After a buzzy Off Broadway premiere at New York’s Public Theater in early 2015, the hip-hop– and pop-flavored take on American history, written by certifiable genius Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) to be performed by actors of color in modern vernacular, transferred to Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre that summer.
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I am SO excited that Hamilton has decided to share its story with a new demographic of audience members. I waited in a cancelation line for 9 hours in the blizzard to see this show- and it was absolutely worth it. I have no doubt that it will be wildly successful in Chicago. We’ve seen many shows do this (Book of Mormon, Wicked). This show is truly revolutionary, in my opinion. #HAM4HAM is something so unique that has changed the way audience members interact with a show before the downbeat. I think its incredible how this show has introduced so many people to politics. I particularly love how Lin Manuel-Miranda mentioned that the message the show conveys is still relevant and preeminent today. Also, I am so ready for Karen Olivio to return to the stage as Angelica Schuyler. Overall, I hope I get the opportunity to see Hamilton Chicago and look forward to following its success.
The hype circling Lin-Manual Miranda’s show “Hamilton” in the past year and a half has been undeniable. When I saw this article I felt the need to read and comment on it, since I am a fan of the music. I want to eventually see “Hamilton”, but not for the huge price that tickets are currently selling for. I’ll see the show once it starts touring, I’m sure it’ll be just as great touring as it was on Broadway. The lottery system regarding tickets has been an irksome process for me; I’ve done ticket lotteries before for basketball games, and while I understand that the process is fair I still find it tedious. The ticket lottery system is so annoying; I don’t enjoy leaving my enjoyment up to chance. Maybe once the hype of “Hamilton” settles down a bit I’ll look into buying tickets for myself.
I don’t like Hamilton. There, I said it. It is easily one of the most successful Broadway shows in theater history and gained an unbelievable amount of hype in an extremely small amount of time. I respect the idea behind the show and the brains of Lin-Manuel Miranda. I have a huge respect for him because of the hard work he put in to bring minorities to the stage. Miranda is revolutionary and was already so successful with the creation of In the Heights but no one could have even imagined a show about the founding fathers, who were all white males, being portrayed as people of color. Despite all of its positives, I think the final product was faulty. The one area that absolutely everyone is in love with, the music score, is faulty. Coming from Brooklyn, New York, I have been raised listening to hip hop almost all my life. Hamilton’s score is not hip hop—its close but no cigar. True hip hop is born on the street. Hip hop tells the story of the lives of minorities who grow up in the projects (another reason why In the Heights was such a great show). There’s a reason hip hop stays off the Broadway stage. As soon as Miranda brought “hip hop” to the white history of Hamilton, the voices of minority groups and the hip hop artists that speak for them in New York City and beyond were muffled.
Hamilton... What a show… Up until I saw the show this summer it was just another Broadway production that happened to have an absurd amount of hype. Because I was going to be spending the majority of my summer in New York I figured I would make it my challenge to do the impossible… get a ticket, you know, to piss off my mom and other friends back home who could only dream of seeing the show. And well I have to say that I was speechless, everything from the set to the songs was jaw dropping. I hope to see the show getting as much hype with its new cast and crew over in Chicago, I can only imagine that it is going to be a huge hit and you will see just a many New Yorkers flying out to see this show as you will Chicagoans. Once all the dust settles and all the important people see it… again… I hope I will have my chance to see it in Chicago.
It surprises me that the article not once mentioned the monetary cost of seeing Hamilton. I spent this most recent summer in New York, and my boyfriend more than wanted to see the show, but neither of us could fork up the $3k it would have cost for the two of us to go. I understand the show is hyped and consistently sold out, and I like the songs in the soundtrack that I have heard, but I find it so interesting and ironic that a show is about how a man whose life was fraught wish adversity managed to succeed, and yet the people who might get the most inspiration from it cannot even begin to afford to see it. The only person I know on a personal level who has seen it has gone twice and comes from a very well-off family. I'm glad Hamilton is expanding to Chicago and is bringing a cast mixed with new and old/revered names, but accessibility in general needs to be considered alongside success. The article even opens with the fact that tickets are nearly unattainable - will this also be the case in Chicago? It does appear that way, since there is no word from the writer contradicting it. The author goes on to talk about the ticket raffles, but if you tune in to John Oliver's piece about lotteries, you can learn about just how manipulative these games of chance really are. Overall, I feel as though this article is skewed towards hyping an already overly-hyped play, thereby giving its readers no information past its title - Hamilton is moving to Chicago.
I am so excited for Hamilton to go to Chicago and on tour even though I will probably not see it in either of those places. I saw it in January and it was an incredible experience. I think everyone deserves to see this production at least once in his or her life. There is nothing else like it on Broadway or anywhere else. It is so relevant to today with great history and life lessons in an entertaining platform. I have never seen so many different kinds of people interested in theatre before, and it is so exciting that they are all enjoying the art form that I love and am going to have a future in. One of my best friends that has never really been into theatre besides coming to see my shows in high school, is a huge Hamilton fan and it has opened her up to other musicals and that has given us something new to talk about together. Hamilton is bringing all different kinds of people together. Theatre lovers, hip-hop lovers, history lovers, and just regular people are all sharing their love for this one musical. This movement does not happen often and it may not happen again in our lifetime. This show is something extremely special. (btw I was listening to Hamilton while writing this).
