How is Hamilton holding up?

I was shocked to hear at the closing of ‘old friends’ in London a naive audience member was saying at intermission they didn’t realise that songs like ‘getting married today’ actually existed before Lin Manual Miranda (LOL). But it also made me think that it’s been almost 10 years since Hamilton debuted - that is enough time now to reflect on whether Hamilton’s themes and musical style have stood the test of time or feel outdated. Thoughts? Is Hamilton still cool?

Updated On: 1/7/24 at 04:07 PM

I was fully on the Hamilton bandwagon back in 2015 and I just saw it for the 19th time last month. The performances are still uniformly strong, and I still got emotional and excited at the right times. To me the one thing that seems dated is the costumes. In 2015 we were firmly in the grips of skinny jeans and big giant chunky boots style era. Yes I know the aesthetic in Hamilton come from the 18th century footwear style, but 18th century women didn't walk around in giant boots and leggings. Now that mom jeans are back in style, it does look "throwback."

As a high school teacher, when it comes up with my students, they only reference it as being on Disney+, and they are confused when I talk about going to see it live, asking why anyone would do that, etc.

The tour in Chicago is promoting its low prices which is never a good sign. And....shocker of all shockers, Hamilton is up on Hottix, which is Chicago's equivalent of TKTS. We are definitely a long way away from people saying "I only had to sit on the sidewalk for four days before I got tickets!" lol

chrishuyen said: "I don't think Hamilton has had as much immediate effect on musical styles as we might have expected (of course, many of those could still be in the pipeline). When there are fast talking songs in newer shows, those still feel like the more musical theater style patter songs rather than Hamilton-inspired rap style. And I still don't think there's really been as big of a crossover hit (or even one that comes remotely close) in the time since Hamilton happened."

I completely agree with this. 9 years post-Hamilton seems like the prime time for the emergence of shows inspired by it and, to the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been much.

I don't know that anything will come close to Hamilton-mania for quite a while, but I think it does definitely feel like we're kinda due for a "next big thing" (which to me would be something that can last a decade). If there was something in the pipeline that could do that, my bet would be Gatsby. But, the existence of Great Gatsby makes that less certain.

I saw the current sit down in Chicago and it was my first time seeing the show. The production on a whole - direction, etc - was great but the performance all felt lacking. The only standout to me was Eliza and Thomas Jefferson. It’s not an easy show and it just felt like most of the cast wasn’t up to the task.

I just saw on social media that the current leads of The Book of Mormon did a cameo at the Gutenberg! musical. Seeing them side by side next to Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, I was struck that even though it's been over 10 years, The Book of Mormon is still casting leads who look like the people who originated the roles.

To that point I last saw Hamilton on Broadway in January 2022. I really enjoyed but it was for sure not the same experience as seeing it during the first couple of years. With long running shows like Hamilton, Chicago, or Phantom of the Opera, you're basically seeing a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.

Really talented performers are putting their efforts into replicating the performance frozen in amber on Disney+. Financially what I'm saying is nuts but creatively the best thing for Hamilton would be to put the show on the shelf for 10 years. Then give a director with a fresh take the opportunity to reinterpret the material. Thomas Kail knocked it out of the park, but musicals need to be reinterpreted to stay vital.

Good on you for seeing it so many times. I think when the show shines it shines, but Act 2 feels endless to me.

I'm not sure if it's true, but Suffs feels at least partially inspired by Hamilton.

"As a high school teacher, when it comes up with my students, they only reference it as being on Disney+, and they are confused when I talk about going to see it live, asking why anyone would do that, etc."

This made me feel sad. Young people not getting the wonder of seeing a live performance of show. I don't think you can match the thrill of seeing a show in the moment in comparison to watching it on film. Heck, what do I know - ha ha.

Jonathan Cohen said: "I just saw on social media that the current leads of The Book of Mormon did a cameo at the Gutenberg! musical. Seeing them side by side next toAndrew Rannells and Josh Gad, I was struck that even though it's been over 10 years, The Book of Mormon is still casting leads who look like the people who originated the roles.

To that point I last saw Hamilton on Broadway in January 2022. I really enjoyed but it was for sure not the same experience as seeing it during the first couple of years. With long running shows like Hamilton, Chicago, or Phantom of the Opera, you're basically seeing a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.

Really talented performers are putting their efforts into replicating the performancefrozen in amber on Disney+. Financially what I'm saying is nuts but creatively the best thing for Hamilton would be to put the show on the shelf for 10 years. Then give a director with a fresh take the opportunity to reinterpret the material. Thomas Kail knocked it out of the park, but musicals need to be reinterpreted to stay vital."

LOL. Would you do the same for Book of Mormon? Wicked? The Lion King? When their grosses are not indicating they should close? Yes, it is nuts.

Updated On: 1/8/24 at 10:00 AM

RippedMan said: "Det95 said: "I've seen Hamilton four times: twice on Broadway (OBC, and the week of 9/14/2021) and both times it came through Detroit. Obviously I loved the OBC and when I saw it in 2021 I loved it again, but I really think that was because I weas caught up in seeing theatre again. Both times I saw it in Detroit it was like 'meh'. The last time it came through I went with some people who had never seen it before and in order to not ruin their experience I talked about how I was paying more attention to lighting design and other technical elements this time. I feel like Hamilton has entered the long running show phase where we get marking and people just going through the motions. I have no desire to see Hamilton again anytime soon, but can't wait to see Wicked for the 10th(?) time in a couple weeks."

I will say I had great admiration for the design/direction. The lighting alone is remarkable."

I don't disagree, but when I had to skirt around the performances asd talk about the lighting you know it wasn't a good performance.

Jefferson was the strongest, but it was mostly the vocals/acting that were lacking. Like the tour's "Wait for It" - great vocals but not great performance/acting - and same with the King George. His humor wasn't really connecting with the audience. Kind of felt like he was told to play it a certain way.

I think the show does not have the quality to stand the test of time. It feels dated and I think it is not written very well. It is hard to feel with any of the characters and some of them seem nothing more than filling material. The writing feels forced and tiresome and often feels like a parody.

The German production flopped and only ran for a few months. Some shows run for years over there.

Maybe it appealed to a certain American audience, and perhaps some people in the UK fell for the hype too, but I don't see it succeeding in any other country in the world.

Updated On: 1/9/24 at 07:42 PM

Does it really matter if Hamilton doesn't succeed in other countries like Germany? The show is about American history (and to a lesser extent British), so it makes sense the show might not connect with international audiences. It's still doing remarkably well on Broadway and the West End, and a UK tour recently launched.

I think that this show is doing very very well internationally. I think that Germany wasn’t the best place for this show to go to however. In Germany the bigger sellers are big flashy mega musicals. Musicals like Wicked, Lion King Phantom and more. Compared to those, Hamilton is very minimalistic.

It should be noted that, the show is doing an international tour now. And, when the show played in New Zealand, it wasn’t done in a theatre, it was done in an arena. Something that the international tour is doing for the second stop on its tour when it hit Abu Dhabi.



Photo of Hamilton at Spark Arena New Zealand.

Wasn’t sure how to embed a photo into the body of my post. But, that is a photo from a view from my seat.