MY HAMILTON CANCELLATION LINE EXPERIENCE AND HOW WE ALL GOT F***ED OVER IN THE END

[Wick3]

A Canadian in NYC said: "Can the theatre release the seat of its unclaimed for first act? "

Sadly no if ticket was sold already. What normally happens is someone from standing room will ask an usher whether it's possible to sit on that seat or an usher may make that suggestion for you. 

It's also illegal to record the audio... but I'd imagine the audio he'd get wouldn't be great quality.

 

[rodrigo_ca]

nellyxoxo1 said: ""I do consider my life important. And sleeping on the street could have been a lot worse considering where we were. I don't know why people think it's so wrong for things to be popular. That's a good thing considering the people who came together to make this worked hard! I never expected to be sleeping out there for four days but what can i say. It was definitely an experience and i made so many friends. It's nice to get out of your comfort zone willingly every once and a while. And that would be a nice thing, show up randomly just to see if there are ticket or not. It could even work in theory but i don't think it's gonna work with Hamilton. Especially with the three main leads leaving. I think i have absolutely no chance of seeing Hamilton with the leads at this point but one can only dream!"

 I don't have anything against popularity. People wanna congratulate Lin in his award for writing Hamlet by shouting out of a car window? Go for it. Cosplay? Go for it. Be ready to be an emergency understudy in case half of the cast drops dead and you happen to be in the audience? Go for it.

But spending four days sleeping on the street? Too much. Spending thousands of dollars? Too much.

You didn't expect to be sleeping on the street for four days but you were there after the three first, so...

It's never gonna work because people won't give up on being crazy or being "THE BIGGEST FAN EVER HOORAAY".

About your comfort zone? You can try bungee jumping, free falling. I even heard that nowadays you can parachute without an actual parachute (but only once).

 

[Wick3]

sarahb22 said: "P.S. how do you embed videos on this board? I confess I'm a little flummoxed. Thanks!"

Embed like this? 

 

When you reply/post, you'll see the top bar with bold/italic/etc. ... look to the far right. You should see a ? mark. To the left of the ? mark is the YouTube logo (circle with a > in the middle.) Click on it and paste the YouTube link to it. 

[devonian.t]

OP I understand your wish to vent.

I'm not that bothered about Hamilton and wouldn't go to the extremes you did for any show ever, but I sympathize with your wish for fairness.  Sadly it's a ****ing unfair world.  Sorry you had to learn it in such a horrible way.

[HogansHero]

to attempt to bring some closure to this (good luck with that, right?), let's summarize:

1. There are no rules.

2. As with every other show in the world:

    a. There is no guarantee there will be cancellations. There is also no guarantee they will be distributed to any line, on any basis. If a VIP calls the press agent at 4PM, those tickets will magically become house seats. 

    b. There is no procedure regarding when any cancellations are released. It can be at any time when they feel like it. 

    c. The box office has nothing to do with the administration of a line on the street; the only involvement of theatre staff and/or security is to make sure ingress and egress are not impeded.

    d. If there are tickets to be distributed as cancellations, fairness suggests they should be distributed first come first served at the time they decide to sell them. If you are not first in line at that point, you are by definition not there at the time. Leaving because of some self-appointed Emperor of the Line grants you leave to do so is inherently preposterous. 

   e. All of this should be against the law.

3. I can't help but hear parallels between this outrage and the outrage of others when actors have the temerity to skip the stage door after folks have been waiting patiently.

[sarahb22]

Wick3 said: "When you reply/post, you'll see the top bar with bold/italic/etc. ... look to the far right. You should see a ? mark. To the left of the ? mark is the YouTube logo (circle with a > in the middle.) Click on it and paste the YouTube link to it."

Thank you!!  On  my screen the brightness is turned up a little so the > is invisible - it just looks like a blank square. I looked right over it. Thanks again!

[Jordan Catalano]

AnnieBlack said: "Nelly, I think Jeremy is the Burr to your Hamilton! Get working on that musical! "

 

She hasn't seen the show, so she won't get that reference. 

[nellyxoxo1]

rodrigo_ca said: "nellyxoxo1 said: ""I do consider my life important. And sleeping on the street could have been a lot worse considering where we were. I don't know why people think it's so wrong for things to be popular. That's a good thing considering the people who came together to make this worked hard! I never expected to be sleeping out there for four days but what can i say. It was definitely an experience and i made so many friends. It's nice to get out of your comfort zone willingly every once and a while. And that would be a nice thing, show up randomly just to see if there are ticket or not. It could even work in theory but i don't think it's gonna work with Hamilton. Especially with the three main leads leaving. I think i have absolutely no chance of seeing Hamilton with the leads at this point but one can only dream!"