Hamilton is a show that I believe everyone should see, especially with this election year, so I am thrilled to see that it is going to Chicago. Right now it is very difficult to see this show with the overwhelming ticket prices along with the overwhelming number of people who would like to see it. I think that the more people who get to see it, more lives will be changed and opinions on history and theatre will change. The show focuses on immigration, how this country was born, and the positives that come with it. As said in this article, the themes in this show really do mirror what is happening in this country today. I do think that one candidate stands for what this country was built on more so than the other, so I think it is important for people to see this show. I think it would open their eyes, even if it is just a little, to what is being said on television by the republican candidate. This show speaks volumes for what this country is built on and I do not think that should change as the years go by. Acceptance and love are something that still must be present in this society as it is in this show. This is an important show for people to see, especially in light of this election, so moving it to Chicago was a wonderful decision.
Hamilton is a show that I believe everyone should see, especially with this election year, so I am thrilled to see that it is going to Chicago. Right now it is very difficult to see this show with the overwhelming ticket prices along with the overwhelming number of people who would like to see it. I think that the more people who get to see it, more lives will be changed and opinions on history and theatre will change. The show focuses on immigration, how this country was born, and the positives that come with it. As said in this article, the themes in this show really do mirror what is happening in this country today. I do think that one candidate stands for what this country was built on more so than the other, so I think it is important for people to see this show. I think it would open their eyes, even if it is just a little, to what is being said on television by the republican candidate. This show speaks volumes for what this country is built on and I do not think that should change as the years go by. Acceptance and love are something that still must be present in this society as it is in this show. This is an important show for people to see, especially in light of this election, so moving it to Chicago was a wonderful decision.
I'm honestly really curious to see how this show does in Chicago, on tour and in the years to come. Since the album came out, I've loved the show, and I was blown away by it when I saw it in New York with the original cast in February. But my question is, can it keep this going for so many years, as shows like Book of Mormon can. Part of the hype around the show is its amazing and talented cast, and while obviously the new incoming cast will be just as spectacular, I wonder if it can keep up this speeding freight train for years to come, or if hype will die down as its phenomenal cast moves away from it. In some ways, I don't think it can, just because the hype for the show was built off of Miranda and how well he worked with the rest of his cast, which is what drove tickets to the thousands. Without that, the show will still sell but it will not be the hot item on Broadway it was a few months ago, and while I'm sure it will still do well, it will not keep up the hype.
This article made me take a great trip down memory lane to last year at this time, when Hamilton was in the midst of becoming the cultural phenomenon it is today. I thought it was interesting how social media impacted the creation of Hamilton as opposed to Lin Manuel-Miranda’s other hit, In the Heights.In the article, Lin states how he got addicted to Twitter and social media while working on Hamilton. I think that that really increased the number and devotion of fans, as it allowed a larger number of people to hear directly from the key player himself multiple times a day. As I follow Lin on Facebook, it is definitely inspiring to me to see his uplifting posts about life and the creative processes. I anticipate that when Hamilton goes to Chicago (as well as the touring production around the country) more actors will get their names known and the sensation known as Hamilton will just get even bigger.
I think Hamilton has swept the nation creating an ever-growing demand for it, and going to Chicago creates more supply and gives more people access to this wonderful show. Many people say that it wont be the same without Lin Manuel Miranda, or Renee Elise Goldsbury, or Leslie Odom Jr. Of course it wont be the same, these are legends of Broadway, however, the fact that you wouldn't see the original cast probably wouldn't stop you from seeing Wicked, or Book of Mormon, or any other Broadway show. And yet, the popularity of the show might not be the only thing keeping you from seeing it. because the cost for one ticket alone is exorbitant. it is somewhat ironic when you see the show, and its main theme is how Hamilton worked his way out of poverty, and adversity, and yet all the people who could really benefit from this story, would never be able to afford the tickets in their wildest dreams. hopefully as the show spreads across the country, the prices will lower, and it will become more accessible for anyone and everyone.
I have conflicted feelings about adding a production of Hamilton in Chicago. The first of which is that this is an amazing idea. Another production of the show means more people seeing the show, which is especially important for Hamilton. With the goal of bringing theatre to everyone and telling the American story, Hamilton has almost a duty to get out of Broadway and share it further. It has spread so wildly throughout the U.S. and the world, that people would be willing to do outrageous acts to see it, including the now common practice of watching an illegal video of it. With so many people who may not have seen much – if any – theatre in their life, have their first theatrical experience being watching an iPhone recording of Hamilton, then they may get a poor concept of what the experience of watching theatre is. By expanding to Chicago, it moves further west so that people in the Midwest are able to access the show more easily. This is the point at which my confliction enters. Chicago is an amazing city, but it is really as far west as theatre goes until you jump to L.A.. I feel like there needs to be a city somewhere which is more central to more people so that more of America can experience the height of what theatre can be. Denver is a city which always comes to my mind, but there are other options for which to expand theatre to reach many more American Citizens, without them having to travel for hours by plane just to be spending hundreds of dollars on a ticket to see a show.
Lin Manuel Miranda is one of the most intelligent people of our generation. I feel as though he never gives a poor interview, and this article proves no different. Unlike the few previous comments I am ecstatic for the new productions of Hamilton! I believe that everyone should see this story. The words and music transcend race, religion, and gender. It is truly a work of genius. Though they are bringing new names to the team I have no fear that the work will shine through. Hamilton needs no stars because the story is the lead. Miranda has created a piece of theatre that is so important. It changed peoples on and off-stage so quickly and so vastly. Overnight stars were born, many of the original cast members made their Broadway debuts, and the new productions are proving likewise. In the interview Miranda also touches on the idea of a "cast album" bringing in the audiences and the fans. I know that this rang true for me. The cast album completed propelled my love for the music and the show. I was fortunate enough to see it this summer. The show proved everything and more. My hope is that all who want to see it do, and for those who SHOULD see it do as well. It is an important piece of theatre written by an even important man.
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