Hamilton Prediction

I stopped reading the Hamilton cancellation thread on BroadwayWorld after I was able to buy tickets the last time they went on sale. The waits had gotten to 3+ days and there’s no show worth losing that much time over. So: no. I was wasting far too much time reading about teenagers “choose to be homeless” to obtain tickets to a show. 

But last night, I was curious as to how the waits were now that 3 of the principal cast members (including the writer) were gone and I was shocked – sort of – to see that you could now, apparently, get in line the day-of at 6am and get tickets for the show that night. 

I’m starting to think that Lin-Manuel Miranda, lyrical genius as he may be, let Hamilton be more about him – as Lin-Manuel – than about Alexander Hamilton and that Hamilton, the show, without him won’t last anywhere near as long as we all thought – Decades? Centuries?! 

I think the market will soon be saturated. Everyone who has the means to see Hamilton on Broadway soon will have done so and ticket demand, as well as ticket prices, will start to go away. I mean, it’s already been filmed for mass consumption. The tour is starting soon, too (and it has a pretty bomb cast). 

I’m going to place my bets on Hamilton running a good 5 years. This is a fantastic run for any show on Broadway, including Hamilton (and they’ve also already recouped, so fuck it, right?). 

We will see, I suppose. 

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Rules were made to be broken. It is criminally insane that most of the orchestra was being sold for $849/ticket. As you can see, I did NOT buy those tickets. These are for February 1st and that’s 7 months away. I can opt to do the cancellation line at any point and sell these off, but in the case that I don’t (and that’s likely going to be the case because eff that), I have these. 

It will be totally tragic not to see certain members of the original cast, but having not seem them before, I won’t know the damn difference. 

Ticketmaster is currently crashing. Godspeed to one and all. 

Hamilton X’ion Line

Today, June 1st, was the day that @endotique and I were going to brave the cancellation line at Hamilton. She saw it in December and offered me one of her tickets, if she got in, but I felt bad because she had gotten there at 6am and I had been lazy, so I declined out of principal. Now I sure as fuck wish I’d said yes, but that is neither here nor there. Both of our significant others wanted to see it now, as well as myself, so we planned to grit our teeth and do the line. 

These plans were obviously canceled as we are both showered and at our jobs today and not dirty from having slept on the sidewalk last night. (Take my word for it.)

We kept track of the cancellation line thread on BroadwayWorld over time and as the date approached, we grew more apprehensive of attempting this. Was it really worth it? She’d said it was a really, really solid show. Like more solid than anything she’d seen in years. I’ve only heard the score and I thought it was super catchy. But was it worth a 24+ hour wait on the sidewalk? We questioned that. Hard.

We are seasoned at waiting in lines for tickets. In fact, it’s how we met. We met waiting on line for 10+ hours for front row seats to the final performance of Lennon (total Broadway hit!). That was different – it was the last show, the tickets were $25, and they were guaranteed. 

Anyway, the Hamilton cancellation line is a total shitshow. Line sitters, new rules from the theatre intended to cut down on line sitters which really don’t, animosity from other insane people on the line, and enduring this massive load of bullshit doesn’t even guarantee you tickets. People are lining up two days ahead of showtime. 

I’m sorry to break it to everyone but there is no show on earth, ever, that is worth living on the street for two or three days. I understand college students oftentimes have nothing to do for days on end during the summer, but come on. Get an internship or a job. Do something productive. Then you can afford tickets when more go on sale. And then there are all the out-of-towners asking if it’s “safe in Times Square overnight for a woman.” Apparently these people don’t know that Rudy Guiliani happened in the 90′s. 

I somehow missed the signal that more Hamilton tickets were going on sale when they released the last block, but I won’t next time. Sure, some of the original cast will be gone but I will never have seen them so I won’t know the difference.

This is just a word to the people considering this: don’t do it. You’re smarter than this. There are lots of other fantastic shows out this season – The Color Purple, or Fiddler on the Roof, for example. Go see those instead. Go see anything else because no show is worth a 48-72 hour wait on the street and if you think otherwise, please consult a neurologist ASAP. 

‘Hamilton’ hiring practices under fire due to discrimination

This has been the hot topic this week in the theatre world (you know, aside from how much blood is currently being used in American Psycho). My boyfriend found this link and sent it to me and immediately I shook my head.

