Mildred Plotka said: "They're filming it so that there can be a thread on here every couple of days for the next 10 years asking when it is coming out.
"
You always crack me up Mildred!
Jordan this thread will have reached 5,000 posts and be locked.
Oh, I have absolutely no doubt this thread will have spiraled into something completely horrific and be shut down by the mods by the time this gets released.
To say that Hamilton has a shorter shelf life than Phantom is breathtaking: so you think American History will no longer be relevant in a decade? Let's hope you are wrong.
To say that Hamilton will be dated in a decade is also breathtaking in its misapprehension of the extent to which rap and hip hop represent the soundtrack of a generation. In a genre that, until lately, has been largely dependent on people who grew up on incredible dated show tunes, it is quite laughable as a suggestion that people a decade from now will have moved on from the musical sources of Hamilton any more than I have moved on from Euro synth pop as my go-to music when I need cheering up.
By the time this is released, Streisand will have released another broadway album where she sings "The Schuyler Sisters" with Julie Andrews and The baby that Audra is currently pregnant with.
Hogan = to conjecture about HAMILTON's longevity depends on putting a finger on why the show has become such a sensation in the first place. To do so concisely would be impossible, but I don't think its because audiences have suddenly embraced American history. I frankly don't think it has to do with its score either; though its 'freshness' is indeed a temporary selling point. HAMILTON's success is one of a perfect storm of events, the culmination of I think could summed up by the statement: HAMILTON represents (and reflects) perfectly the times and issues of 2015-2016. Not 1778. And not likely 2025. So yes, I think the fuel that is blazing underneath it could potentially die down at a rate that seems inconceivable give the hysteria surrounding it at the moment (and I do mean this moment as in I think this week is the show's absolute pop culture zenith).
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
Note what I said ("not a huge public interest" and what you said ("a heightened interest". 20 million people are not going to see the film for LMM, even less so in 5 + years, but they might for some star.
I guess it depends on what you mean by "huge public interest in the OBC" because relatively speaking, this has certainly been huge in respect to public interest in any OBC.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Well an enormous amount of the gargantuan publicity for the show has certainly centered around the writer who is the star of the show. Linn's triumph in that dual role has really been the news story.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
Shows with "dated" music are still being produced constantly – Shuffle Along, Motown, for example – presumably because people still have the capacity to enjoy music that is not currently mainstream. So the argument about whether songs being "dated" would detract from people enjoying them isn't entirely valid.
But even that said, the idea that Hamilton's score will be passé in a decade is based on the flawed assumption that it's comprised solely of what's in vogue now. It isn't. Even putting aside the British invasion elements and the more traditional songs, a lot of the hip hop is inspired by what Lin-Manuel Miranda grew up with. Its iconic My Shot takes most of its cues from songs released in the late 80s to mid 90s, not the early 2010s. It's hard to believe sometimes that 1990 was 26 years ago, but that's how it stands; some of the cast weren't even born yet when the Notorious BIG released Going Back to Cali ("It's the, N-O, T-O, R-I, O / U-S, you just, lay down, slow" – seem familiar?). The whole conceit of Jefferson's first song is that it's in the style of 80s musicians like The Time and Prince (because he "basically missed the late 80s", because he missed the evolution into the ultra-modern 1990s style of the others. To be sure, there is influence from more recent musicians as well, but Hamilton as a whole is far from a replay of the current top 40.
So given that we seem to have no problem relating to rap and hip hop from more than 20 years ago, I'm pretty sure Hamilton's not going to have a problem with its sound 10 years from now. Only about 60% of the songs are comprised in majority of rap anyway – I counted. Others (The Story of Tonight, Wait for It, Burn, etc.) have roots in even older models of songs, but they don't seem in danger of losing the attention of audiences either.
Hamilton Emotional Support Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamiltonsupport/
@Alice@Novack, with all due respect I don't think either of you is understanding but you are entitled, obviously, to your opinions.
@Matt, I think the interest is huge relative to the typical interest in musicals in this country (=virtually non-existent), but I was referring to the broader market for a big budget film. I think if you get away from New York, and away from people who have an interest in the theatre generally, you will find that the overwhelming majority of people who have heard of Hamilton do not know who Miranda, Odom, Diggs, Goldsberry, Soo etc are. They would know who Bruno Mars is, however.
@Hogan I wasn't directing my comments towards you, I honestly haven't read any of the lengthy post in this thread but there seems to be a lot of discussion of the score being dated which I don't agree with.
Hogan- there really isn't anything to disagree on right now since it's all conjecture. Maybe Hamilton will still be going strong in 20 years or maybe it will be a situation like The Producers which ran through its pop culture hysteria much quicker. There is certainly no disagreement in that it will go down in history as one of the most successful Broadwy musicals of all time.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
@Novack, I read what you wrote above to suggest that you thought the show would be dated for non-score reasons; that's right, no? If it is, then I am simply saying I don't think you understand why that's not the case, while at the same time making sure to add that no one knows.
@Alice, it seems I am in agreement with what you say immediately above. We just have different conjectures.
I think it's just as foolish if not more so for you to assume that it won't at some point in the vast future of mankind become dated than it is for me to assume that it will, for score reasons or otherwise.
I do agree however that it is all conjecture/no one knows, and thus everyone has a right to his or her own theory. Until it runs its course no one is right or wrong.
Mr. Nowack said: "I think it's just as foolish if not more so for you to assume that it won't at some point in the vast future of mankind become dated than it is for me to assume that it will, for score reasons or otherwise."
I never, and would never, suggest that the show may not become dated at some point in the future. In fact, I have frequently said that I think we are off-base when we declare any show that was new within the lives of those still alive to be a "classic" and I would take the same position as to Hamilton. What I said was in the context of the discussion-the 10/15/25 years that might pass before a movie is released. This too is my opinion, but I do not believe Hamilton will be dated within those time frames, the longest of which would be at a time that current college graduates would still be approaching their prime theatre-going years.
off-base when we declare any show that was new within the lives of those still alive to be a "classic"
...so no show Sondheim, Kander & Ebb or Bock & Harnick ever wrote is a classic? West Side Story and Gypsy aren't classics? hell 3 of those 5 guys are still alive!
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
I have my own various theories but I too think that the 10/15 year timespan is much smaller than the amount I am thinking. Half a century at the very very earliest.
gypsy101 said: "...so no show Sondheim, Kander & Ebb or Bock & Harnick ever wrote is a classic? West Side Story and Gypsy aren't classics? hell 3 of those 5 guys are still alive!"
Correct-I don't think we can intelligently prognosticate what will endure any more than our ancestors could. As great as we might think work by those five is, how it will be viewed 100 years from now is anyone's guess.