Will any of the original Principals be in Hamilton after July 9th?- Page 2

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:04pm

I would be very, very surprised if Renee Goldsberry stays. She has talked quite openly about being excited for other people to have the opportunity to take on the role of Angelica and feeling like she's really had the chance to live in the role between the runs at The Public and on Broadway.

If anyone is going to want to pursue other opportunities that will come their way from this experience, it's her.

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 04:04 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:11pm

I think it would be funny if Jeffrey Seller did like a ham4ham performance doing a cover of you'll be back during their final week.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:20pm

I missed the confirmation on Lin and Pippa leaving. I saw some serious rumblings, but could you link where they've acknowledged their departure dates?  Thanks!

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:29pm

They haven't acknowledged it. But they're serious rumblings.

I would be surprised if Renee and Leslie leave. They can ask for significant pay increases now, why wouldn't they stay a little longer?

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:34pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I think it would be funny if Jeffrey Seller did like a ham4ham performance doing a cover of you'll be back during their final week.

 

That would be awesome!!

 

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:41pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I think it would be funny if Jeffrey Seller did like a ham4ham performance doing a cover of you'll be back during their final week.

 

"

 

You must have an extremely low threshold for comedy. 

[Petrichor]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:42pm

neonlightsxo said: "They haven't acknowledged it. But they're serious rumblings.

I would be surprised if Renee and Leslie leave. They can ask for significant pay increases now, why wouldn't they stay a little longer?

 

"

Acknowledging the fact that as of right now these are just speculations, do you think it's possible their departure dates might not be true? Considering their supposed dates are not too far from now and we've yet to hear an announcement of cast replacements.

 

While it might be the logical answer due to contracts being up, unless there is some chance either of them extend(more so Miranda after last nights wins) do shows usually announce this kind of stuff well in advance or only within a couple of weeks? I don't see either of them staying much longer because they probably have other opportunities lined up, but it's something I too have thought about. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:43pm

"Acknowledging the fact that as of right now these are just speculations, do you think it's possible their departure dates might not be true? Considering their supposed dates are not too far from now and we've yet to hear an announcement of cast replacements."

 

No. July 9th is real. Sometimes they announce things really late. That's just show business.

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 04:43 PM

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 5:19pm

A few film sites have posted that Phillipa Soo is going to have a part in Moana. I know a voice acting job isn't going to last forever, but she must have some reason for leaving Hamilton. Who knows what else she has lined up or in the works?

[bdn223]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 6:23pm

Soo confirmed her departure in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. 

Also as Hamilton is a cultural phenomenon the producers are likely to report the departure on a staggered and late basis as they do not want to follow the same path as The Producers, Spring Awakening, and Hair, where grosses plummeted at after the original company left in large groups. I expect these announcements to come next Tuesday so they can sell as much of the block of tickets released this morning before they have to tell buyers they aren't seeing the original company. 

 

Also regarding The Great Comet of 1812. It was reported everyone's contracts at ART were only for that production and were not "pre-Broadway" contracts. 

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 6:35pm

bdn223 said: "Soo confirmed her departure in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. 

Can you link to it. The only thing I see in THR is the same stuff for LIn, basically unnamed sources supposedly close to the actor.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/hamilton-star-phillipa-soo-set-901031

I don't understand why the leave, if set, isn't announced. It doesn't seem to be fair to the audience who is paying alot of money in the resale market, and to those who camp out on cancellation lines. I was outside the Beacon yesterday morning during rehearsals, and stood with a woman whose parents were in town from Puerto Rico staying at the Beacon Hotel. She was worried the cast of Hamilton would be absent from that day's matinee. I assured her with the Tonys airing that evening, EVERYone would be there. "Oh," I added quickly, "but of course Lin won't be as he doesn't do Sunday matinees now.". This woman was crushed, shocked. I explained it's all listed on the website. She didn't know, told me she paid 'alot' of money in the resale market for the seats for her visiting family. That she wasn't going to tell them. I tried to explain Javier Munoz was wonderful and performed for Obama too, but she didn't care about that. Just that her parents would be disappointed they weren't seeing LMM.  

For that example, the fact that many people are like this woman--willing to pay (rightly or wrongly) for LMM:  it just seems plain fair to tell the audience of your departure. I thought a month's notice to the public was pretty standard with stars of shows. Everyone IS acting and charging prices like 7/9 is the last show, so again, it just seems the responsible thing to do if you are going, to let buyers beware. Especially too if you are not going-you should all the more warn buyers beware. 

I think Leslie Odom as Best Actor winner is also in a similar boat/status now. However I can believe based on his back and forth statements that he is still negotiating! I feel that he is and possibly would stay longer.  I also think the others would too.

Just my two cents. I know nothing about anything; am new to these boards and my theater going habit.

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 6:43pm

PS I made up the "pretty standard" re month's notice...just basing that on

1) Color Purple announced Jennifer Hudson's last performance a month in advance

and

2)  LMM himself IN the Heights announced his last appearance a month in advance (even though he came back for the finale performance of the show's run).

