What broadway play?

[sparkle]

DH is the opposite of me, likes to go into a show cold, nothing in advance. However I really think  he should get familiar with the Hamilton OCR because  alot of the music/rap is FAST. I would hate to see him miss parts. What do you all think? I can download it for our drive down (6 hrs). Or I could just sing it, since I have it memorized😁

[Turtles06]

6 hours ago, sparkle said:

DH is the opposite of me, likes to go into a show cold, nothing in advance. However I really think  he should get familiar with the Hamilton OCR because  alot of the music/rap is FAST. I would hate to see him miss parts. What do you all think? I can download it for our drive down (6 hrs). Or I could just sing it, since I have it memorized😁

 

This is actually the subject of great debate, as evidenced by articles and discussions that I found all over the internet when I wondered the same thing last year.  I posed the same question to a dear friend of mine (a Broadway theater uber fan) before my wife and I saw Hamilton for the first time last fall.  Should we go in cold?  He was very adamant that we go in cold, while other friends said we should listen to the music.

 

But my "go in cold" friend convinced me with the following:   first, he assured me that we would absolutely be able to follow the story.  Sure, we'd miss some words here and there (and isn't that the case with any musical you see for the first time)?  Second, and this was what really did it for me -- he reminded me that when the first audiences saw Hamilton in NY, including critics, and were blown away by it, they had all gone in cold because no OCR existed yet.  Hamilton became the sensation it is well before any OCR was released, well before people knew the music.  As my friend said, we would only have this ONE opportunity to be surprised and taken in by the amazing brilliance of this show.  That did it for me.

 

And so we went in cold, and I think my friend was right.  There were many moments during the show when I thought to myself, "I am so glad I had not heard this before" or "I had not known this before."  I was just completely taken in, in a way that I would not have been had I listened to the OCR first.  We've seen Hamilton two more times since, and by then I'd not only listened to the OCR many times, I'd also read "Hamilton: The Revolution," which I recommend to any Hamilton fan.   So the next two times, there were of course many (smaller) things going on on stage that I hadn't noticed the first time because the show is so complex and layered.  But I'm still glad I saw the show cold the first time.

 

My wife has a slightly different recommendation for newbies, especially anyone who does not expect to see the show again soon, and I don't disagree with her and in fact recommended this to a couple of friends recently.  That recommendation is to listen to the very first song, "Alexander Hamilton," because it is one of the most "rapped" in the show, it comes at you fast and right out of the box, and it is of great narrative importance.  Maybe even listen as well to "My Shot."   But I would tell anyone NOT to listen to anything in the Second Act, there is just too much going on there that you don't want to know in advance.   But if someone is insistent, then just one or both of the "Cabinet Battles." But no more in the Second Act!   (And nothing in either Act sung by King George.)

 

Here's one of the "should I go in cold" articles that I found interesting.

 

https://www.vulture.com/2016/01/should-i-listen-to-hamilton-before-i-see-it.html

 

And this link will take you to a youtube "video" that plays the OCR with the lyrics superimposed, which is useful for a newbie because it shows which character is singing which lines.  (I'd only use this as recommended above.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM7R6xmuz-Y&feature=youtu.be

 

I hope this is helpful!  😃

 

Let us know what your DH decides!   And ENJOY!!

 

[George C]

Just bought tickets to two shows in our regional Tony winning theater, first is Ann Richards about our former cool governor then we will also see Christmas Carol for third year in a row. 

[sparkle]

Turtles, thank you! That is so insightful! I never thought about it like that. If he misses parts, we'll just see it again! He is going cold. 

Edited August 17, 2019 by sparkle
spelling

[markeb]

35 minutes ago, sparkle said:

Turtles, thank you! That is so insightful! I never thought about it like that. If he misses parts, we'll just see it again! He is going cold. 

 

I have to agree with Turtles06. The title number has been everywhere, and there's nothing to really lose by listening to it. I will actually go so far as to say just buy the OCR NOW, but don't listen to anything but Alexander Hamilton (if anything), THEN as soon after the show as possible, listen to that track again. There's a lot going on there, sung and rapped by characters you haven't met yet. And, because there's so much happening, you may not follow all of the setups in that number later in the show. But you will when you listen to it later.

[lenquixote66]

23 hours ago, George C said:

Does anyone buy soundtracks to musicals, I don’t buy many but a few, love the song from a few years ago “poison in my pocket “ from a gentleman guide to love and murder. Was in a small group asking questions of cast after the show

I bought the soundtrack to Jersey Boys ,Man Of LaMancha,West Side Story and ONCE.

[lenquixote66]

23 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I don't buy "soundtracks," but I do buy cast recordings.  😃 (Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine.  Soundtracks are for movies. 😄)

 

I'm a total show tunes junkie.  My iTunes is very heavy on musicals.   I collect some musicals in other languages.  Les Miz, for example, has been recorded by the casts from many non-English-speaking countries.  I think the music is so gorgeous, it doesn't matter whether you know exactly what they are singing.  

