Posted: 7/27/16 at 4:32pm
Hope Lexi Lawson is okay! Was looking forward to hearing reviews of her performance.
Posted: 7/27/16 at 7:56pm
Sorry to interject but this seemed like the best thread to pose my odd question. I have no experience with theater and have never seen a Broadway show but I've been obsessed with Hamilton for 6 months now. I managed to score tickets for a November Sunday matinee when they were released a few months ago and I'm taking my Mother and sister who know absolutely nothing about Hamilton. Would it be better to introduce them to the cast recording during a 14 hour road trip we have coming up next week or is there something special about having your very first introduction to Hamilton be seeing it live?
Posted: 7/27/16 at 7:59pm
Hi King, and welcome to the boards! This has actually been a topic of discussion on several threads on here; you're not alone. ![The Thread for HAMILTON Fans/Obsessives [SPOILERS AHEAD]](https://cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/board/happy.gif){kind=small}
You can't really go totally wrong either way. Personally, I hadn't listened to the cast recording prior to my first time at Hamilton, and it made for a completely and utterly overwhelming experience for me (in an extremely good way). Others, however, believe that listening to the album and getting your mind around some of the rhyming and fast beats conditions you to understand/take more in when you're at the Rodgers. Just my two cents (and sorry that it isn't a completely conclusive opinion!).
Updated On: 7/27/16 at 07:59 PM
Posted: 7/27/16 at 8:24pm
KingOPancakes said: "Sorry to interject but this seemed like the best thread to pose my odd question. I have no experience with theater and have never seen a Broadway show but I've been obsessed with Hamilton for 6 months now. I managed to score tickets for a November Sunday matinee when they were released a few months ago and I'm taking my Mother and sister who know absolutely nothing about Hamilton. Would it be better to introduce them to the cast recording during a 14 hour road trip we have coming up next week or is there something special about having your very first introduction to Hamilton be seeing it live?
"
I knew the soundtrack completely before I saw it for the first time, and was mostly glad I did since I feel like I would've missed some things if I hadn't been familiar with the material. My recommendation would be to play it for them, and perhaps stop after Election of 1800 so that the final few songs can have the full emotional impact in person without already having heard it.
Posted: 7/27/16 at 8:39pm
Count me as one who was also glad that I went into Hamilton without hearing the OCR, except for one song. That being said, if they aren't familiar with hearing rap, it might not be a bad idea to do what casedilla suggested, or playing a few select tracks (Alexander Hamilton, Helpless, Satisfied, Wait For It, and Room Where It Happens would be my choices). Have a great time and welcome to BWW!
Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:09pm
If you want to get familiar with hearing rap, but don't want to ruin the score, may I suggest In the Heights? Lin raps in a very similar style and it'll definitely prep you for Hamilton.
I too went into Ham without any prior knowledge and was completely overwhelmed in the best kind of way. Would do it that way again if I could .
Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:17pm
I had only heard a couple songs before I saw it but I'm familiar with the history of Alexander Hamilton so that was very helpful to me with being able to follow it well
Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:17pm
I'll echo what casedilla2 said and suggest that if you play some of the music for them, do skip a good chunk of Act II. It's a massive emotional punch to the gut when you have no idea what's coming.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:29am
I was listening to President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight, and I heard him talk about Hillary having experience because she has "been in the room." I also heard him refer to "the American experiment." I have listened to the cast recording so many times, these words sounded so familiar and I just wanted someone to start singing! Did anyone else notice these Hamilton phrases while watching the speech tonight?
Posted: 7/28/16 at 7:38am
When the President said "in the room" my son and I both said "where it happened".
Posted: 7/28/16 at 10:27am
You guys are starting to sound like the people who think the phrase "no good deed goes unpunished" originated with Wicked.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 11:07am
LizzieCurry said: "You guys are starting to sound like the people who think the phrase "no good deed goes unpunished" originated with Wicked."