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 7:06pm

As others on the board have stated, a lack of a denial is often a confirmation of something.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 7:51pm

Phillippa leaving has not been a secret. Steven Pasquale's television pilot for CBS was picked up to series and will be filming in LA. She tweeted herself that they were California bound the day the announcement was made.

[swanjewel]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 8:43pm

Groff's departure was announced 2 weeks before he left.  

July 9th is around the corner. They should say something soon. 

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 10:14pm

oncemorewithfeeling2 said: "As others on the board have stated, a lack of a denial is often a confirmation of something.

 

LIn says as of last night "I don't know when I'm leaving yet"

That's a quote

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/entertainment/lin-manuel-miranda-leaving-hamilton/

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 10:33pm

Liza's Headband said: "Call_me_jorge said: "I think it would be funny if Jeffrey Seller did like a ham4ham performance doing a cover of you'll be back during their final week.

 

"

 

You must have an extremely low threshold for comedy. 

 

"

And I didn't ask for your opinion. Thank you very much.

[Margo319]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 10:46pm

There is your confirmation.  Yes, "insiders" say it, but it's pretty obvious.  

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/hamilton-star-phillipa-soo-set-901031

Oh, and Pasquale does not have an "active career in Los Angeles".  He is based in New York, and is starring on a show opposite Katherine Heigl so.....I'm sure he will be back in New York sooner rather than later!

[Petrichor]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 10:53pm

Ahh, thank you for your reply, neon!

I guess all we can do is wait and see now. Either way it will be exciting! 

[Seperite]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 11:09pm

Two words: Brian Dunkleman.

What? Never heard of him?

Perhaps you've heard of his co-star, from the first season of a little show called American Idol. In that first season, way back in 2002, Dunkleman and Seacrest enjoyed equal billing as co-hosts.

The show blew up, of course, becoming the biggest phenomenon in television in its first year, surpassing numbers that any other show had seen in a long, long time.

So Dunkelman left after that first year. Guess he figured that the show's popularity was due in no small part to his exquisite hosting skills. Or that since the show was the hottest thing in the entertainment world, he could parlay that popularity into personal career advancement.

He was wrong. As we know, the show continued to be a juggernaut for over a decade, elevating the careers of those who remained with it throughout that time, and making them all very, very rich. Ryan Seacrest is a household name. Brian Dunkelman could land on your head and you probably wouldn't notice.

All of the primary Hamilton actors are, of course, wonderfully talented. But there are a LOT of wonderfully talented actors on Broadway, and most of them are not starring in billion-dollar shows. The extraordinary success and popularity of Hamilton is due primarily, if not all but exclusively, to the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yes, Jackson/Soo/Goldsberry and all the rest execute his ideas brilliantly on a nightly basis, but no better than any one of a large number of other Broadway-calibre actors could. If these people left the show now, on the hopes that the popularity of Hamilton would make them the next hot thing on Broadway or Hollywood, they would be making a Dunkelman-esque mistake, conflating the show's resonance with their own. With the exception of Diggs, whose talent, look, and performance really are unique, the other principals -- while all strong, talented actors -- are, in the broader context of Broadway performers, a dime a dozen. If they left now, they'd be leaving a monster hit, and years-long job security, for a real risk, a real chance. It would be a foolish one to take.

 

[sharilynj]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 11:51pm

I got to paragraph 5 before realizing you weren't suggesting Dunkleman as a casting choice. I am disappointed.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/13/16 at 11:54pm

Huh. I was never an Idol watcher, but I'd always heard that Dunkleman was a "quit before we fire you" situation. 

Sorry for the Idol threadjack, I now return you to Hamilton...

[swanjewel]

Posted: 6/14/16 at 12:46am

The opportunity has to be something not worth passing up to leave. Groff left for an amazing opportunity (lead in a show dir. by David Fincher)

But I also think if they want to further their careers, they will have to take risks even if that means leaving the show. I don't fault anyone for leaving to pursue other opportunities and further their career. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/14/16 at 12:50am

Regarding Phillipa Soo...

She is talented and beautiful. But I feel that the hardships of showbiz are coming soon for her. She graduates Juilliard (of all schools), immediately gets cast in Great Comet, and then Hamilton. In the meantime, she gets swept off her feet by a handsome Broadway actor a good deal older than her (Steven Pasquale), gets engaged to him rather quickly, and is now following him to Hollywood as the supportive wife, and to forge a film career of her own.

Sadly though, Asian-Americans have a very, very hard time getting work as actors, especially in film. She has had a remarkable amount of success early on, but I fear is in for a rude awakening as it's never going to be like this for her again, and she has yet to really know what it's like to be an actor - especially one of the most under-represented race in showbiz.

I hate to be so negative but I just feel like the wiser move would be to stay with Hamilton a bit longer, enjoy the ride, and save the money. She's gonna need it.

Updated On: 6/14/16 at 12:50 AM

[yknot]

Posted: 6/14/16 at 3:49am

Phillipa Soo has a very good reason for both leaving Ham and not joining Comet that I imagine will be announced soon enough. Suffice it to say, no one in this thread has been close.