I have seen Les Miz on Broadway, an Irish production and a British production.

[lenquixote66]

22 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If I'd been listening to Hamilton on vinyl, I would have worn out several copies by now! 🙂

One of my daughters saw Hamilton 9;times.She went to high school with Javier Munoz who was in the original production.

[George C]

3 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I bought the soundtrack to Jersey Boys ,Man Of LaMancha,West Side Story and ONCE.

Lenny don’t say soundtracks people will get upset 😁😁,  my first record from a broadway play was hair , my little brother then did a version of hair in queens about 1980 with me and a buddy putting up the money , cool thing was one of the people that write play and music attended the show and talked to us about creating the show . Site of play was a 500 seat theater created for 1964 worlds fair in Flushing.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, sparkle said:

Turtles, thank you! That is so insightful! I never thought about it like that. If he misses parts, we'll just see it again! He is going cold. 

 

You’re quite welcome!

 

Nothing like having an excuse to go again! 😀

 

Please come back after and tell us your thoughts on the show. Enjoy!!

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, George C said:

Lenny don’t say soundtracks people will get upset 😁😁,  my first record from a broadway play was hair , my little brother then did a version of hair in queens about 1980 with me and a buddy putting up the money , cool thing was one of the people that write play and music attended the show and talked to us about creating the show . Site of play was a 500 seat theater created for 1964 worlds fair in Flushing.

Ask your brother,the Director if he is familiar with Ira Stoller. He directed regional theater in NJ but started out in Queens,

.

Hair was one of my all time favorite plays. I saw it 3 times.

Yesterday ,I was getting a haircut and spoke to a guy who said he was at Woodstock and had long hair.I had shoulder lenghth hair and a long beard. I still have the beard.

My best friend in HS is a Director Of stage and film in Hollywood.

 

[markeb]

Not Broadway, but Hamilton London tickets for the holidays go on sale Monday. And we're in London...

 

Pricing is nowhere near as crazy as Broadway; we can get very good Royal Circle (mezzanine) tickets for £150.(for November), so we'll see what Monday brings.

[Turtles06]

8 hours ago, markeb said:

Not Broadway, but Hamilton London tickets for the holidays go on sale Monday. And we're in London...

 

Pricing is nowhere near as crazy as Broadway; we can get very good Royal Circle (mezzanine) tickets for £150.(for November), so we'll see what Monday brings.

 

The London production is Broadway quality. (Too bad Giles Terera is not playing Burr now. He was amazing. He won the Olivier Award for his performance.)

 

We we sat in the center of the second row of the Royal Circle. Perfect sight lines and sound. Perfect.  Zero leg room. 

 

“Tickets” in London are available because there are no tickets. It’s a paperless system that prevents scalping and re-sales. There’s no secondary market. It’s fabulous. To enter, you must  bring your email confirmation, a photo ID, and the credit card you used for the purchase.  If you don’t already have a Ticketmaster UK account, set one up before Monday. 

 

Good luck!! 

[Turtles06]

@markeb  Here's the actual "view from my seat" in the second row of the Royal Circle.  As I said above, perfect sight lines. The Victoria Palace is a small (beautiful!) theatre, and the overhang of the Royal Circle is fairly close to the stage.   Except for the lack of leg room, these were truly perfect seats for Hamilton, especially given the revolve and the choreography.  

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

 

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

On 8/15/2019 at 8:16 AM, Nitemare said:

 

Good, better, best, and my condolences!  🙂

 

We've got Hamilton (again) and Hadestown over Labor Day, and the new Little Shop of Horrors and Freestyle Love Supreme in early November.  And "Six" is starting here in Cambridge next week, before it moves to B'way in 2020, so we are seeing that soon.  Hoping for great things!

Tonight my wife and I watched the movie Moulin Rouge On one of our VCR’s.I saw it before and had the VHS tape.For some reason she never watched it till tonight .Based on viewing the movie she decided she does not want to see the show.

[Nitemare]

Good choice, Len.

 

Great picture, Turtle.  I love how the rope is attached to the stage before the show starts and then how what happens to it is never really mentioned, just a cool extra.

 

We saw Ham for the 8th time 2 weeks ago in Providence (6 NYC, 1 Boston, 1 PVD) and have our 9th over Labor Day in NYC.  This was the first time we felt the cast wasn't really into it emotionally.  Could be the matinee after a night show, or just the size of the facility.  I expect it to be A+ again in NYC.

 

Never paid $250 or more to see it, either.  Always face value, always pretty close (the box seats in NYC are amazing!)

[markeb]

On 8/18/2019 at 7:32 AM, Turtles06 said:

@markeb  Here's the actual "view from my seat" in the second row of the Royal Circle.  As I said above, perfect sight lines. The Victoria Palace is a small (beautiful!) theatre, and the overhang of the Royal Circle is fairly close to the stage.   Except for the lack of leg room, these were truly perfect seats for Hamilton, especially given the revolve and the choreography.  

