Anyone OVER 'Hamilton' without even seeing it?- Page 2

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:01pm

HogansHero said: "Third, there is the first musical in well over a generation to warrant serious attention and interest. "

 

and Spring Awakening (the first time around)  and Memphis, and Hairspray, and Scotsboro Boys, and American Idiot, and Fela!, and Next to Normal, Grey Gardens, Drowsy Chaperone, Caroline or Change, Urinetown,..Producers, Wild Party,    (i'll just keep it the 21st Century)....

[UrNotAMachine]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:01pm

taboo123 said:

 Basically it's 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson'   set to rap music.   

 

Those two shows could not be more different if you tried. The tones, the weight of the stories, the quality of the score, etc. It's one thing to complain that the hype surrounding a show is overblown it's another thing to bash a show you haven't seen on the grounds of self satisfied contrarianism. 

 

[macnyc]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:04pm

Taboo, you're not qualified to compare Hamilton to anything if you haven't seen it, and your rapping is terrible. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:05pm

I was over it the minute I saw it.

 

 

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:09pm

"it's because no other show comes close to being what Hamilton is."

 

What baloney.

[evic]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:12pm

There is no other Broadway show  that has garnered this kind of attention. The last one was Book Of Mormon.  It is good for the industry in general.  I love the score  and everyone I know who has seen it has raved.  But I can wait 5 years to see it.  I have zero sympathy for the morons who buy tickets off of Craig'sList for hundreds of dollars and cry when they discover that they are counterfeit.  Don't they watch Judge Judy?

[Dave13]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:13pm

ljay889 said: "Dave13 said: "Bottom line. Most other shows are simply pure entertainment. Hamilton is entertaining and educational. I doubt another show has or will every be able to come close to it. "

 

 

 

A statement like this is what irritates people. So no other show in the rich history of American musical theater has come close to Hamilton? Really?  Showboat, Oklahoma, Gypsy, Fiddler, Cabaret, 1776, A Chorus Line, Company, Sweeney Todd just to name a few....you're saying those shows cannot touch Hamilton?? I understand Hamilton is a groundbreaking show, but I refuse to believe that it's the greatest show in the history of musical theater, a show that not even the classics can touch. I don't buy it. 

 

"

What distinguishes Hamilton from the rest of the shows you mentioned, is the impact Alexander Hamilton had in creating this country. The Alexander Hamilton story seems to be basically forgotten, as the Treasury decided to remove Hamilton from the $10 bill. Now it appears the Treasury seems to be back tracking from its decision to remove Hamilton from the $10 bill.  Did Hamilton the musical force the Treasury to change it mind? Possibly. It certainly didn't hurt. What Broadway musical has changed government policy or decisions? 

 

Also, it appears the timing of the Hamilton musical appears to be perfect given the fact it appeared we were almost erasing Hamilton from the history books. Now there is talk Hamilton will be produced as a movie. Not sure if it will be based upon the musical, or simply the biography. Nonetheless, the musical created this awareness of Hamilton. It will be a long time before Alexander Hamilton is "forgotten" again. 

 

Simply, I cannot think of another show that has had that much impact and its only the beginning. 

 

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:19pm

Believe me, old Alexander will be removed from the $10 Bill musical notwithstanding

 

Totally agree with ljay by the way.

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:19pm

Who says I'm bashing Hamilton?

 

I haven't seen it.

You're not getting the angle of this conversation.

What i'm saying is that it's Over hyped.   and this premise has been done before.

Everyone has their own speculation and taste in music,

I feel the Hamilton soundtrack (which I own and have listened to)  is quite repetitive and mundane.

Whereas I find Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson to be more melodic, tuneful and creative with catchy hooks and more variety in just 12 songs.   

Hamilton is 2 full CD's of the same tired sound- with more In the Heights vamps....

 

some people love it..   i don't.  and I am entitled to that opinion and taste.

 

But let's get back to the topic-  which is-   i am happy to see how many people are actually sick and tired of the onslaught of write ups on these theatre sites.  That have become a nuisance and bothersome, especially since a lot of these articles have nothing to do with theatre..  or the show itself.

 

 

 

 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:22pm

Of course the true irony? Adding to Hamilton's footprint with another thread.

[hork]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:24pm

I was over it at intermission, but stuck with it, only to get more of the same: actors rapping a history textbook while women dance around them in stripper-y colonial wear. It is very repetitive and mundane and it has no songs that are even half as good as anything from In the Heights (one of my favorite musicals). So I feel you. 

 

But Hamilton was never president. Was everyone just going to let that slide?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:30pm

Why do you keep saying "soundtrack," taboo123? It'll really help if you use the right terminology.

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:32pm

Because unfortunately when you get it at your local Target or Best Buy-   it's under soundtracks.

if they even carry it.

