What did you all really think to Hamilton?

[EachandEveryone]

Does it live up to its hype?

I saw it last night and it was lovely to see so many young in the audience. Its fab but im not convinced its the best think ive ever seen. The production was incredible and slick but it just went on a wee bit too long for me 😟. I understand im the only person in the world that feels like this😃

Big musicals fan here. Didn’t get it at all. Waste of £60 imo

As far as I’m aware, there isn’t one Enimem reference in the entirety of Hamilton. Notorious BIG, yes.

Anyway, the reality is we’re coming from polar opposite versions of one musical. I’m a public (ie state) school teacher in NY and think it celebrates diversity and gives kids in my school district sowmthing to aspire to. You think it’s wanky West End bollocks. We may both be right!

I just think its too long and i also think it must be a completely different experience on Broadway. People keep going on about the majority of the audience being white middle class can i ask you on broadway whats it like? And is it $100 plus to go and see it?

I can see why youd think it was too long if you just went and saw it without any prior knowledge, or interest in the history or the concept,
I saw it blind the first time, and I thought it was quite good, but I wish id listened to it a bit more first, because the second time, when i knew more of the songs, I loved it so much by then

Ive got the soundtrack and had it before and tbh I only ever listened to 3/4 as either I was busy or just found it too long. It’s on now and I’ve bought it for my mother for Xmas. It’s not the soundtrack per se it’s just the hype that made me feel abit let down. And it was bloody boiling in there.

Really really did not enjoy this. So dissapointed !!

Everyone was raving about it, saying I must listen to the soundtrack and then I’d get the hype and want to see it....so I did and Jesus weit what a load of total shite. Who the fuck wants to listen to 3 hours of bad rap? Just Beijing awful, really cringeworthy and embarrassing.
But I realise I’m in a teeny tiny minority.

I expected to hate it but loved it. Obviously my opinion doesn’t count though (old middle-class theatregoer).

Why would it be a different experience on Broadway?

Bigger production, in its home town, familiar recognisable cast, enthusiastic audience. Im just guessing.

I found it tedious overhyped and dull. Amazing cast. Duff libretto. Friends who are v cultured and in their 60s loved it and compared it to opera at its best. Horses for courses.

I've watched a recording of the original cast and listened to the soundtrack over and over, and now I feel like any other cast won't live up to it. Not because the actors won't be good but you get used to particular voices and mannerisms. Same with Legally Blonde.

Some people seem to lack some basics here

The reason for the very strict ticketing rules in the UK was due to the way in which the Broadway ticket system was manipulated and tickets being resold for as much as $10,000 a pop such was the level of popularity

During my performance there were LOTS of Americans who had flown to London to see it because it was cheaper to do so.

It's never going to have the same cultural impact here - due to Hamilton being basically an unknown figure in the UK though he was also uncelebrated in the US before this.

The racially diverse casting is also a bigger deal there as the US has the double legacy of slavery, and segregation whereas the impact of slavery was less great here and we never had segregation

Chris Jackson, a black man, played Washington a man who owned slaves.

Similarly for Daveed Diggs who played Jefferson

Now their lives are being told through black men accompanied by black music

These actors, from the top down are household names now in the US but were little known outside of Broadway.

We're a different country, it's not the same show here.

I had a bit of a chuckle about LMMs worries over his portrayal of King George III

It's like dude, a whole other playwright who was British already wrote a play literally saying he was insane - no one cares.

Thanks youve just clarified what i thought about it being a better show over there.

I do think it's a crying shame that as someone rightly pointed out the audiences have been predominantly white and middle class, unfortunately those audiences that would most benefit from experiencing Hamilton (in terms of that story being told that way) have been priced out particularly in the US but even in the UK

Thanks youve just clarified what i thought about it being a better show over there.

Same show, massively different context.

Come on now, it doesn’t matter what show it is live theatre has always been out of reach for ordinary families and people in general. It’s not a race thing. I only go when I either get cheap tickets and sit in the gods (anyone can access them) or Ive saved to get myself a good seat. I went to Hamilton as someone treated me. I’m white working class and broke

Though I too am poor and white it's a fact that BAME actors/roles are underrepresented in theatre and that Hamilton is doing something different

I was thinking again more in terms of America where the story is about a young man who arrived from the Caribbean with nothing; but the several thousand dollar price tag tickets exclude anyone not in the elite and as everyone is aware, the wealthiest Americans are majority white which is ironic given the point of diversity in Hamilton I suppose

I apologise if this thought is poorly expressed

You can only hope that they do school trips to the theatre or have special showings, they might do.

Members of the company went to do some outreach work at my niece’s school and they were allocated some tickets, so she went for free!

Also they have the lottery on the app so potentially you could get a ticket for £10. If I lived in London I’d apply every night I was free until I got one!

Tickets were £200 each when I looked! No way could I afford that.

Just popping on to add to the conversation about London theatre and the audience being mostly middle age, white and middle class. First thing to remember is that London has a lot of overseas visitors so many of the people you see at the theatre are not from the UK. So terms like middle class are snobby words being thrown around. It also totally depends where you sit. When I go with friends and it is a production we desperately want to see we pay for good seats in the stalls - that is more likely to be older people and white. If I go to see something on my own and I am unsure if I really want to see it I pay for cheap seats in the gods. Beyond a different experience - many many more young people, lots of languages, very mixed. Interesting behaviours too but we wont discuss that here. But what is lovely is how difficult it can be to get seats - so the London theatres are full. Went to see matthew Bourne in Liverpool this year - cheap seats as I had already seen it in London - the theatre was so empty. That made me very sad as the company was touring to avoid the "only" London label.

I went to Broadway earlier this year and didnt find the audience particularly mixed, apart from Whoopie Goldberg who got clapped and cheered. Poor love - we mostly ignore celebrities here who are in the audience.

Liverpool is ALWAYS packed out for a big musical like say Lion King or Wicked. I suppose things that are sure fire returns in terms of "Will I like this?"

I've also been to operas there well attended

But I guess the crowd that automatically goes to Grease and the crowd that automatically goes to Matthew Bourne don't necessarily intersect unless you're like me and love the theatre and go to anything

Really interested to read this. Big theatre fan, but not made it to Hamilton yet!

It wasn’t for me, was looking forward to it but left feeling a bit meh. Saw The Band a few weeks later and preferred it.

For those on the thread who are fans of the show I feel Duty Bound to draw to your attention the latest Hamildrop

Hamildrops for those not in the know, are in the main various different artists performing versions of the shows songs much like in the Mixtape

This months Hamildrop is a bit special

It's One Last Time performed by Chris Jackson and Bebe Winans only Washington's final words concluding his Presidency are read by Barack Obama poignant