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

[UncleCharlie]

dramamama611 said: "Uncle Charlie -- you didn't read the rules, did you?  Tsk, tsk....you checked the box that said you did.  

I'm sorry, I didn't. Dying to find out how they enforce it. Do they send an "enforcer to your house or maybe use some sort of Vulcan Mind Meld?  

 

 

"

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Luckily we have thread monitors who monitor things here. 

[aaaaaa15]

I do feel sorry for you, that's unfortunate and it's very unlucky to have both of those two situations (all the leads being out and the line getting out of control) happening at the same time.

I have a few questions/comments though.

I find it crazy that you saw In the Heights but only knew about Hamilton last month? Or was it that you knew about it but didn't pay attention? I have to wonder how long the people who were behind you in line who managed to get tickets had wanted to see the show. 6 months, 9 months, 18 months? It doesn't mean they should be able to cut in front of course, but I am seeing a trend of people getting interested in Hamilton late to the game and then expecting to be able to get tickets straight away with the original cast, when there are people that have wanted to do that since last January.

As for the cancellation line itself, I think they should wait until Lin, Leslie and Phillipa leave and see if it gets any calmer. If not, they need to scrap it and find another system. There is never any need for tears, fights, name-calling etc. over something like this. No show is worth waiting that long for anyway.

It's sad that those 4 cast members were out but I also have to consider both times I saw Hamilton, I did so by buying face value tickets the first time they went on sale. I waited 5 months to see it the first time and 9 months to see it the second time. If I'd have turned up at either of those performances and seen those cast members were out, there's no way I'd give up those tickets. I'd sit down and enjoy the performance and I say that as someone that considers Leslie and Phillipa to be giving the best performances in the show. You're still getting award winning music, lyrics, choreography, lighting, costumes, direction and two Tony-winning performances. I kind of think it's a little crazy to come to the show this late in the game and expect to get tickets to see the original cast within the space of a month. I appreciate you were willing to put in your time and energy to do so, but this is just not an easy, guaranteed ticket in any sense, especially now that the cast are becoming exhausted after awards season and almost 18 months straight of performances.

[Jordan Catalano]

They really do need to get rid of the line and just put them back on ticketmaster. 

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Jordan Catalano said: "They really do need to get rid of the line and just put them back on ticketmaster. "

Yup. Last minute, face value tickets. 

[@z5]

Regardless, there's no guarantee. Sorry, but you're dumb enough to wait outside for 4 days. Shit happens.

[ashk8177]

BroadwayConcierge said: "Yeah, this was fun for a while but it's getting annoying now. If mods could put this thread to pasture, that would be phenomenal. 

I hear you, but no one is forcing us to read, much less comment on it. If something is annoying you why would you keep reading and posting? This is not an attack on you, I'm wondering the same thing about myself, ha. 

 

[ashk8177]

BroadwayConcierge said: "Yeah, this was fun for a while but it's getting annoying now. If mods could put this thread to pasture, that would be phenomenal. 

I hear you, but no one is forcing us to read, much less comment on it. If something is annoying you why would you keep reading and posting? This is not an attack on you, I'm wondering the same thing about myself, ha. 

 

[Wick3]

aaaaaa15 said: "I kind of think it's a little crazy to come to the show this late in the game and expect to get tickets to see the original cast within the space of a month. I appreciate you were willing to put in your time and energy to do so, but this is just not an easy, guaranteed ticket in any sense, especially now that the cast are becoming exhausted after awards season and almost 18 months straight of performances. "

Very true. I tried to buy tickets to Hamilton last summer but for some reason on Ticketmaster the only seats available were either premium (which is not in my budget) or side orchestra partial view seats (if I'm paying full price, I want a good seat.) Not sure why. I decided to hold it off and thus I did the live lottery every single day after work (took 15 mins of my time since I work near the theater) and didn't win until this past January. 

BTW, nelly, try the Hamilton lottery every single day this week. I hope you win! :)

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Why should the mods end the thread? 

You are not compelled to read it. The internet's not going to run out of space.

[bwayphreak234]

Not even going to bother reading through this thread, but going off the initial post and the campsite outside the Richard Rodgers on weekends, something needs to be done.

[Wick3]

Jay Lerner-Z said: "Why should the mods end the thread? 

You are not compelled to read it. The internet's not going to run out of space."

 

I agree. No need to end the thread. Who knows? An anonymous wealthy benefactor who reads this thread might offer Nelly a Hamilton tickets from TM+. 

 

[seriously13]

Sorry you didn't get tix, and that the RRT changed the rules of engagement.  Certainly, it is your prerogative to spend your free time camping out for 4 days in the hopes of getting tix to the show you want, with the cast you want.  But you had to have known that the whole cancellation line situation is a gamble, especially after the Tonys with some of the stars leaving in the next couple of weeks.  So you gambled, and you lost.  As Eliza would say, "Sometimes that's how it goes."

