The Thread for HAMILTON Fans/Obsessives [SPOILERS AHEAD]- Page 39

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 3:51pm

Strange, I haven't seen a bad word about Sydney as Burr before.

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 4:00pm

Weird. I thought Burr was very good and the show didn't feel flat at all. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 4:01pm

swanjewel said: "It was actually a review from a friend who has seen the show multiple times. "

so is that double or triple anonymous hearsay?

[swanjewel]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 4:26pm

HogansHero said: "swanjewel said: "It was actually a review from a friend who has seen the show multiple times. "

so is that double or triple anonymous hearsay?"

My friend saw the show last night and I asked her what she thought. I was curious with all the changes. My friend has seen the show multiple times so I guess they picked up different vibes this time around. 

I was surprised about the comments on Burr so that's why I asked if Harcourt was on. I've only known him to be excellent so I thought it was odd my friend said he was bad. 

 

Updated On: 7/17/16 at 04:26 PM

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 5:01pm

I've heard not-so-great things about Harcourt as Burr too.

[casedilla2]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 9:05pm

I guess Sydney as Burr must be pretty divisive. I saw him play Burr on Wednesday, I thought he was absolutely fantastic and really loved his take on the role.

[Canuck27]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 10:52pm

What is the general opinion on Austin Smith as Burr? I think, based on their alternating schedule, that he will be on when I am there.  

[Sleepwalker]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 11:02pm

I saw Austin Smith as Burr in April and liked him a lot. My take is that since he didn't have the star power of Leslie, his performance was more self-contained, interior rather than all out. Even The Room Where it Happened was less exuberant and more almost brooding. My one quibble is that his voice was not as distinctive as Leslie's so sometimes it was hard to recognize that the vocal lines were his. All in all a very worthy substitute. 

[bear88]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 11:33pm

I'm curious if some of the criticism is from people who have seen Leslie Odom Jr. multiple times and feel something lacking in other performers. Would someone seeing the show for the first time feel the same way?

At some point in the future, I will see Hamilton again, and I will have to mentally adjust to a Burr who, for example, might not have the combination of charisma and vocal skills that allowed him to perform both a quieter song like "Dear Theodosia" and a showstopper like "The Room Where it Happens." The conclusion of the latter was probably my favorite moment in my limited history of seeing Broadway shows, when it felt like Odom Jr. was singing to me in upper mezzanine. He's an awfully tough act to follow. 

 

Updated On: 7/19/16 at 11:33 PM

[SammieRae]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 1:47am

I've seen both LOJ and Austin Smith as Burr. In my opinion, LOJ knocked it out of the park -- his singing, acting & dancing were all perfect! Hard act to follow. Having said that, I saw Austin Smith as Burr in mid June: his voice was amazing! I also thought his acting was an authentic Burr -- in many ways, I thought his performance was truer to the character than LOJ's version. At the same time, he seemed a bit stiff. Even though he's a member of the ensemble, you'd never know that he was a dancer! LOJ killed the part with his dancing! Not clear that his understudies can do the same.

[MyLife]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:17am

Having seen all three Burrs (Odom [9x], Harcourt [1x], and Smith [1x]) I think the show is in good hands no matter what. In many ways I preferred Harcourt to to the others (gasp!). Odom clearly has that star power and blew me away every time I saw the show. His voice is silky smooth and stands out. 

Harcourt's voice is definitely rawer and took some time getting used to when you expect to hear something different but it's still incredible.  What I loved about Harcourt's role is in each scene you could see the wheels turning in Burr's head and see the gradual transformation of his character. You understand every reason why Burr does what he does, and for those reasons I found myself rooting for him even more than I did with Odom. Odom's transformation, to me, seems more sudden and while it works, I prefer Harcourt's development better.

Smith, who I saw back in April, I felt needed more time to develop a unique character. His voice is great but stands out less and I felt his character blended in the most with the rest of the cast. When Smith was on, Hamilton was clearly the lead male role and Burr felt more supporting. After Room Where It Happens, Smith started to pick up the pace, but a little too late in my opinion. I didn't find myself rooting for (or even caring about) Burr that much. Again, not a bad thing - just a different way of experiencing the show.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:27am

SammieRae, although Austin Smith is a graduate of Juilliard, he could have been there for acting as opposed to dance (which makes sense if you thought he was stiff in the dance area of the show).

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:59am

DottieD'Luscia said: "SammieRae, although Austin Smith is a graduate of Juilliard, he could have been there for acting as opposed to dance (which makes sense if you thought he was stiff in the dance area of the show)."

He most assuredly is a graduate of the Drama Division.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 10:15am

SammieRae said: " I also thought his acting was an authentic Burr -- in many ways, I thought his performance was truer to the character than LOJ's version. "

 

Do you personally know Aaron Burr? That's what you're implying.

 

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 10:40am

I've seen the show three times and had a different Burr each time (first Leslie, then Sydney, and most recently Austin). I enjoyed all three for sure, with some caveats. The biggest problems I had with Sydney was that you could "see" him acting for most of the show, whereas Leslie was more natural. Also, Sydney's voice did NOT mesh with Lin's during Dear Theodosia so that kind of ruined that song for me. However, Sydney's second act was fantastic and I thought he ended up having a lot of charisma.

As for Austin, I thought the timbre of his voice was the most luxurious out of the three, but his first half was a little too laid-back and he did seem to disappear a bit. His second act, like Leslie and Sydney, was much better than the first, and his acting towards the end of the show was phenomenal.

[Debbie77]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 11:06am

<<<<<<As for Austin, I thought the timbre of his voice was the most luxurious out of the three, but his first half was a little too laid-back and he did seem to disappear a bit. His second act, like Leslie and Sydney, was much better than the first, and his acting towards the end of the show was phenomenal.<<<<

 

i saw the show once with Austin in April.  I agree 100% with the review above.  I hate to criticize anyone's performance ever....but my daughter and I were disappointed.

Debbie

[LisaR5]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 12:21pm

I saw Austin in June and he did a great job.   However, I simply adore Leslie (saw him in 2015) and was so looking forward to hearing him again.  Did not find out he was out until right before the show began. After spending an insane amount of $$ for tickets. This was the weekend of the Tony's

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:22pm

Anyone know who played Lafayette/Jefferson tonight? I saw on Snapchat that Andrew Chappelle was playing Laurens/Philip and Lafayette/Jefferson wasn't listed on the understudy board.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:23pm

Seth Stewart:

https://twitter.com/grassmahgirl/status/755196750919569409

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:24pm

Thankyou!

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 9:57pm

Where the heck is Lexi Lawson?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 10:46pm

I see that Sydney wasn't in his usual track. 

[sorano916]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 11:12pm

LizzieCurry said: "Seth Stewart:

https://twitter.com/grassmahgirl/status/755196750919569409"

 

I don't know how it was this weekend but both Austin & Seth are printed in the Playbill as Burr & Lafayette/Jefferson, respectively. I know that they had Sydney listed as Burr last week with Daveed as Lafayette/Jefferson.

Man, you'll get a pretty interesting collector's set between now until Brandon starts. They'll probably change once a week.

 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/18/16 at 11:54pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Where the heck is Lexi Lawson?"

She hasn't been feeling well.

[CercleRouge]

Posted: 7/19/16 at 12:46am

LizzieCurry said: "Seth Stewart:

https://twitter.com/grassmahgirl/status/755196750919569409 "

wait, who?? lol