Hamilton in Chicago — Page 6

I was surprised to get an email from Broadway in Chicago reminding me that there are lots of good seats for Hamilton still available. Maybe it will end up with a run similar to BOM?


I was surprised as well, tons of available tickets on the new months, even the cheaper ones.

I ended up seeing the show on a whim tonight. My parents had their subscriber seats and I decided at 7 PM to check Ticketmaster resale and found a ticket for $91 so I jumped on it. No complaints about a last minute resale ticket at that price but I sure was glad I had seen the show before. It was in the balcony row J and was right behind a pole. It was fine for me having seen the show and I was able to lean to see around it but I was very very surprised the ticket wasn't marked obstructed view. If I had gotten this ticket months ahead of time and paid the full price they're charging I would've been pissed. (I don't think any seats in the theater are less than $100 face value right?) Anyway it was not a big deal for me but just wanted to give you all a heads up that the balcony tickets behind poles do not appear to be marked obstructed view. You can avoid this by sitting in row H or below as the poles are in row I. I had never sat in the balcony of this theater and it is indeed very very high, but not as far back as Cadillac palace. Overall except the pole not bad. But I couldn't really see any faces in detail so I can't comment nearly as much on the emotion/performances.



I had been fortunate enough to see the show 8 times in New York (never paying more than face value) and this was somehow first time seeing it without Lin, Leslie, Renee, Daveed, and Christopher. I still loved the show but it was definitely an adjustment! I thought the Chicago cast was mostly very good but I suspect some of them are still settling into the roles.



Joseph Morales was our Hamilton in what I assume was his debut (although I don't know the alternate schedule so I guess he could've been on earlier this week). I have not seen Miguel of course, but I would not be at all concerned if you find out Joseph is in for your performance. I thought he was great. His rapping can use a little more work but his singing voice is great. And it's not as though his rapping was bad--it just isn't as poetic as Lin. He impressed me.



Joshua Henry is great in the powerful moments as Burr. His Room Where It Happens was great and I thought he was stellar in the "big moments" of Wait for It. But what is missing for me is the quiet moments that Leslie did so well. I didn't feel nearly as sympathetic toward him and he seemed more like a villain. But I think Leslie brought so much skill to the role in that regard that I doubt anyone will be able to do it quite as well.



Ari Afsar as Eliza was not my favorite. She has a nice voice but she doesn't have the softness and tenderness of Philippa. There were a few times when her voice sounded a little harsher and more spoken. Like when she is teaching Phillip to play piano she sounded more like she was speaking. And instead of doing the scream when he died she yelled the end of the counting thing which didn't pack as much raw emotion. Having seen both Philippa and an understudy in NY (who I thought gave a performance that rivaled Philippa's but whose name I'm now forgetting because that playbill is buried), she was not nearly as successful as either.



Karen Olivo is incredible as Angelica. I found her acting even better than Renee's. And her singing just as good. She would have another tony if she had originated the role on Broadway.



As as others have said, Lee is far better as Jefferson than Lafayette. His Lafayette just does not hold a candle to Daveed and the role seemed so much smaller. I'm not sure anyone will be nearly as good in that part as Daveed was. But he knocked it out of the park with Jefferson. Absolutely loved him in the second act.



Wallace Smith to me was the opposite. I thought his Mulligan was very strong. I still missed Oak (whom I thought was one of the most overlooked members of the OBC) but he did great. His Madison was meh though. He didn't make the sick and physically weak aspect come across.



Jose Ramos was very good as Laurens and Phillip. This is one where it's hard to say much being so far away. He seemed believable as a kid but I couldn't really see his face. He sounded great and I thought he is just as good as Anthony Ramos.



Jonathan Kirkland was very very good although this is another role where I just feel like Christopher Jackson IS the role, so it's hard to see anyone else in it. I had read some people commenting that it was weird having Washington look younger than Hamilton but that didn't seem to be an issue with Morales who looks very young. But again I was a long way away. His one last time was fantastic and he has a lovely voice. He is not nearly as physical imposing and statuesque as Jackson but I thought he did great.