[schubox]

If people are bored or annoyed with this thread why do they keep opening it?

[casedilla2]

@those of you saying they should just put them on ticketmaster last minute, ticketmaster stops selling tickets to all of their events an hour before its start time, and cancellation tickets do not become available until just before or at showtime. So I'm not sure how that would work

[wonkit]

I am sorry that you were disappointed. God forbid you ever have to deal with something seriously unfortunate in your life. I strongly suggest that you spend 96 hours working in a homeless shelter or food bank and then tell us about how upset you are that you failed to see a performance of a Broadway show.

[AnnieBlack]

For a lot of venues now, ticketmaster sells tickets for even a half hour after showtime- the venue has to be equipped for it (MSG for example is one of them), but I can imagine that for such a high volume event such as Hamilton, they can do this. I wouldn't be surprised to see the cancellations to end up on ticketmaster after all these issues. 

[LizzieCurry]

You can't comfort these damn kids!

[ljay889]

I hope they do discontinue the line! Some people seriously need lives. and I don't care one bit if i'm being judgmental. 

[Andrew Rosenblum]

Uncle Charlie,  

You are never getting to Broadway with writing like that. How about, "How I got ****ed on the Hamilton Cancelation Line?" You need a-holes like Jeremy to create tension. Let's call Jeremy A. Ham. Jeremy needs a cute and witty girl friend like Eliza Schyler. Now in the modern adaption, Eliza leaves A. Ham to go to the show with someone else. (Maybe TJ, any suggestions?) But you need Jeremy with Eliza for most of the show to make the audience suffer.

[HogansHero]

nellyxoxo1 said (in big bold letters so no one would miss it):

"THE THEATER WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD US TO COME BACK AT 5:30 TO LINE UP AGAIN."
Theatres can't talk. 
"THE THEATER WAS USING THE LIST."
By your own statement, no they weren't. Maybe they were some other day but not that day. 
 

I beg your pardon, but no one promised you a rose garden, and no one promised you anything else. You are imagining that you have some entitlement here and you have none. This is not a contest, nor is this the lottery. This is a box office selling tickets that have been made available to them by the production, to the next person in line. Go back and read Rule #1.That's a bitter pill, but it's the one you need to understand. You were not there when you needed to be. 

 

 

"

 

[ChiTheaterFan]

I honestly would be afraid to go to the cancellation line now. People are too invested and too emotional about it. It's only a matter of time before someone goes crazy. They really should just come up with another way to sell unused tickets because this feels like it's getting unsafe. 

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Anakela said:  All of this, basically, except for the fact that there are rules. And I don't mean fan-made rules, I'm talking about the actual cancellation line rules posted at the RR. The first of which is "patrons may not swap out or hold places on the line."

So if I don't know any better (or, hey, even if maybe I am an ass), and I try and join the cancellation line, but I get told by other people on line (not any actual theatre staff) "oh, this is the actual list of the line, on this sheet of paper. even though these people aren't here, because they're off showering and sleeping. so you have to put your name on the list, and you'll be in the line after the 20+ people who aren't here," well I would probably question the staff and complain too.

Sounds like the RR mistake was in abiding by these fan rules and fan lists for too long. 

I just never understood reading the posts that recounted of people leaving the line to eat, shower or whatever.  I asked myself what happensed to the no holding rule placed by the theater.  The no chairs rule flew out the window, too.  I saw chairs on the line Thursday, one with a giant Dominican flag design on it, could definitely tell it was a chair.  Seems like the theater lost control of the line and to clear it out for filming trucks, they took this action.  If not, people would be out there still.  I'm sure someone is sitting around nearby waiting to be first for Wednesday.

 

[adamgreer]

I'm always amused when people on these lines appoint themselves the line police, making their own set of rules, then seem incredulous when the theater doesn't follow their unofficial rules. 

[ljay889]

adamgreer said: "I'm always amused when people on these lines appoint themselves the line police, making their own set of rules, then seem incredulous when the theater doesn't follow their unofficial rules. 

"

 

YES!!!! It's so humorous. 

[casedilla2]

I'm still not sure some of you understand that the reason people left and the reason there was a list is not because they left to shower/eat, etc- it's because the theater employees specifically said that everyone needed to leave during the show and would be able to come back into their line positions afterward. Then, people broke the rules by coming outside the theater during the show, and the theater employees went against their own instructions and allowed them to claim spots at the front of the line. 

I understand the theater can do whatever they want since it's their tickets. But anyone can objectively look at this and see that there was a huge lack of organization and that this is not the correct way to sell them when they do have posted rules for the line for tickets. 

But anyways, I think I'm done posting in this thread. Those who've done the line know how it works and how this was highly unfair and upsetting for those who waited multiple days, but it is what it is.