OT: Hamilton (Broadway Musical) Was Incredible
My wife bought me tickets for Christmas and our show was last night. I was blown away; best musical/play I have ever seen, bar none. I was glad that I had listened to the soundtrack several times before seeing it, as there was so much going on between the choreography, set moving, etc that it might have been easy to miss some of the lyrics if I didn't know what I was listening for. Would go see it again in a heartbeat! Has anybody else seen Hamilton? Your impression of it?
February 6th, 2020 at 8:18 PM ^
The best part was when he beat Notre Dame with a 42-yarder with 2 seconds left.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:02 AM ^
Agree.
When he throws coffee in dudes face and turns the gun back on him while Spicoli looks on was pretty solid too.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:59 AM ^
+1 ... the Cognac is pretty good too.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:19 PM ^
I just saw it in Grand Rapids so not exactly the A team but everyone except the guy playing Hamilton himself was incredible. Hamilton, however, was seemed scared the whole time and very unsure of himself which is the exact opposite of the character so that brought it down a bit. Everything else though was amazing!
February 6th, 2020 at 8:22 PM ^
That is where we saw it as well. I would agree. He is still waaaaaay more talented than I could ever imagine being, but I did think there were a few of the songs where he was not as good.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:27 PM ^
That's really interesting. A friend of mine saw it there and posted something on FB about it being great...other than the guy who played Hamilton. So much of art and theater is subjective...but it seems like that's the consensus on that company of Hamilton.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:20 PM ^
Saw it in Grand Rapids a couple weeks ago. Incredible. I too listened to the sound track several times before hand and was very glad I did. Very fast paced show and it really helped to have been prepped. Would definitely go again.
Have friends that saw it in Chicago a couple years ago and again in GR. They thought the show in GR was better.
Mad respect to Hamilton and the rest of the founding fathers.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:45 PM ^
Disney just bought the movie distribution rights for a cool $75 million. It was filmed with the original Broadway cast. I’ll just wait for that to come out and pay $10 a ticket
February 6th, 2020 at 8:22 PM ^
Yes, the original run with the original cast, in fact. Helps that my older brother knows Miranda and his father personally but I likely would’ve checked it out eventually to see what all the hype was about.
Considering how much I abhor musicals I thought it was pretty good.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:24 PM ^
When I was younger I did not care much for musicals or plays, but as I get older I appreciate talented people performing at the top of their field.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:34 PM ^
Same for me except I still don't care for them.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
Fair enough. I just find all of the intricacies of live performance fascinating. My wife and I try to see a show each year.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:47 PM ^
+1
I will say thought that even though I'm not lining up for them like sports tickets, my wife took me to see Jersey Boys and that was freaking amazing.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:32 AM ^
In our one and only trip to Vegas, rather than gambling, we spent our vacation money on shows, saw Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, and Jersey Boys. Absolutely loved Jersey Boys and Lion King was really good also.
February 7th, 2020 at 9:11 AM ^
Randy Marsh didn't care for them either. But he adapted and grew to love them.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:23 PM ^
Aren't the tickets for Hamilton ungodly priced? Tried taking my girlfriend but we went to see Wicked instead because I didn't want to pay $200+. This was a couple years ago though so it may have changed.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
We were in the balcony, so we did not pay a ridiculous amount. Tickets were more when we saw Lion King and we were closer, but probably not close enough to justify the difference in price if I were to do it again.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:06 PM ^
They were under $200 ?? I thought it was $1,000+ just to get in from what I saw a couple years ago.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:55 PM ^
Well, yeah. Because that was a few years ago. When you could only see it in NY or maybe Chicago. Now that it’s on tour you can see it in almost any decent sized city in America. Still not cheap, but nowhere close to $1,000 unless you want a seat right up front on a Friday or Saturday night showing.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:56 PM ^
Saw it in Chicago the Saturday night it opened (fall of 2016, I think). Mrs. Sleepy (who never asks for anything) all but begged to go. Dead-center tickets in the first row of the balcony ran, IIRC, $600-ish each.
But, to be honest, it was pretty fucking incredible.
February 6th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
is It worth seeing it without the entire original cast ? Seems like it’s not even the same product at that point ?
February 6th, 2020 at 10:43 PM ^
Depends on the cast. In this case, it's very hard to top the original Broadway cast, but the Chicago cast during its three-year (?) "co-equal" run was outstanding, and a couple of the roles were arguably better than in NYC. The touring production obviously isn't at that level, but those roles are still highly sought-after, meaning they are filled by extremely talented artists.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:21 PM ^
I see. Well maybe I’ll buy the cheapest tickets in the house and check it out sometimes. I don’t think I can justify more than that. Actually I should probably just find it in YouTube lol.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:43 AM ^
Our tickets were probably pretty darn close to cheapest in the house. And I would do the same thing over
February 7th, 2020 at 7:24 AM ^
Wish it was only that much. I paid about $1000 to see Hamilton on Broadway with my wife. Still worth every penny.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:25 PM ^
I would love to see it but the ticket prices are just so high. I would not pay that much to see my favorite band either. The good news is there is a film coming next year. During the initial run of Hamilton on Broadway, they actually filmed the live stage version with the original cast, and I think I'm going to just wait for that.