Samantha Marie Ware as Maria Reynolds---DAMN she can sing. Great in Say No to This. Hard for me to say how she was as Peggy since I feel like it's very much about the facial expressions I couldn't see.



So in sum, the OBC can truly never be matched, but it's in great shape here in Chicago!!

Duplicate post but also it doesn't appear it worked. If anyone can tell me how to post a photo I can add it. :)

Updated On: 10/3/16 at 02:12 AM

luvcaroline said: "Excellent, ggersten! Please report back!"

This will be part one about things other than the performances.

So, my single ticket ended up being a "house seat" in Row F and the person seated next to me was in charge of lighting taking notes. Well, not too many notes. So, I got some insights into the Chicago production.

So, the stage deck is about 10-12 inches higher than normal. It is two feet narrower than the Rodgers but two feet taller. The lighting plot is the same plot as at the Rodgers. (And it will be the same plot in San Francisco and Los Angeles on the tour). The person was a little hesitant about the Private Bank Theatre when first looking at the stage, even telling the other technical people to come out early to make sure the show would work. This person's life is Hamilton for now (the person has been with the show since ithe off-Broadway run and they will be travelling and setting up the tour in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa and London.

The director, Thomas Kail, was in the audience last night. I didn't see him.

A primary focus for lighting on Sunday evening was to see how the haze was looking. And it looked great. I complimented about one particular lighting effect at the end of a song in Act One. Turned out it was one of this person's favorites but I was told the performer was not a fan, but that Kail insisted on it. And it was a very effective moment, which demonstrates how really excellent Mr. Kail is as a director. . There are 1200-1400 lighting cues in the show. Many cues - including Yorktown - are controlled by the musicians. (I know this is not a new thing - but interesting nonetheless).

They had three full runs in the theatre before the first performance last Thursday - and despite Broadway in Chicago's official position to its subscribers - these are definitely "previews" to examine and fix things. Besides the haze, there were a couple of cues that got missed or were late/early for which a note was made. I commented that Karen Olivo's face was extra shiny in the first half of Act One - whether from makeup or lights or combination. The lighting person agreed and made a note of it. Her face was much better in Act Two.

The lighting person also said that the view from the balcony is really good (I guess so long as you are not behind a pole) and that you can see everything - that's where this person had sat previously. Indeed, the person recommended those seats as excellent value!

Row F is about as close to the stage as you want to get. You cannot see the floor. I actually used one of the booster cushions. You don't miss any action - you can see to the back of the stage from it, but I'm guessing any closer and you start missing out on things. You see the effect of the revolves - but not the actual movement of the floor. You also don't seen any of the floor lighting effects.

The rest of my family was in Row U which were incredible full view seats. The seats were dead center. Where they were, there was an aisle behind them, so there was no one sitting behind them.

I almost bought a resale ticket for Row W on the Left Orchestra - but glad I didn't, because the restricted view really is restricted.

Updated On: 10/3/16 at 04:30 PM

One thing I noticed is that Hamilton has a distinct smell from the haze it used. Both times Ive seen the show on Broadway have been in lotto seats so I was closer to the stage. The smell here in Chicago is the exact same from New York. Just something cool I noticed.

I have a question for those who have seen it both in Chicago and New York. When we saw it at the Rodgers we were really impressed with the incredible sound quality, probably the best I have ever heard in any theater. Does the sound design in Chicago compare to that?

So does anyone have a sense of how the cancellation line works in Chicago?

When I was trying to get to NYC I had a really good sense of about what time of day I'd have to arrive in line to actually get tickets, but I don't yet for Chicago.