 I don't have anything against popularity. People wanna congratulate Lin in his award for writing Hamlet by shouting out of a car window? Go for it. Cosplay? Go for it. Be ready to be an emergency understudy in case half of the cast drops dead and you happen to be in the audience? Go for it.

But spending four days sleeping on the street? Too much. Spending thousands of dollars? Too much.

You didn't expect to be sleeping on the street for four days but you were there after the three first, so...

It's never gonna work because people won't give up on being crazy or being "THE BIGGEST FAN EVER HOORAAY".

About your comfort zone? You can try bungee jumping, free falling. I even heard that nowadays you can parachute without an actual parachute (but only once).

 

 

"Well, i can't spend thousands of dollars cause i don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a ticket and like i said, I really wanted to see Lin, Phillipa and Leslie so i read about this cancellation line and thought why not? I was already invested after the first 3 days. Why would i go home when i was so close and already invested a long time into it? Would you just abandon something you've become emotionally invested in when you're already so close? I don't know you so maybe you wouldn't maybe you would. Especially, when if they line system had been followed, i would have most likely gotten into the saturday evening show. I don't really think I'm the best fan ever. I very recently got into Hamilton so I am by no way the biggest, bestest fan ever. I'm just a fan who saw an opportunity to see the show before the original cast left and I took it. And yes, sleeping outside is out of anyones comfort zone especially when they have a bed at home. Much more better than those extreme options you mentioned. And i really hope you are not alluding to suicide with that last one because wether your trying to be a smartass or not, suicide is in no way something to joke about.

 

[AnnieBlack]

I know this is a stupid question (and I googled it but getting a variety of different answers), but how do ticket cancellations come about? Are these unclaimed house seats, house emergency seats that get released, cancelled from ticketmaster? Obviously no-shows don't count as cancelled because if those people showed up at the second act, they would be taken.... 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Can't we all end the "LITERALLY" farce already? Like is it now the written hook fingers to cry out "THIS IS SARCASM"?

[donethatalready]

AnnieBlack said: "Nelly, I think Jeremy is the Burr to your Hamilton! Get working on that musical! 

 

"

Even though everything was running fine

Jeremy insisted to cut the line

Why did he think he could be that slick?

Man, that guy is a dick!

[donethatalready]

AnnieBlack said: "Nelly, I think Jeremy is the Burr to your Hamilton! Get working on that musical! 

 

"

Even though everything was running fine

Jeremy insisted to cut the line

Why did he think he could be that slick?

Man, that guy is a dick!

[UncleCharlie]

Anyone as excited as I am to see if nellyxoxo1 makes Chorus Member off just this thread?

[nellyxoxo1]

HogansHero said: "to attempt to bring some closure to this (good luck with that, right?), let's summarize:

1. There are no rules.

2. As with every other show in the world:

    a. There is no guarantee there will be cancellations. There is also no guarantee they will be distributed to any line, on any basis. If a VIP calls the press agent at 4PM, those tickets will magically become house seats. 

    b. There is no procedure regarding when any cancellations are released. It can be at any time when they feel like it. 

    c. The box office has nothing to do with the administration of a line on the street; the only involvement of theatre staff and/or security is to make sure ingress and egress are not impeded.

    d. If there are tickets to be distributed as cancellations, fairness suggests they should be distributed first come first served at the time they decide to sell them. If you are not first in line at that point, you are by definition not there at the time. Leaving because of some self-appointed Emperor of the Line grants you leave to do so is inherently preposterous. 

   e. All of this should be against the law.

3. I can't help but hear parallels between this outrage and the outrage of others when actors have the temerity to skip the stage door after folks have been waiting patiently.

 

"I understand i really do but the only time we left was when the theater told us to leave, otherwise we would all be there. No one is allowed in front to the theater during showtime and no one was allowed there thursday because they were filming. But we were there all day friday and saturday. The list was just a way to keep it fair for everyone.

It's just frustrating that the theater has been working with the cancellation line and just decides to stop, its upsetting and i am understandably upset. And paralleling it to people by the stage door doest sit right with me. Not just because i had been waiting by the line but because I'm willing to pay to watch this wonderful show on broadway so that the actors and actresses and everyone who is involved with this is able to get paid to continue to make wonderful shows. People by the stage door are just pissed because these people who are tired and want to go home don't want to deal with being bombarded by people who are screaming and pushing and shoving to get to them. 

