www.inquirer.com: When Frances Egler first crossed paths with Hamilton at New York’s Public Theater a few years ago, the show initially struck her as “a little Schoolhouse Rock!-y.” Soon, though, she found herself absorbed, and remembers quickly arriving at a different verdict: “This is amazing.”
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One of my favorite aspects of musical theatre is how I find myself growing to love a show! More often than not, I listen to a show's soundtrack the first time with indifference, a shrug, and a "It was okay." Skip to a few weeks later, I am jamming out 24/7 with all the lyrics memorized! The beauty of shows like Hamilton are their risk-taking, their ability to make an audience skeptical in the beginning (likely because of their overly-ambitious and brand-new style) to completely winning them over by the end. I have heard many accounts of people who were cautious about Hamilton's premise and incredible success, but just like it was said in the article ("It’s such a phenomenon that some approach performances wondering whether it can possibly survive the buildup"), it lives up and, in fact, exceeds expectations ("'It’s even better than the praise implies: funny, moving, touching, original in its adaptation of hip-hop prosody, and with a much larger emotional spectrum of sounds and feelings than the elevator pitch – a hip-hop musical about the birth of America – suggests'")!
I am perpetually excited about the future of musical theatre! Each new and innovative show brings a new voice and style to the industry and has the incredible power to influence a generation and how they create and interpret art.
Firstly, I understand Frances Egler’s first reactions to the show, as initially I expressed an incredibly similar opinion. However, similar to this situation, I came to love the show in the end. Although, I am rather shocked that she was hesitant to bring the production to Philadelphia for a variety of reasons. For instance, as mentioned, the show would have competed with other Broadway competitors such as Come From Away, Mean Girls, and Dear Evan Hansen. However, similar to these shows, Hamilton blew up Broadway (and continues to do so) when it was released and discovered. The show’s presentation in Egler’s theater seems simply like a solid financial decision, even if she wasn’t entirely a fan of the show to start with.
In addition, the town of Philadelphia also holds a lot in terms of American history, especially during the Revolutionary Period, during which Hamilton is set. I sense that presenting Hamilton in Philadelphia could pose both as a historical sort of appeal to viewers in addition to [well-deserved] hype for an educational, fun, and modernly brilliant show.
P.S. even if Schoolhouse Rock was on stage in my local theater I would be so excited #ConjunctionJunctionWhatsYourFunction
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