I have two tickets -- good seats -- for November. They're a surprise birthday present for my Hamilton-obsessed daughter, whose birthday is a few days before the show. I planned to be her +1, but her best friend finally just got MAJORLY into Hamilton and they are coming up with a plan to earn money for tickets (cheap/ nosebleed/ obstructed view seats) and take the bus out there themselves… they're pretty serious about it. So I'm leaning towards giving the best friend my ticket (their birthdays are a week apart so this would be quite the birthday trip for them) but of course I want to go!

This obviously is not a definitively answerable question, but wondering how likely it is that I could get a ticket as a single. (Be in the theater at the same time, but not next to them.)

Thanks!

Updated On: 10/5/16 at 11:12 AM

Jennabee said: "So does anyone have a sense of how the cancellation line works in Chicago?

When I was trying to get to NYC I had a really good sense of about what time of day I'd have to arrive in line to actually get tickets, but I don't yet for Chicago.

I have two tickets -- good seats -- for November. They're a surprise birthday present for my Hamilton-obsessed daughter, whose birthday is a few days before the show. I planned to be her +1, but her best friend finally just got MAJORLY into Hamilton and they are coming up with a plan to earn money for tickets (cheap/ nosebleed/ obstructed view seats) and take the bus out there themselves… they're pretty serious about it. So I'm leaning towards giving the best friend my ticket (their birthdays are a week apart so this would be quite the birthday trip for them) but of course I want to go!

This obviously is not a definitively answerable question, but wondering how likely it is that I could get a ticket as a single. (Be in the theater at the same time, but not next to them.)

Thanks!

"

I don't know where the cancellation line is - but last Sunday, we had three tickets but there were four of us. I watched the Ticketmaster space - but prices were higher than I wanted to pay. They didn't start coming down until Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, the venue did release a bunch of "premium seats" - and some of those were snapped up and immediately put up for resale for about $100 more than the buyer would have paid. I entered the daily digital lottery. But, what ended up happening, is I went to the box office about 1:45 (there was a 2 p.m. show) and asked for a single ticket. I was given a "house seat" row F for under $200. In part, I got the ticket because it was a single and easier to sell - but also because it was a "house seat" that was being held back. I don't know if there were any "singles" up in the balcony or mezzanine.

I was prepared to sit down at a cafe and miss the show or to buy a ticket in front of the theatre for cash just before curtain if one were available. But, it didn't come to that. You do have to be careful - though - as there are high prices beings asked for "limited" or "restricted" view seats. use the filter on Ticketmaster.

So, I guess I would trust in your inherent kindness and goodness to be rewarded by having you be able to get that extra single for that show.

What is the cancelation line like in Chicago? I'm heading over next weekend and wondering what my shots are... how early I should get in line...

I got to see Hamilton again this past Sunday and the show is already improving. This show is so layered that even on my 4th viewing I see things I have never seen before.



Joesph Morales is fantastic as Hamilton. Now that I have seen it with 4 different Hamilton's I can say that each and every actor has put unique aspects into the role that I have loved.



Johnathon Kirkland and Chris Lee are growing on me. Both have grown tremendously in the past 2 weeks. Ari Asfar also greatly improved in my opinion.



But the person that took my breath away this time was Joshua Henry.

Holy. SH*T.

Room Where It Happens grabbed me and took on a journey. It was so amazing and the best performance of that song I have ever seen live. I didn't feel this way the first time I saw the show, but yesterday. WOW.



Overall the show is growing and becoming better week by week. Joesph is fantastic as Hamilton, and Johsua Henry is giving it all on that stage.

Both times I have seen it in Chicago have been with cancellation tickets. If you have any questions about that just send me a message or post them here.

luvcaroline said: "Thanks for the update nightnic001! I'm very happy to hear about the development of the cast, especially Arii and Josh. We saw Joseph in New York (our one time seeing Hamilton), and we thought he was great. Can't wait for our visit in less than 3 weeks!"



I don't think Joseph ever went on in New York. I believe that you would have seen Miguel who is the full-time Hamilton in Chicago. Joseph is the alternate. :)

DOUBLE POST

Updated On: 10/10/16 at 07:24 PM