 

This is NOT the point of the conversation.    Yikes.     lol

 

 

Anyone ELSE over hamilton without even seeing it?

 

i think i'm just intrigued by marketing and studying how marketing can work or not work with a general consensus.  That's where I'm trying to decipher its process.   it's an interesting topic that really requires some good dissection because I wonder what other or future shows can do.   What I have sensed by many who've seen it is that the show is good and staged well, lit well,  but the music is so weak.  It's 'inventive' because wow woah.- there's rap on broadway-   but other than that.  it's not 'revolutionary' musically.  

 

   so what is striking the gold in terms of marketing ploys and tactics that are driving people into a frenzy?   or is it all just hype?  and too much of it... 

 

Updated On: 1/18/16 at 11:32 PM

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:37pm

Honestly I thought the only other musical to have gotten this much attention across regular mass media was RENT, unless I just completely missed everything else (which is quite possible since I don't pay attention otherwise). This was definitely the first time in the past ten years since I joined Facebook that anyone in my friends list mentioned a Broadway musical, as that industry has never been a blip in anyone's interests before.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:42pm

^^^ And a LOT of noise has to be made to reach that level of consciousness in contemporary American culture.

 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:45pm

It's not the marketing which feeds the frenzy.....it's the way people talk about it after having seen it.  

 

The show doesn't have to do marketing when word of mouth is as far reaching as it is for this show .

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:49pm

I was actually surprised to see bus ads for the show.

 

I just think in our media saturated culture people like us have to be overexposed to things in order to get them to even register in the minds of civilians.  It's the price we have to pay.  

 

The thing this time is that the show actually IS really good, not just good enough, like a few things that got talked into the ground shortly after opening...  defying the gravity of mediocre reviews.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 1/18/16 at 11:55pm

FindingNamo said: "The thing this time is that the show actually IS really good, not just good enough, like a few things that got talked into the ground shortly after opening...  defying the gravity of mediocre reviews."

 

That was wickedly funny Namo.... 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:19am

Really surprised it took 36 posts for someone to finally post something about the soundtrack / cast recording / album thing. Learn the terminology before posting or it'll be a hell of a ride.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:21am

Soundtrack = Movie

Broadway Show = Cast Album

 

That about does it.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:28am

taboo123 said: "What i'm saying is that it's Over hyped."

 

The disconnect is that you seem to be putting the blame on the Hamilton PR/marketing team, as though they send out a press release every time Lin tweets or sneezes, as opposed to BWW seeing all of these articles, following all of these Twitter feeds, etc., and tracking that every time they post them they bring in traffic, potentially raise the site higher in search engine results, and increase ad revenues.

 

I can't believe the Hamilton PR team is behind any of this, aside from setting up people involved with the show to do select media and interviews, which BWW will then run like it is a hurricane alert on CNN. So, the target of your ire is misplaced here. You are over BWW and every other theater site pushing Hamilton to a ridiculous degree. 

 

Whether you like or dislike the show has nothing to do with that hype (or shouldn't, at least), and should only reflect your taste or lack thereof, respectively, after you see (not listen to) the show.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:32am

FindingNamo said: "^^^ And a LOT of noise has to be made to reach that level of consciousness in contemporary American culture.

What's ironic is that despite following some things on social media, I very consciously block out noise from anything else I'm not actively following, including Hamilton. I reached over-saturation frustration levels with mass media rather early. I don't subscribe to any newspapers or magazines. I don't own a television. I use ad-block plugins and scripts very aggressively so I don't even see trends and recommendation things on either Facebook or Twitter. I surf with JavaScript and Flash disabled half the time to avoid everything else like website comments. The fact that mention of the show made it onto my Facebook friends list was 100% word of mouth.

 

 

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:42am

I'm not sure what's ironic about that.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 12:57am

FindingNamo said: "I'm not sure what's ironic about that."

 

Here's a refresher course for you...

 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 1:56am

taboo123 said: "HogansHero said: "Third, there is the first musical in well over a generation to warrant serious attention and interest. "

and Spring Awakening (the first time around)  and Memphis, and Hairspray, and Scotsboro Boys, and American Idiot, and Fela!, and Next to Normal, Grey Gardens, Drowsy Chaperone, Caroline or Change, Urinetown,..Producers, Wild Party,    (i'll just keep it the 21st Century)...."

are you not capable of appreciating the difference between this show and the ones you mention? I love a lot of the shows you mention, but Hamilton has pierced the national and international consciousness in ways that none of those shows even pretend to. Regardless of anyone's individual feelings about the show, in purely objective terms, nothing has resonated in the way this show has. A while back I went back year by year and it seems clear that the first arguable comparison is ACL, but it did not reach the same level of intellectual attention. I think the closest comparable is probably Fiddler. But to even mention the shows you offer is to truly misapprehend the nature of this beast.