The Thread for HAMILTON Fans/Obsessives [SPOILERS AHEAD]

I think people are using the Hamilton review thread for discussion about the show.

Anyhow...

I liked the show very much. I've seen it 4 times and while I think it's a great new musical, I never for once thought it was groundbreaking or a game changer. At least not artistically.

Fun show though. Hope it does well come Tony time.

My name doesn't mean much. I couldn't think of a profile name and Hamilton was the first thing that popped in my head so I chose that. Not strange at all really

And no I don't think it's a game changer, artistically speaking. It's a very good and infectious show, but it did not (in my opinion) present anything that we haven't already seen before. In fact, I found it to be very similar to shows like Les Mis.

As I've said before, if there's one recent show that I do think presented new ideas of what Musical theater can be and can do, it's Fun Home.

Hamilton, not so much.

Updated On: 8/21/15 at 12:16 AM

What I've realized about Hamilton is that so many of the songs would be believable as music released by major artists today. From the start, I knew the music was modern, but it's just starting to click how similar it is to current pop music. Wait for It sounds like a pop song that could be sung by anyone, The Schuyler Sisters sounds like a Destiny's Child song (or any late '90s/early 2000s girl group song), Satisfied has very Beyoncé-esque lyrics, and any rap done by Lafayette feels like a Busta Rhymes song (I think I remember reading that LMM saw Lafayette as being a Busta-like character).

In the Heights is a retelling of Westside Story or Romeo and Juliet in modern day story fashion. Hamilton is nothing more than an almost 3 hour Schoolhouse Rocks version of what happened with Hamilton and Burr. nothing ground breaking or brilliant there.

brdway411 said: "In the Heights is a retelling of Westside Story or Romeo and Juliet in modern day story fashion."

Say what now?!

"Hamilton is nothing more than an almost 3 hour Schoolhouse Rocks version of what happened with Hamilton and Burr. nothing ground breaking or brilliant there."

How did you manage to pick the one element that Lin didn't invent (what actually happened), and turn that into the whole of why it isn't that great?! Not that I would even agree with your assessment, since I don't recall ever thinking Schoolhouse Rock was bringing history to vivid life, and retelling an old story in a way that made it seem completely present, modern, and engaging.

Just the notion of an 832 page biography of a Founding Father being the source material for the hottest show on Broadway, commanding $352/seat for nearly a third of the orchestra, hundreds of people lining up for lotteries just to get in... that is crazy enough. And then once people get over all those hurdles to get in, they can't wait to go back again!

I guess it is easy to be dismissive and reductive in hindsight, but just the notion that it does exist seems to be sort of miraculous.

That said, I don't think it can change the future of Broadway since it is a very singular experience. Only Lin would read a bio of Hamilton, see him as the same light as a the gangster rap artists he grew up on, which then refits all of history into rap battles and all of these other new forms onto old archetypes. With dozens (hundreds?) of nods to the history of rap and the history of musical theatre thrown in, as well. Not to mention casting a bunch of slave owners with people of color, which sort of makes it alive and new in a different way.

If most people tried to do a third of that, they would likely fail and it would be an awkward mess. Lin somehow did it all, and flawlessly. All while being one of the most grounded, humble, self-effacing people I ever met... and while being one of the biggest champions of Broadway out there, turning the lottery to his own show into a celebration of the form of musical theater itself, with guests turning up to put spins on songs from Les Miz, Spring Awakening, and others, just to thank people for supporting his show.

"Hamilton is nothing more than an almost 3 hour Schoolhouse Rocks version of what happened with Hamilton and Burr" doesn't read to me like the show is great. heh.

Hamilton22 said: "But does it really matter if someone didn't think Hamilton was great? "

No, lots of people have silly opinions on here.

Wanna know what's groundbreaking?

The degree of myopia some exhibit in this thread. As I have said elsewhere, talking about what is groundbreaking or game-changing in the relative present tense is just ignorant. By definition, those terms require looking back from some remove. And as I have said, those terms are poorly chosen when applied to art because art evolves, rather than falls off a cliff. But to focus on elements rather than the whole of Hamilton is to miss the forest for the trees.

If Hamilton proves to be game-changing, it will not be because of the minutiae of its elements. Rather it will be because of its overall intelligence and particularly the integration of that intelligence across every department. Wouldn't it be nice if the biggest effect of Hamilton is what it says to those creating musicals now and in the future? Do better, work harder, make something meaningful rather than just something designed to make money. Because if you do you will succeed.

It bothers me that people feel they have to pit Hamilton against Fun Home. Why not celebrate that we have two intelligent new pieces of musical theatre running simultaneously? When was the last time we could say that?

HogansHero, you've been pitting Hamilton against WSS, Gypsy and many other musicals since the day I got here. Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?

To my knowledge I haven't pitted Hamilton against Fun Home. Saying one show has more developed themes and content that isn't very widely seen in Musical theatre, isn't a diss to Hamilton. They are both great shows and comparisons will always be made between shows like these.

As I said earlier, Hamilton is a good show that speaks for itself. It doesn't need you coming to defend it at every second.

Some people don't think Hamilton is game changing. Some don't even think it's good. Who cares.

Updated On: 8/21/15 at 10:40 AM

Hamilton22 said: "Some people don't think Hamilton is game changing. Some don't even think it's great. Nothing wrong with that. "

At the very least, wouldn't those people be in the wrong thread?!

I don't think Hamilton is great, I think it is good. I stick with my 3 hour Shcoolhouse Rock statement.

And as far as In the Heights. I am sorry I misquoted Forbidden Broadway. It's WSS Light.

Updated On: 8/21/15 at 11:20 AM

Father doesnt like boyfriend, Check

Someone dies, check

Friends help get the couple together, check.

it's a slightly different story but there is some WSS in there.