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

 

 

 

 

 

That did it for my wife!

 

3rd row center, Royal Circle. Saturday matinee... 

 

BTW, they've changed the ticketing process starting with December 1st on. It's now through theatre.ticketmaster.co.uk, and they're actual paper tickets. Mailed to arrive three days before the show in the UK and will call for international tickets. Hopefully that doesn't create a huge resale market, but those seats were around $650 plus fees in NYC if memory serves; £225, no fees, in London.

[Turtles06]

24 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

That did it for my wife!

 

3rd row center, Royal Circle. Saturday matinee... 

 

 

😃 !!

 

(Just remember what I said about the leg room...)

 

Interesting that they are going to paper tickets.  I wonder if they have decided there just isn't that much demand now.  It will be interesting to see if a secondary market develops.    BTW, we paid  £200, no fees, per ticket for a weekday evening last year.  Hands down the least expensive premium seats for Hamilton, anywhere.  I keep telling my friends to fly over for a long weekend in London . . . 

 

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Great picture, Turtle.  I love how the rope is attached to the stage before the show starts and then how what happens to it is never really mentioned, just a cool extra.

 

We saw Ham for the 8th time 2 weeks ago in Providence (6 NYC, 1 Boston, 1 PVD) and have our 9th over Labor Day in NYC.  This was the first time we felt the cast wasn't really into it emotionally.  Could be the matinee after a night show, or just the size of the facility.  I expect it to be A+ again in NYC.

 

Never paid $250 or more to see it, either.  Always face value, always pretty close (the box seats in NYC are amazing!)

 

Okay, in three viewings, I haven't paid any attention to the rope.  That will go on my list for time number 4, whenever that is!  😁

 

The cast you saw in Providence was the Angelica Tour, which we saw in February in Columbus (although of course people come and go from road companies).  We thought it was excellent, but, as you say, it can be very different for a matinee (often with one or more standbys as well).  I don't know if Edred Utomi is still playing Hamilton, or whether he was doing the matinee; we thought he was excellent in Columbus.

 

Can you please tell me more about the box seats in NY?  I've been interested in them because of the leg room, but was concerned about possibly obstructed views (that is, not seeing a good part of one side of the stage).  Any recommendations for specific boxes?  Can you only buy those seats in person at the theatre?   Thanks!

[Nitemare]

Utomi was in the show that day.

 

The boxes can only be bought at the box Office.  We are in NYC enough that we go in there and ask about future weekends that we know we will be back in town, and are able to buy those seats at Face Value (no fees) about half the time.  Sometimes you get a B.O. attendant who doesn't want to help, sometimes they are truly sold out.

 

You do miss about 5-10% of the near side of the stage in those seats, but much less than 5% of the action as most things take place within view.  They are much less obstructed than the back 7-8 rows of the orchestra where the Mezz blocks your view of the upper level.  You are also SO close to the action, you can see all the facial expressions clearly, as well as the sweat, and also the tears.  Moreso the earlier casts than recent, but you are right there.  Unlimited leg room, too.  3 seats per box, 4 on each side of the stage.  If you can get the lower one near the stage you better not yawn as everyone will know!

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Unlimited leg room, too.  3 seats per box, 4 on each side of the stage.  If you can get the lower one near the stage you better not yawn as everyone will know!

 

Thanks for all the info!  In terms of obstructed views, would you say the lowers or uppers are more obstructed?

[Nitemare]

As they are one on top of the other, they are about the same.  The ones further from the stage might be a tiny bit less obstructed, but I honestly don't recall for sure.  And being in the closer ones, right on top of the stage, is really amazing

[lenquixote66]

In some regional theaters there are seats on the stage.It is almost like the audience interacting with the actors.That is really amazing.I have been to a few .

[Sheltieluv]

Hi all!  Could use some advice as we have never been to a Broadway show.

We will be in NYC the weekend of November 2 before departing on a cruise.  I would like to secure tickets for a matinee on November 3.  DH and I would like to see something fun and light-hearted, with a lot of good stage special effects.  I am looking at (in no particular order):  Aladdin, Wicked, Lion King, and Frozen.  I know that a couple of these might be geared more towards kids, but that's ok!  I'm also considering the Ain't Too Proud Temptations show, but I've read that that particular theater is not very comfortable, plus there wouldn't be a whole lot of special effects(?) but I'm guessing.  We do love the music tho!

So, which would you choose?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I appreciate it!

[markeb]

Of your original four, I'd go with Wicked. It's a great production, the Gershwin is a modern, very comfortable theater, and it's the only one that isn't based on a Disney movie. I've not seen Aladdin or Frozen. Lion King is also a very well done production, but Wicked has an element of originality that we really enjoyed.

 

Not lighthearted but amazingly uplifting, and possibly the best show you can actually get a ticket to: Come From Away. No effects either.

 

My initial thoughts. You'll get other recommendations, I'm sure!