As an aside the Met also has a great program where it does live broadcast of some of its opera productions and shows them in movie theaters around the country (list of participating theaters on their website).
February 7th, 2020 at 12:26 PM ^
You can usually find cheaper tickets last minute if you're flexible. Ticketmaster resells directly and people drop the price the day of the show as they are panicked to unload their tickets. Can get decently priced very good seats this way.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:24 PM ^
Cats was a fad too once
February 6th, 2020 at 8:51 PM ^
Cats is one of the longest-run Broadway shows ever. It's a bit more than a fad.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:54 PM ^
saw that in LA in the mid-80's.
i'm such a heathen, i just didn't get it.
February 6th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
Did you hear about the Cats movie from last year... it was so horribly received, they pulled it from the theaters after release. Then they performed a rush re-editing job so it could be re-released. Doh!
February 7th, 2020 at 5:27 AM ^
saw phantom of the opera with the super-duper original singer(s). it was at the end of a week i'd finished a murder trial and i think i slept through a fair amount of the second act. add another heathen stamp to my forehead....still remember driving through the rain (rain in LA? what? rain?) to get to the fancy-schmancy theatre. we made it but my enthusiasm was one very well known by mankind - quite low.
February 7th, 2020 at 7:57 AM ^
True but Cats had nowhere near the critical acclaim. Unsure how it lasted that long
edit: actually I guess it won the Tony for Best Musical and I don’t know what I’m talking about.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:25 PM ^
Saw it in Detroit last May, it was amazing. I had started listening to the soundtrack the year before and loved it. Finally, I had the chance to see it live and it did not disappoint! I recommend it to everyone, even if they don't like musicals or plays, or life in general. It's that good! Also, "One Last Time" is powerful and glorious, if you haven't watched the performance from the Kennedy Center I highly suggest you do so!
February 6th, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
This reminds me of that scene from The Other Guys
February 6th, 2020 at 8:31 PM ^
If I'm picturing the same scene as you, I am cracking up. Priceless!
February 7th, 2020 at 8:02 AM ^
Really underrated movie.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:29 PM ^
I’m more of a ballet guy.
February 6th, 2020 at 10:39 PM ^
Ballet is an amazing combination of artistry and raw athleticism, but you owe it to yourself to see Hamilton if you can. It's the rare work that manages to be both completely unique and generally excellent.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:46 AM ^
I took an Intro to Ballet class once back in my junior year. Three reasons: 1. It was something different, 2. It would be a good way to stay in shape in the winter, and 3. It would be a good way to meet girls. (Leggy blondes in leotards? Gimme!!)
What I didn't realize was how hard they worked. I went into it with the arrogant mindset of the high school jock. (How hard can this be?) But they broke our asses just as hard as any football practice I've been through (and the dance instructor was as much of a hard-ass as any coach). It was never enjoyable, but by the end of that semester I'd learned several new ways to stretch and gotten a new respect for the dancers.
Never did get a date, though. It's hard to look impressive when you're splayed on the floor like a wet rag.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:13 PM ^
one of our friends right out of college was a guy we fondly referred to as 'sick jim'. he'd played safety at a D-1AA school, and while not the brightest bulb on the tree, was a good guy and tougher than nails. he started ballet too, and he did the dates. and some more. and some more.
February 7th, 2020 at 9:02 AM ^
I actually almost dropped $800 to take my wife to this for her birthday, but then I realized I wasn't sure if she even wanted to go. The cost is just ridiculous.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:38 PM ^
I heard Michigan acting team beat MSU acting yesterday.
February 6th, 2020 at 8:58 PM ^
The wife and I saw it in Chicago a few months back. Really was great, but I do wish that I had listened to the soundtrack once or twice before I went. If I had one complaint about it, it’s that the lyrics can be a little tough to follow. Everything happens pretty fast and it can be tough to keep up since there are hardly any non-singing scenes.
Other than that, I really did like it. Tough to replace Book of Mormon as my all time favorite, but it’s up there.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:45 AM ^
I'd like to see Book of Mormon
February 7th, 2020 at 6:59 AM ^
Book of Mormon is absolutely HILARIOUS
February 7th, 2020 at 9:33 AM ^
Saw it in NY about 7-8 years ago. You can tell South Park has its fingerprints all over that musical, and in a good way. It was downright hilarious, edgy, and well-written.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^
If you read my later post re: Hamilton, I've seen only 3 musicals (not counting high school productions) in my life. But I was lucky enough to have also caught Book of Mormon recently. Amazing, amazing stuff.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:04 PM ^
We saw it in New York and then again on tour. It is good. And I agree, so much going on with the choreography and staging. But not in my top few musicals.