Hamilton in Chicago

[ozjust4]

"Things I noticed in the playbill, only one understudy for Angelica (Aubin Wise) and Samantha Ware understudies Eliza. I must have missed this last time. Has she gone on yet? I would love to see her in the role."

 

She only started covering Eliza recently. She hasn't gone on yet, but when she does she will be FANTASTIC

[6timesnyc]

Review on tonight's performance.... Wayne Brady a no show, his understudy Carl Clemons-Hopkins is an effective Burr, had a tough time with Dear Theodosia's high notes though.  Whole cast had trouble keeping on key in "Alexander Hamilton"- solo parts-- maybe a sound issue?? Karen Olivio is rough tonight also, she screeched her way through most songs.   Saw this cast with Joshua Henry in November and they blew me away. Ari Afsar's Eliza was less than impressive until act 2 and absolutely killed it on "burn" last time, tonight she was off key a lot and didn't redeem herself in "burn" unfortunately.  

Miguel Cervantes is incredible. Charismatic, funny, and heartbreaking. Better than both Lin and Javier IMO. 

Alexander Gemignani brought his own  spin on King George that was a huge hit with the crowd. 

The crowd was very pleased with the performance- we just have seen it multiple times so we were a bit critical. All in all it was a great evening with some performances that were second to none. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Does the Hamilton alternate not act as a standby? It's also interesting to see they still don't have a replacement for Emmy 

[Call_me_jorge]

[maxkko]

Candace Quarrels is replacing Emmy.

[nightnic001]

Jin Ha made his debut as Burr tonight! He is in the ensemble in the doctor/James Reynolds track and he also covers the King, Hamilton, and Burr. He has now gone on for King and Burr, but not Hamilton yet.

[Call_me_jorge]

The picture I've been trying to post is not appearing, so I'll just link it. https://instagram.com/p/BQh8M_DDwg6/

[Call_me_jorge]

Just saw Jin Ha as Burr at today's matinee, and considering he hasn't had much time in the role he was stunning. It was very interesting to see a burr shorter/around the same height as Hamilton. The first time I saw it, Joshua was burr so it was a difficult task to win me over from the get go. He's no Henry, but he made the role his own and I enjoyed it very much.

Colby as Lafayette/Jefferson was hysterical. 

I saw Joseph the last time and honestly, I enjoyed him more than Miguel. He was good, but joseph had a more refined sound which I enjoyed more. He also had a more playfulness.

It sounded like Ari was sick, but I didn't have any issue with it.

everyone else was great! 

[Call_me_jorge]

Also during Burn, Ari sang Perceive instead of Deceive. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

When does Eliza sing the word "deceive" in "Burn?"

[laugard]

Call_me_jorge said: "Also during Burn, Ari sang Perceive instead of Deceive. 

The line is "how they perceive you."

 

 

[ACL2006]

ggersten said: "KJisgroovy said: "FYI, Wayne Brady is out for all these shows: 2/4,8,11,12,14,15,19,21,27 & 3/5... That's about 15% of his run."

Where was this information?  And what about March 24?

 

"

he's taping episodes of the next season of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

[Call_me_jorge]

laugard said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Also during Burn, Ari sang Perceive instead of Deceive. 

The line is "how they perceive you."

 

 

 

"

REALLY? I need to listen to the OBCR again, because I could have sworn it was "how you deceive them" 

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

The full lyric is: "And you are paranoid in every paragraph / How they perceive you / You, you, you..."

Eliza is speaking to Hamilton's obsession with image and legacy and reputation here—meaning how much he focused intensely in his writings on how others perceived him. I'm not sure how you could hear "How you deceive them" here, but to each his own!

[Call_me_jorge]

Today was the first #eduham for the Chicago production and from the instagram posts and Snapchat stories it looks like it was a success. I only wish I were a sophomore again. 

Anyone know of they are going to have any of these special performances for the tour? I imagine it would be more difficult, but maybe it could happen at the longer stops.

[neonlightsxo]

"Eliza is speaking to Hamilton's obsession with image and legacy and reputation here—meaning how much he focused intensely in his writings on how others perceived him. I'm not sure how you could hear "How you deceive them" here, but to each his own!"

This.

[TotallyEffed]

Any word on when Karen will be leaving?

[Call_me_jorge]

New block of tickets have been released. I'm wondering if they are trying to find out whether Hamilton in Chicago will need to continue post January 8th. The other blocks of tickets have been 6 months each. So I wonder if they'll close the Chicago production and then bring the company out on the 2nd national tour. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/hamilton/ct-new-block-hamilton-tickets-on-sale-tuesday-20170223-story.html

[MyLife]

Judging by the tour dates, it looks like they've already decided to close the show in Chicago and turn it into the 2NT. Dates on the tour site overlap, with one on the West Coast and one in the Midwest/South.

 

Example:

Costa Mesa, CA May 8-28, 2018

Atlanta, GA May 22-June 10, 2018

http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/#tour

[neonlightsxo]

I didn't realize the Chicago sales were slowing.

[Call_me_jorge]

neonlightsxo said: "I didn't realize the Chicago sales were slowing.

 

"

The last block of tickets didn't sell that well, I believe. 

This next block of tickets have seats going for as low as 70 bucks.

[Mister Matt]

I remember seeing articles that Chicago was always intended for an 18-month run.  Currently, it is scheduled through 1/7/2018 with tickets currently on sale through 9/17/2017.  You can still get full-view non-premium seats at face value for mid-week performances in the Mezzanine and Balcony around the middle of Sep, but the amount of seats they charge premium prices for was always WAY too ambitious for any show in Chicago.  The city has only a fraction of the tourist traffic that Broadway gets and if they learned anything from Wicked and Billy Elliot, it would be that Chicago ain't Broadway and will never be Broadway and therefore, the pricing should not be structured as such, especially with another sit-down and a tour opening in the US.  The potential audience for the show in Chicago will be diluted and exhausted with just some spikes in sales during the summer and Christmas holidays.

[TheSassySam]

The tickets were extremely pricey for Chicago audiences. 

I am interested to see what sit-down production could survive in Chicago. I have a feeling when Chicago closes on Broadway, there will be a sit-down production in Chicago for tourists. Gimmicky, yes, but it would sell. 

[KJisgroovy]

It was a mistake, I think, to charge so much while also announcing a tour that will be visiting cities close to Chicago. It sort of killed the "exclusivity" of the Chicago productions and without that... I don't think people really had an interest? Why travel to Chicago and pay big bucks when it'll be in your city next year? When Wicked was playing in Chicago, the tour didn't visit places in the midwest and Wicked ran longest of all the recent "sit-downs." 

The cost and all the talk about difficulty in getting tickets also turned locals away. I think folks would be very surprised to hear that tickets are readily available. When I tell them they act genuinely shocked. I think the hype got ahead of the production. 

Some thoughts... Maybe simply anecdotal and way off-base.

[neonlightsxo]

All good points! Jeffrey Seller made it seem like they were planning for an indefinite run in Chicago, I don't have the link anymore but I think they were hoping for longer than 18 months.

[adagio]

It also looks like they're dropping the Wed matinee for the most part - unless they truly reserved all those shows for the education initiative?

 

I agree that the prices were far too high not only for a Chicago location, but for the quality of seats in that theatre. The Private Bank is a far cry from the Richard Rodgers, and so many terrible sightlines were going for $200-600. The stage deck is ridiculously tall and lots of the side orchestra seats are obstructed view.