 

[casedilla2]

I don't really get why all of you are attacking the OP like this. Do y'all have nothing better to do than yell at someone online for waiting in a line for several days to see a show? No one is forcing you to do the same and no one is asking your opinion on whether it's reasonable or not. People value time vs. money differently, and we're all at different points in our lives, and I don't understand how someone waiting in a line affects you so much that you need to chastise them for it. 

Regardless, I think those of us who are reasonable can recognize that what the theater did was very wrong, and I feel for you, OP. You have a right to be upset and I would be too. The theater has rules posted about waiting in the line, and none of them involve the "only 20 people" rule or allude to changing the order completely. Anyone with half a brain can see that what they did was unfair and wrong, and is not the correct way to run something. When the theater has actual posted rules for the cancellation line, it's not "unofficial" anymore, and they should've done better. 

That all being said, you should be placing the blame on the theater, not on this Jeremy person. He may have been rude and in the wrong, but it's the unfair way the RRT reacted to it that screwed you over. 

[nellyxoxo1]

Jordan Catalano said: "AnnieBlack said: "Nelly, I think Jeremy is the Burr to your Hamilton! Get working on that musical! "

 

She hasn't seen the show, so she won't get that reference. 

 

"I've listened to the soundtrack but yup, just keep bringing that up. Hope it makes you feel loads better

 

[nellyxoxo1]

donethatalready said: "AnnieBlack said: "Nelly, I think Jeremy is the Burr to your Hamilton! Get working on that musical! 

 

"

Even though everything was running fine

Jeremy insisted to cut the line

Why did he think he could be that slick?

Man, that guy is a dick!

 

"LMFAO STOP THAT'S GREAT HAHA!

 

[rodrigo_ca]

nellyxoxo1 said: "Well, i can't spend thousands of dollars cause i don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a ticket and like i said, I really wanted to see Lin, Phillipa and Leslie so i read about this cancellation line and thought why not? I was already invested after the first 3 days. Why would i go home when i was so close and already invested a long time into it? Would you just abandon something you've become emotionally invested in when you're already so close? I don't know you so maybe you wouldn't maybe you would. Especially, when if they line system had been followed, i would have most likely gotten into the saturday evening show. I don't really think I'm the best fan ever. I very recently got into Hamilton so I am by no way the biggest, bestest fan ever. I'm just a fan who saw an opportunity to see the show before the original cast left and I took it. And yes, sleeping outside is out of anyones comfort zone especially when they have a bed at home. Much more better than those extreme options you mentioned. And i really hope you are not alluding to suicide with that last one because wether your trying to be a smartass or not, suicide is in no way something to joke about."

I adressed before on spending thousands of dollars on one ticket.

I wouldn't abandon something I became "emotionally invested in" but then again, I would seriously consider spending 2 hours on the line and certainly wouldn't consider spending a single night, let alone 3.

If I tried to join the line and some random person just told "no you can't because I'm the Mighty Emperor of the Line and I say so" I would certainly call the theatre and send emails.

I wasn't talking about you, but "fans" on general. People are always trying to prove how they're the best fans that a lot of them even causes some discomfort on the subject they're fans of. I was just saying that if people weren't trying to prove this or that, you'd probably got in the first day. At least you'd have a shot. But by obeying to self created rules of the kingdom line you legitimated it.

Ride a roller coaster if you're not into extreme options. Ride the subway on rush hour with 500 dollars on your pocket. You name it.

And no, I wasn't.

[nellyxoxo1]

casedilla2 said: "I don't really get why all of you are attacking the OP like this. Do y'all have nothing better to do than yell at someone online for waiting in a line for several days to see a show? No one is forcing you to do the same and no one is asking your opinion on whether it's reasonable or not. People value time vs. money differently, and we're all at different points in our lives, and I don't understand how someone waiting in a line affects you so much that you need to chastise them for it. 

Regardless, I think those of us who are reasonable can recognize that what the theater did was very wrong, and I feel for you, OP. You have a right to be upset and I would be too. The theater has rules posted about waiting in the line, and none of them involve the "only 20 people" rule or allude to changing the order completely. Anyone with half a brain can see that what they did was unfair and wrong, and is not the correct way to run something. When the theater has actual posted rules for the cancellation line, it's not "unofficial" anymore, and they should've done better. 

That all being said, you should be placing the blame on the theater, not on this Jeremy person. He may have been rude and in the wrong, but it's the unfair way the RRT reacted to it that screwed you over. 

