Kennedy Center Honors '18

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 12/2/18 at 10:43pm

According to reports, the Schuyler Sisters reunited to perform for the Hamilton quartet getting their honors tonight.  Christopher Jackson, who is on a CBS show (the network that airs the honors), also performed.

Kristen Chenoweth performed for Reba, and Adam Lambert and Cyndi Lauper performed for Cher.  The show airs at the end of December.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:13am

Seems odd to not have THE CHER SHOW perform for Cher, no? The schedule for Opening / press performances probably prevented it.

THRILLED to hear the original three sisters reunited to perform. Looking forward to it!

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:17am

Why do the Hamilton peeps keep getting awards they lowkey don’t deserve. I mean you create one hit show.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:41am

GreeneStreet said: "Why do the Hamilton peeps keep getting awards they lowkey don’t deserve. I mean you create one hit show."

I agree that a Kennedy Center Honor is way tooooo much.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:36am

The Kennedy Center Awards used to be given to honor a full career of a widely celebrated and beloved talent. Lin is certainly talented- and in twenty years, might be worthy of this type of career honor- but at this point, Kennedy Center  is clearly honoring the ratings it think it will get as a result of picking a popular cultural force- a departure from the norm and - in my opinion- NOT deserved at this point in his career. Would rather have seen Dick Van Dyke- or Betty White get it.

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 2:33am

IdinaBellFoster said: "Seems odd to not have THE CHER SHOW perform for Cher, no? The schedule for Opening / press performances probably prevented it."

Why do that as opposed to celebrities?

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 2:36am

BWAY Baby2 said: "The Kennedy Center Awards used to be given to honor a full career of a widely celebrated and beloved talent. Lin is certainly talented- and in twenty years, might be worthy of this type of career honor- but at this point, Kennedy Center is clearly honoring the ratings it think it will get as a result of picking a popular cultural force- a departure from the norm and - in my opinion- NOT deserved at this point in his career. Would rather have seen Dick Van Dyke- or Betty White get it."

But you're making up that Lin is getting it for his career, which isn't true. Lin, Kail, Lacamoire, and Blankenbuehler all got "a unique Kennedy Center Honor as "trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category." So, it's sort of like giving out a special Tony, etc., it isn't the same thing exactly...

 

[HugoP]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 6:10am

The Kennedy Center Honors are one of the highlights of my year, and have been, well, forever.    I think acknowledging an individual work like HAMILTON is smart, relevant and very deserved.  I can't think of any other individual work that has had such an impact on so many aspects of our culture.    And the fact that the show deals with matters of great importance to the past, present and future of our country-- and the wonderful way it has engaged so many new audiences in Broadway, history and musical theater-- make it an ideal 'special' honoree for the Kennedy Center award-givers.   Yes, it's like a Special Tony, and I'm glad they thought of it.

And, for the record, I'm not one of the HAMILTON superfans, just someone who appreciates the quality of the work and, even more, its importance.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 7:23am

Hamilton is getting the award for ratings. That’s all.

[JBC3]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 10:18am

Hamilton receiving a KC honor violates the entire history and tradition of the institution and the awards.

And the further away we get from Hamilton's opening, the less I think it was as groundbreaking and Earth-shattering as seemed to be the consensus at that time.

It is an excellent show, but upon close examination I do not think it is that much more of a trailblazer or norm-defier than other musicals at different point's in the form's evolution.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:37pm

Hamilton is very lucky it happened in the age of social media. Hamilton seems more about the goal of getting hard to get tickets than anything else at this point.

Much like Rent, people will finally start to examine its flaws a few years down the road. The inevitable copy cat musicals we will see won’t do it any favors either.

[JBC3]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:46pm

^ Bingo!

[aj88]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 12:58pm

I also agree that the HAMILTON selection is more for ratings and even then, I'm not even entirely sure how much ratings they will manage to pull in.

