#1
Posted: 6/17/16 at 6:14am
Do you think it'll be a big hit over here? I'm psyched to see it, but there might be a bit of a cultural gulf.
#2
Posted: 6/17/16 at 3:57pm
The theatre will be full of Americans who cant get a ticket in the US (like Wicked and Mormon before it). The hype train will drag people along, and although it is a very American story it doesn't need much prep or knowledge of US history to "get".
#3
Posted: 6/18/16 at 12:44pm
I didn't care for it, at all. I'm not sure the very anti British thread running through it, will be very popular with UK audiences. I also think, hip hop will be a big turn off for many. And unless ticket prices are kept low ,(which is very unlikely) the younger audience will not be inclined to pay west end prices. But the unjustified hype and the tourists will no doubt keep it going.
#5
Posted: 6/19/16 at 5:33am
Well, I am British and certainly not a fan of hip-hop as such. But I saw Hamilton last November and LOVED it! The music is breathtakingly beautiful. The show's energy is electric and the story-telling through song is pretty much perfection. In almost 50 years of following musical theatre , it is one of the most incredible things I have EVER seen. I can see no reason whatsoever with why this should not be a smash hit in London.
THEATRE 2020: CURTAINS**** LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS***** WICKED***** KEITH RAMSAY TAKING NOTES WITH EDWARD SECKERSON***** KAYLEIGH MCKNIGHT CONCERT***** RAGS***** ON MCQUILLAN'S HILL** DEAR EVAN HANSEN***** THE JURY***
#6
Posted: 6/19/16 at 3:04pm
I hope I'm proved wrong, but not sure it will be a big a hit here, but will certainly run a few years as there's a year to build up the buzz so that the fans of the show will pack it out. Hip hop and rap aren't as rooted in our musical language as in the US so not sure we'll take to it. Have to admit to having to turn the CD off when I listened to it!
#7
Posted: 6/20/16 at 5:16am
Whilst the theatre fans (both from the UK and US) will go and see it here, you've got to ask yourself: "Would your neighbour go and see it?" Would Mrs Barnstable from Dawlish get the train all the way to London and go and see a hip-hop musical about a person no one has ever heard of that makes fun of the British? Probably not.
Nick Hutson
Co-Presenter/Producer
MusicalTalk - The UK's Musical Theatre Podcast
http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk
Updated On: 6/20/16 at 05:16 AM
#9
Posted: 6/20/16 at 9:50am
On the "would your neighbour get on a train to go and see it"- I can't imagine answering yes to that for any West End show!
I think it will do very well in London. I would never have imagined Book of Mormon to still be running (South Park not as big as in the States and content/language is fairly un-British).
#10
Posted: 6/20/16 at 1:21pm
Remember it's coach parties that keep shows alive in the West End.
So, I would argue that they'd go and see Mamma Mia, Phantom, Les Mis, Sunny Afternoon, Thriller Live and shows of that ilk.
Nick Hutson
Co-Presenter/Producer
MusicalTalk - The UK's Musical Theatre Podcast
http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk
#11
Posted: 6/20/16 at 3:39pm
Coach parties keep certain shows alive, but even they can't be relied on anymore (see Show Boat). No, it is tourists who keep thing afloat, and with American's unable to get a ticket at home, seeing in on a holiday to London makes perfect sense. I am always amazed at the neigh saying of "it won't work sell to the general public". It happened with Mormon, it happened with Harry Potter and Hamilton is no different. The hype train and tourist dollar will see it selling out for year. Shows which are aimed clearly at the cool teens to 30s crowd are few are far between, hence why Mormon can charge more than anyone else AND sell out. Hamilton is a guaranteed hit.
#12
Posted: 6/23/16 at 5:37pm
I see no reason why London will not adopt the show with the same (if slightly subdued) enthusiasm that they did "The Book of Mormon", which apparently we also weren't going to understand because we don't have a culture of Mormons here. Nonsense. Both shows are very entertaining and brilliantly crafted - Hamilton even more so. The argument that only American audiences will be able to watch a show about American history (and when I last checked I'm sure Britain was involved there somewhere) seems highly flawed to me too.
And it maybe marketed as a hip hop musical but the score owes as much to musical theatre (especially Les Mis) melodies as it does to advancing the narrative through rap. The audiences at the Richard Rodgers are certainly closer to resembling the crowds outside Rent back in the day than a Jay-Z gig. Though if anything it has a wider fanbase rather than a devicively narrower one. Personally I can't wait.
Updated On: 6/23/16 at 05:37 PM
#13
Posted: 6/23/16 at 6:34pm
Agreed. I love how people conveniently forget that Britain has a large stake in this part of history too. Also this idea that Americans were always fascinated by Alexander Hamilton's decision to establish a national bank, rather than enjoying it because it's framed with brilliant music/performances/staging and will continue to be done so in England. The coach parties aren't keeping BOM alive. As for 'anti-British' that's silly. It's anti-King George sure, but I think we can all recognize that he wasn't the best monarch. The worst that is said about the country is that it's a 'tiny island across the sea' which...it is. Americans get mocked just as much ('awesome, wow') and when the King says 'there's nobody else in their country' he puts the word country in air quotes.
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