Hamilton in San Francisco — Page 4

A lot of seats just opened up for this Thursday. After seeing it on Broadway, looking forward to seeing this one again.

Call_me_jorge said: "With all these seats opening up at lower prices than expected, do you think the Hamilton team overestimated how much people in San Fran would pay for the show?"

I don't think that's what that means at all. The production usually holds most, if not all, of the tickets for opening night for the company's family, friends, invited guests, local celebrities etc. It's not that uncommon for them to later release tickets that have gone unused.

As for the days other than opening night, available tickets are few and far between, and largely in the same couple of rows. They're likely house tickets that haven't been claimed or tickets that were otherwise being held by the production or venue. This show is having no problem filling seats, even at these outrageous prices and I have no doubt they'll continue to do so for the duration of the run here.

BroadwayMomma said: "Yes, the $500+ tickets and $800+ that don't sell are eventually getting reduced to $196 either the day before or on the day of the performance. These are center orchestra seats -- amazing seats. You have to be checking pretty regularly though so you don't miss the window where they get reduced. For example, both performances for tomorrow (Sunday) currently have $500+ center orchestra seats, but they will get reduced at some point today or tomorrow if they don't sell. Now, this might only hold true for preview performances, but we'll see.



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Thank you! So I have already purchased 6 tickets at the $524 per seat price during the public sale...if I want to try for these newly released seats, do I need to have a friend or family member purchase them with their credit card because of the household limit? Or could they use our credit card to buy the tickets? I would gladly return my purchased seats if I could snag lower priced seats earlier in the run, but I am pretty sure that I can't return them, or can I?. Are the last minute tickets available at Will-Call only, and who would need to pick up the tickets, the credit card holder or the SHNF account holder?

"Thank you! So I have already purchased 6 tickets at the $524 per seat price during the public sale...if I want to try for these newly released seats, do I need to have a friend or family member purchase them with their credit card because of the household limit? Or could they use our credit card to buy the tickets? I would gladly return my purchased seats if I could snag lower priced seats earlier in the run, but I am pretty sure that I can't return them, or can I?. Are the last minute tickets available at Will-Call only, and who would need to pick up the tickets, the credit card holder or the SHNF account holder?



"

I doubt they'll let you cancel your previously-purchased tickets. And, yes, my husband had to show his ID at will call. Good luck!

Updated On: 3/19/17 at 05:46 PM

aEnigma7345 said:
Interestingly, I would have loved to see his interpretation of Aaron Burr. He would have been the first white guy to have a lead male role in Hamilton too! Thayne Jasperson went on as John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton, Carleigh Bettiol went on as Eliza, and Amber Ardolino recently went on as Peggy/Maria Reynolds, but Vasquez would have been the first white guy to have had a starring role in Hamilton!

Actually Ryan Vasquez and Carleigh Bettiol are only half white. The other half would be Hispanic. Also, Vasquez is a Hispanic last name :)

True, but King George III has been the only main role in Hamilton that is reserved for a Caucasian actor. Though Jin Ha (Korean American) has also played King George III on several occasions in Chicago.

Interestingly, Javier Munoz was actually an understudy for King George at one point before taking over the role of Hamilton!

as for Ryan Vasquez, he's Caucasian looking and could pass for white. Same for Carleigh Bettiol. I am aware that Vasquez is a Spanish name (I think Colombian if I recall) and ethnically he probably identifies as Hispanic. But unlike most of the Hispanic actors who've had lead roles in Hamilton, Ryan has a far more Caucasian appearance. It would be interesting to see his take on Aaron Burr (or even Alexander Hamilton) to see how it shapes the perception or dynamic of the show. But...he seems far more suitable to be King George III.

He is dating Solea Pfeiffer (who is Eliza in the SF production) it seems, judging from their instagram pics and Facebook profiles. So it seems like a combo package.

I think I am the President of the Unofficial Ryan Vasquesz Fanclub! lol. I might be busting his chops, but I kinda like the guy. He is the Great White Hope. Kinda like that athletic white guy on the basketball or football team who has real skillz (though that honor probably goes to Thayne Jasperson, lol). I've always joked to my friends that Hamilton the musical is like the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team.

Updated On: 3/19/17 at 08:03 PM

Thanks for your thorough review, conealpetterson.

I don't think anybody is going to compare to the original cast. They are just perfect, especially their chemistry. And they just defined their roles; all the subsequent actors will have to live up their legacy. It's difficult to replicate Daveed Diggs b/c he just brings such a unique angle to his role as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Plus, Diggs is a master rapper. He can bust those rhymes like nobody's business. Just trying to rap Guns & Ships is a difficult feat and one that takes exceptional skill. Diggs is a master of the wordplay.

Daveed Diggs is a character and he makes Thomas Jefferson likable, even if he is a villain of sorts in Hamilton's eyes. I wouldn't necessarily define his Diggs as threatening or menacing, but definitely conniving and knows how to get under Hamilton's skin. He is the biggest lost of this show, imho.

thanks all for your reports on the preview nights

this cast is fantastic and im excited to get back soon-all the available seats opening night are suprising

hi tsarles

if youve never seen hamilton and have theatre binoculars i would consider moving to rear mezz center for best line of sight full stage view and sound quality

its always a personal bias of mine to be closer than farther and if you like to see the actors expressions and dont have binoculars orch m is your only choice as the mezz/loge starts way back over the far rear orch

my friend in partial obst seats said sound on the sides was great and they did not feel they missed anything critical to the show with the severe sode views

I saw the show on Saturday with my daughter (our second time, as I saw almost all of the original cast last year, sans Lin and Oak, in New York City). I had better seats this time, center orchestra in Row P, and noticed little things (hand movements by the dancers, facial expressions) that were hard to see from the rafters at the Richard Rodgers.