Thanks for the chuckle this morning, Lizzie.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 1:55pm
Posted: 7/28/16 at 2:50pm
Hi I have some questions regarding a possible trip for my friends and I to try and see Hamilton via cancellation ticket line next Wednesday (3rd). We're hoping to see the matinee and we live about 6 hours away and could leave Tuesday night to get to NYC either late Tuesday or very early on Wednesday. There are 6 of us all together but we can split into groups of two because I know that that is the max tickets sold per group. We want to see the matinee because we could see the Ham4Ham show and enter the lottery. I was wondering how good are chances are of all of us getting tickets, and what the prices of tickets look like. A lot of my friends don't want to spend more the $200 on tickets. And I know there is standing room only, but how often are those given out and how cheap are they?
Thanks
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:08pm
Most of the tickets sold to cancellation line are $199. Occasionally they will sell $40 SRO and $10 unclaimed lotto seats to the line. However, if you're going for a Wednesday matinee then ZERO SRO or lotto seats will be sold to the cancellation line. This is because they will lotto all of those off live (if there are even SRO available) and there will be none left over/unclaimed for the line. If you really want to try for the cheaper options then you should pick a different day to sit on the line. You're better off entering the live lotto and hoping for the best but planning to spend $199 in the end.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:16pm
A friend of mine saw the show last week with Carliegh Betttol as Eliza and said she was amazes, anyone else have the pleasure?
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:41pm
MyLife said: "Most of the tickets sold to cancellation line are $199. Occasionally they will sell $40 SRO and $10 unclaimed lotto seats to the line. However, if you're going for a Wednesday matinee then ZERO SRO or lotto seats will be sold to the cancellation line. This is because they will lotto all of those off live (if there are even SRO available) and there will be none left over/unclaimed for the line. If you really want to try for the cheaper options then you should pick a different day to sit on the line. You're better off entering the live lotto and hoping for the best but planning to spend $199 in the end.
"
My understanding is that unsold lotto seats are sold to the line for $199, not $10
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:42pm
Petralicious said: "A friend of mine saw the show last week with Carliegh Betttol as Eliza and said she was amazes, anyone else have the pleasure?
"
I saw Carleigh last week after seeing Phillipa twice. She was excellent. No drop off from Phillipa at all IMO.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 3:45pm
Petralicious said: "A friend of mine saw the show last week with Carliegh Betttol as Eliza and said she was amazes, anyone else have the pleasure?"
I have seen Phillipa, Carleigh, and Alysha in the role. I thought Carleigh was a beautiful, tender Eliza. She has trouble with big notes, but acting-wise and in 95% of Eliza's score, I thought she nailed it.
Nobody can match the utter, ethereal beauty that Phillipa brought to the role, but I was super pleased with Carleigh. Alysha, on the other hand—not so pleased. Thought she played Eliza with much more fury and bite than I think the character ought to have.
Further, Carleigh kept the loud cry Eliza makes after Philip's death as well as the gasp at the finale. Alysha did not. I was much less emotionally affected by Alysha's Eliza than Carleigh's, and of course far less than Phillipa's.
If you can't tell, I have rather strong thoughts on the portrayal of Eliza, so I apologize for my rambling verbosity
Posted: 7/28/16 at 4:05pm
Posted: 7/28/16 at 4:10pm
"Thought she played Eliza with much more fury and bite than I think the character ought to have"
Um...did you personally know Eliza Hamilton? Otherwise you can't really make that statement. Just because Alysha's interpretation is different does not make it wrong, unless you knew her and can prove otherwise.
Posted: 7/28/16 at 4:13pm
Posted: 7/28/16 at 4:16pm
How a character ought to be played, based on what, though? You're basing your opinions on how Phillipa did it. I don't think Alysha plays her as angry, but she definitely plays her as strong willed, which I think is true, considering who she was married to.
I just think you need to remember that Phillipa is an actress who played a character, and not the actual historical figure we're talking about here.
Updated On: 7/28/16 at 04:16 PM
Posted: 7/28/16 at 4:19pm
aaaaaa15 said: "No scream or gasp!? Ooh, I can't say I would take kindly to that either. "
I would prefer no gasp, to be honest. I loved the scream but the gasp wasn't my favorite part of the show, by far. Is it supposed to be Eliza entering into the afterlife?