 

"People just like to be mean but the world is mean so it doesn't really bother me. Yes i know its the RRT that made the decision ultimately but I am frustrated with this Jeremy person for obvious reasons. 

 

[jdra]

It is hard for me to believe that the box office did what they did because of Jeremy's complaint.Who the heck is he? I think they have been getting complaints about the line from various people for a while.

[Sunshine31]

This is madness. At this rate, RRT may get rid of the cancellation line. 

Even Lin himself said it's getting "a little crazy" outside the RRT. 

 

[Sunshine31]

This is madness. At this rate, RRT may get rid of the cancellation line. 

Even Lin himself said it's getting "a little crazy" outside the RRT. 

 

[rodrigo_ca]

casedilla2 said: "poor unfortunate soul..."

But she did open a public thread on a public forum allowing us to say whatever we like as long as we don't break the law or the rules of this forum. She can tell her story on the mirror if she want every listener to agree with her.

[Auggie27]

Hogan's clearly set-forth rules should be read by anyone and everyone who has ever approached a theater with expectations (and moral indignation) about management's responsibility to consumers. 

The bigger issue here is one that must come from old(er) fartville.  Maturation -- character growth -- happens when we learn the limitations of our entitlement.  Isn't HAMILTON the perfect vehicle for said growth in 2016? Someone said to me at the TKTS line only yesterday, re HAMILTON, and petulantly: "I should be able to buy a good seat for $145!"  That phrase, "I should be able to {fill in the blank} ..." says it all. It probably defines Brexit, Trumpism, whatever the personal lack du jour disconnecting our entitlement from the culture's cruel ability to yank away our fix with "not so fast!"  

But I'm a sentimentalist.  I think the OP-er will see HAMILTON, and some day look back on those 96 hours, the tears, the sweaty grabby people, the ingratitude, O the humanity, the glare of that marquee, the sheer adventure, like it was  ... what?  ... Woodstock?  And laugh.  Tragedy plus time equals comedy.   

[nellyxoxo1]

rodrigo_ca said: "nellyxoxo1 said: "Well, i can't spend thousands of dollars cause i don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a ticket and like i said, I really wanted to see Lin, Phillipa and Leslie so i read about this cancellation line and thought why not? I was already invested after the first 3 days. Why would i go home when i was so close and already invested a long time into it? Would you just abandon something you've become emotionally invested in when you're already so close? I don't know you so maybe you wouldn't maybe you would. Especially, when if they line system had been followed, i would have most likely gotten into the saturday evening show. I don't really think I'm the best fan ever. I very recently got into Hamilton so I am by no way the biggest, bestest fan ever. I'm just a fan who saw an opportunity to see the show before the original cast left and I took it. And yes, sleeping outside is out of anyones comfort zone especially when they have a bed at home. Much more better than those extreme options you mentioned. And i really hope you are not alluding to suicide with that last one because wether your trying to be a smartass or not, suicide is in no way something to joke about."

I adressed before on spending thousands of dollars on one ticket.

I wouldn't abandon something I became "emotionally invested in" but then again, I would seriously consider spending 2 hours on the line and certainly wouldn't consider spending a single night, let alone 3.

If I tried to join the line and some random person just told "no you can't because I'm the Mighty Emperor of the Line and I say so" I would certainly call the theatre and send emails.

I wasn't talking about you, but "fans" on general. People are always trying to prove how they're the best fans that a lot of them even causes some discomfort on the subject they're fans of. I was just saying that if people weren't trying to prove this or that, you'd probably got in the first day. At least you'd have a shot. But by obeying to self created rules of the kingdom line you legitimated it.

Ride a roller coaster if you're not into extreme options. Ride the subway on rush hour with 500 dollars on your pocket. You name it.

And no, I wasn't.

 

"Let's just leave it at we're two different kinds of people. Which is cool, there's millions of people out there in the world all from different upbringings with different experiences. No two people are alike. And i agree, if things weren't like i probably did have a shot but it's unfortunately not like that. Again, we'll just have to agree on what defines stepping outside your comfort zone, which is cool. And thank you, Suicide is just not funny or something that should be thrown about lightly.

 

[HogansHero]

@nelly "It's just frustrating that the theater has been working with the cancellation line"

That's where you are wrong. You are just imagining that. The only thing "the theater" has done is tell you where you can't stand. 

This also reminds me of the CPW overnight line outrages that were catalogued here back when there was a reason to stay in a line overnight to get your freebies.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed how many 1st Day posters there are in this thread?