think that would, for example, be a good indicator that it would be successful in the other parts of the Country. I think some of the musicals that are listed in this article are very Americanized and that is potentially why they weren't as successful. Sure, there is relatability to them...but there are some cultural differences across the Atlantic. I also think Hamilton hasn't just been a success because of its themes and the story, but the actual "revolutionary" score. It has basically changed a lot for how we define western theatre (or perhaps just what we can consider elements of theatricality). Now I hate to say this because I haven't seen Hamilton and it feels pretty stupid to say these things but simply because of the cultural change and how open our community has become (especially with new people getting into Theatre that wouldn't normally be attracted to, referring to the broadness of the Hamilton Audience) I certainly know it has changed a lot and I have few doubts about its success on the West End.
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