Posted: 4/13/16 at 10:43am
Auggie27 said: "I've told a number of people waiting to see the show: in many ways it's very intimate, scaled to be performed for a smaller house, devoid of spectacle (in the way that word has come to be used to describe musical theater). "
"When you must wait 15 months to see any show, it will never be the one you see in your head, sitting with the recording. A syndrome that predates HAMILTON."
I couldn't have said it better than these two points, right here. I think Hamilton is meant to be an intimate experience, especially considering the historical timeline. There's a sense of exclusivity in being part of some of these moments that at the time were exclusive to 20 or 30 people cramped into a room. The show is designed to make it feel like you're a fly on the wall in the... room where it happens!
And like Auggie said, it's inevitable that a show with the buzz of Hamilton will disappoint those who are ready to experience it as some sort of life changing spectacle. I remember experiencing the same feeling when I finally got to see Rent on Broadway. The show had HUGE buzz, I knew every note of the cast recording and then you finally walked into the Nederlander and all you see is basically a bare set with Christmas lights and chairs, your first impression is utter disappointment, until the room does light up and the performances bring the show to life. The turntable makes the staging in Hamilton, imo, it could definitely travel to a different theater, so I don't think the idea of moving Hamilton to a different space would be based on "set limitations" or tech issues. The producers are smart and exclusivity builds hype. No need to change that!