This is simply poor wording on the part of (Bernie) Telsey & Co. Someone pointed out that Bright Star wrote “all roles are Caucasian” in their casting announcement but they weren’t receiving any flak (that show is also not the mega-hit that Hamilton so it’s not under the same microscope).

The difference is, I think, that Hamilton’s casting notice was exclusive of a huge group of people, while Bright Star’s announcement wasn’t telling any “NON-[Insert Ethnicity]” to audition. Bright Star was simply stating a fact: their cast is white, but feel free to waste your (and our) time and audition if you want to. 

Can I just point out that if you’re an actor auditioning for Hamilton and you’re white and you don’t already know that you’re not going to be cast as any of the leads, you’re doing your job [of staying knowledgable about the industry] poorly. Sierra Boggess isn’t trying to audition for The Lion King because she knows better. 

While it was in poor taste of Telsey & Co. to write a casting notice so horribly worded, I think the backlash they’re receiving is also due in part to White People looking for a reason, any reason, to play the victim and shout about how they’re being discriminated against when, obviously, they’re not. At all. It’s like when Christians scream about the War on Christianity. It’s not an actual thing.

Maybe White People can just accept the fact that not every show will need their talents, front and center, from now on. Otherwise, not that Bernie Telsey will actually read this, but I hope this “controversy” will make casting directors think about how they word future announcements.

‘Hamilton’ hiring practices under fire due to discrimination

A Visit to Hamilton Heights // Hamilton’s The Grange

After watching the Hamilton performance from the Grammy’s, I finally listened to the cast recording in it’s entirety on Spotify last week. The performance on the Grammy’s didn’t translate very well, but I’m pretty sure musicals don’t often translate well to TV. The score is very catchy, I’ll give it that. I noticed the same four to six musical themes being reprised over and over and it’s long, but it’s good. I think the lyrics are great.

I thought the story was really interesting and I knew Alexander Hamilton’s house was in Harlem so I convinced Justin, who is a history junkie, to walk up to 141st Street on Sunday after brunch and he was more than happy to oblige. Hamilton Heights still isn’t the best area in Harlem. The mile and a half walk from my apartment is only half questionable.  The City College campus, though, was on the walk up and it was gorgeous. The buildings are SO pretty. You can see one of the building’s behind the house below:

We walked up to the house and into the lower level. The next tour of the actual house wasn’t starting for about an hour, so we just walked around the ground floor exhibit which contained an exhibit about his life and everything he accomplished. The house was actually moved from it’s original site on 143rd Street in 1889 to 141st Street, but Hamilton owned a huge portion of Harlem – something like 32 acres. Across from his house is a statue of him in the courtyard of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. 

We hopped in a cab home afterward. It was a treat that’s so close to my apartment. I need to do more historical things in the city. Things like walking tours and stuff now that it’s getting nicer out. 

The Hamilton: A Gushing Review

I’ve talked about The Hamilton a couple of times already around these parts. It’s the new whiskey bar that has replaced The ‘Dam on Amsterdam between 109th and 110th. It’s cozy and the bartenders are Scottish and amazingly friendly. Mike, the owner, is incredibly funny and welcoming. He named this spot The Hamilton because Alexander Hamilton was of Scottish descent and he attended Columbia University.

It’s also CHEAP. Especially for brunch. Nothing is over $15 and each dish comes with a drink. So far I’ve tried to the dutch pancake (left), the shakshuka (middle), the biscuits and gravy, and the bacon & cheese burger. My boyfriend once had the egg sandwich and said it was great, so there’s that, too.

As previously mentioned, all of the food was being photographed by the chef’s friend (right), hence how I was able to try the burger.

If a blizzard hits this weekend, and I need to get out of the house due to cabin fever, you will definitely be able to find me here.

(No, this isn’t a paid post. At all. You could say I received a free ¼ of a burger for it, but not really.)

Hamilton & Hennessy

After the final performance of The Wild Party on Saturday night, a few friends and I headed over to Urbo on 42nd and 8th for a party celebrating Hamilton’s first week on Broadway, sponsored for Hennessy. There were fun drinks and fun people – and lots of dancing, oh, and a photobooth. 

The only person I asked to take a picture with was Jonathan Groff and when I asked him if my friend could take a photo, he said, “Oh here, I can take a selfie!” Below is the end result (and more photos after the jump!):

It was a fun night.