I went into the show determined not to compare the touring cast, at the beginning of their second week performing together, with the Broadway cast that had been together for well over a year. But the comparisons were tough to avoid, in part because seeing Hamilton with a new cast, who have varying levels of experience in the show and approach their roles a differently, does alter it in noticeable ways. For someone seeing it for the first time, I doubt this would affect their experience. The company is excellent, the music sounds the same (a legitimate concern given the much larger size of the Orpheum). It's the same, outstanding show.

The first thing that seemed different from the outset is that Aaron Burr dominates the show even more than on Broadway. My daughter and I both said after the show that it could easily have been called, "Burr." Leslie Odom Jr. played Burr as tightly-controlled, cautious and guarded - and therefore a bit untrustworthy - even in lighter scenes. He exuded intelligence, but was surrounded by other geniuses and knew it. Joshua Henry is a more relaxed Burr. He's more charming and seems smarter than everyone else on stage, even Hamilton and especially Jefferson. As someone else commented, your eyes just naturally follow him, even when he's quiet. I have seen Henry once before, in Shuffle Along on Broadway, and recall reading gripes that he didn't get a big song of his own in that show. And now I understand the complaints. He nails Burr's big songs, along with the underrated "Dear Theodosia" and his part of the final duel. His "The Room Where it Happens" showstopper really does stop the show, and got the biggest ovation of the night by far. I'm still partial to Odom's version, which was my favorite all-time moment at a musical, but Henry is outstanding. I doubt I will see two Burrs as good as Odom Jr. and Henry.

Henry can hardly be faulted for being so good, but his presence does tip the scales in the show. By making Burr even more captivating and sympathetic, he becomes the tragic hero of the musical in a way that even Odom - who played Burr colder - did not.

This creates some issues. Michael Luwoye isn't bad as Hamilton and makes some interesting choices to play him as an angry, young man. His retorts in the Cabinet Battles, especially in the second one, are less mocking than infuriated. He gets right in Jefferson's face, yelling at him. Luwoye makes for a less charming Hamilton overall, though he does well in "Farmer Refuted," a song that always works better in person. He is a good rapper with a powerful singing voice, which shows up nicely in "Hurricane," but "It's Quiet Uptown" left both my daughter and I a bit cold. His interactions with the Schuyler sisters and Maria Reynolds don't have the snap to them that they should, although in fairness, his interactions with all three actresses are probably a work in progress.

Emmy Raver-Lampman's unique hairstyle is very cool, and she sounded a lot like Renee Goldsberry's Angelica (remember, the look is supposed to be modern from the neck up), only without the latter's ability to maintain the vocal power during all of "Satisfied." She closes it with a flourish, though, that put her own stamp on the song.

Solea Pfeiffer got off to a weak start as Eliza, and her voice was overwhelmed by the orchestra and the backup singers during "Helpless." But then she settled in, nailing all of Eliza's ballads and ending the show beautifully. She's ridiculously young, 21 or 22, and I suspect she has a bright future either as Eliza on Broadway/London or in other musicals that show off her lovely voice.

I'm going to stick up for Amber Iman here. I'm as much in love with Jasmine Cephas Jones' voice and performance on "Say No to This" as the next guy, but Iman has a lower voice and even plays Maria a bit differently (less femme fatale, more a little disturbed). My daughter loved her take on Maria even more than I did, and we agreed that she was a total delight as Peggy. Iman made the audience laugh several times as Peggy, and she seemed to be a gifted comic actor.

Isaiah Johnson doesn't have Chris Jackson's imposing height as Washington, and he is clearly more comfortable when singing than acting as of now. (He lets Luwoye's Hamilton dominate their argument scene too much, answering too timidly at first.) But he's got a wonderful, soulful voice that brings home "One Last Time" very effectively. He's another young actor who should only get better.

Ruben Carbajal hits the ground running as John Laurens and is almost as good as Philip in the second act. He was one of my favorites and seemed like he had been playing the role for months, not days. Very impressive.

Josh Andres Rivera, an understudy playing the role for the second night, did fine as Mulligan/Madison. No mistakes.

Oh, the Lafayette/Jefferson part. The lingering memory of Daveed Diggs is difficult to escape. Jordan Donica recently played Raoul in Phantom on Broadway, but those skills don't really translate to this role. He was charming early on as Lafayette, but when the part gets impossibly hard, he struggled holding a French accent while keeping up his rap. (He held up better on the latter than the former.) As Jefferson, he got off to a good start, but he failed to walk the tricky tightrope of making the future president both ridiculous and extraordinarily intelligent. Too often, he seemed a little silly. Jefferson doesn't seem like a worthy foe of Hamilton, much less Burr. It throws off the balance of the second act.

The tendency of the show to play a bit sillier is emphasized by Rory O'Malley, who tries too hard to milk the laughs that are there when you're playing King George.

A few other notes: Some of the staging is a little different, and they move some things center stage, probably to accommodate folks in the side orchestra seats. (Example: Angelica isn't at the top of the stairs during most of her part of "Take A Break," so more people can see her.)

For all my quibbles, though, it was fascinating to see different takes on the roles, to watch actors literally improve during a show, and to see budding stars nail their parts. I'm planning to go back in a couple of months, and it will be interesting to see how the San Francisco version of Hamilton has evolved.

Updated On: 3/21/17 at 06:30 PM

bear88

great to read a thoughtful knowledgable and nuanced review-very nicely done!!!

i live joshua henry yet i felt michael lewoye held his ground well in the two shows i saw. agree completely that if henry is too dominant it shifts balance of the show

i forgot the part about lafayettes accent shifting from french to austrian about half through guns & ships

i think he will continue to get better but daveeds may be the hardsst shoes to fill with this cast

I can do that. PM me