It's not like they did this for other big buzzed musicals like A CHORUS LINE or RENT.

I do feel like it's a shame that the fifth slot was replaced at the expense of a legend.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:01pm

I love me some hamilton, but I agree with the other posters, this would be a great award mabye 20 years down the road, but right now I don’t think they should be getting one so early, (yes I know it’s a special award, but still).

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:19pm

So I suppose Springsteen’s special Tony was just for ratings too? Sheesh...

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:31pm

I'll bet you a dollar -- or maybe a ten dollar bill would be more appropriate -- that the Hamilton tribute will be the very last segment when the Kennedy show is broadcast. CBS will want to keep viewers tuned in all evening in order to see the one segment the majority want to see. 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:34pm

JBC3 said: "Hamilton receiving a KC honor violates the entire history and tradition of the institution and the awards.

And the further away we get from Hamilton's opening, the less I think it was as groundbreaking and Earth-shattering as seemed to be the consensus at that time.

It is an excellent show, but upon close examination I do not think it is that much more of a trailblazer or norm-defier than other musicals at different point's in the form's evolution."

Thank you for this. It's almost sacrilege to say anything that might lessen HAMILTON's hype. I saw it -- the tour here in San Francisco -- enjoyed it, thought it was very good, but I never understood why people fall over themselves to praise it. Groundbreaking? I don't know, that's a relative term. It's groundbreaking to some, not so much to others. I find myself more intrigued by what big project LMM will do next. Everything he does for the rest of his life will be compared to HAMILTON. And that's a hell of a lot of hype to live up to and exceed. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:37pm

Hamilton is, indeed, the greatest contribution to American performing arts culture of the 21st century thus far. You may not like it, but that is a fact.

Also, the KC Honors acknowledge that the Ham team wasn't given a lifetime award; they were specifically given the honor as "trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category." If there's any property for which to make a historic exception, it's Hamilton. I think we, in our own small Broadway world, take the show for granted now that we're 3+ years out from its creation.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:37pm

PatrickDC said: "I'll bet you a dollar -- or maybe a ten dollar bill would be more appropriate -- that the Hamilton tribute will be thevery last segment when the Kennedy show is broadcast. CBS will want to keep viewers tuned in all evening in order to see the one segment the majority want to see."

...which is pretty remarkable for a Broadway show...for it to enter the consciousness of the general public in such a major way...

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:50pm

Miles2Go2 said: "So I suppose Springsteen’s special Tony was just for ratings too? Sheesh..."

It’s not the same thing. The Tonys have a history of giving out special awards outside of the competitive category’s. The Kennedy Center is completely different. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 1:59pm

So I suppose you were equally incensed when the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts began annually awarding the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. After all, they’d never DONE THAT BEFORE. To quote Fiddler, “Tradition!” Let’s never break from tradition, never do anything new.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 2:38pm

It’s a completely different ceremony, and wasn’t created as a ratings grab.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 2:51pm

Back in 2015, CBS replaced the longtime producer of the show and since then they've focused on a more diverse, more pop culture oriented show, so there's going to be some late 20th Century pop acts and anything that will help network synergy. Just look at last year, when it was Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie, and LL Cool J and Norman Lear. (LL was really both.)

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 2:59pm

PatrickDC said: "I find myself more intrigued by what big project LMM will do next. Everything he does for the rest of his life will be compared to HAMILTON. And that's a hell of a lot of hype to live up to and exceed."

He seems grounded enough to not care if other people want to rank art pointlessly, though.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 12/3/18 at 3:07pm

I think I might have been less disappointed with Lin's inclusion- at age 38- if they had five legends- and then awarded this special award. right now he is taking the place of an artist who has earned this honor with a lifetime of commitment to the arts during a lifetime of projects. Then, if they want to give one- two -three- special awards- fine by me. Perhaps Black Panther could be included- Beyonce is a trailblazer- and on and on....

Updated On: 12/3/18 at 03:07 PM