Why Does Michael Riedel hate "Hamilton"?- Page 9

[ramsay15]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 12:05pm

HogansHero said: "ramsay15 said: "Maybe Reidel hates Hamilton because of all the never-ending hype: such as four or five postings a day on Playbill.  By the way, what is Lin Manuel's temperature today?  Has it gone down from 102 degrees?"

 

Let me pose a question or two: what if it isn't hype? what if it is (as many here and elsewhere have asserted), actually that good? 

 

I happen to believe that it is. I happen to believe that it is more deserving of media attention than most everything else we have seen in (most of) our lifetimes. Have you seen it or do you just have a knee-jerk reaction to what you deem hype-something that, incidentally, is dependent on exaggeration to be an apt word? 

What brings you to your attitude toward the show?

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, I have seen Hamilton twice - once at the Public and once on Broadway. 

2) My attitude towards the show:  I think that the show is terrific and well deserves the critical praise and audience reaction that it has received.  The issue is the extent of Linsanity.

3)  I believe that, however great the show may be - and the show is great - the press on the show is over the top.  Two of my most recent favorites on Playbill: (a) Beyoncé and Jay Z attend: (b) See the Hamilton and Burr pistols;  I don't believe that articles like that are organic. Most members of the press don't have time to do their own legwork, so much of it is fed by press agents.  Who is Lin-Manuel Miranda's press rep?  Sunshine Sachs.  Who did Playbill's Editor in Chief used to work for?  Sunshine Sachs.  Who decides what appears on Playbill?

The whole point of the thread was why does Michael Reidel hate Hamilton.  I posited one reason - which may or may not be accurate.  Hogan may vehemently disagree with me (and others)- and that's his right.  But I disagree with his incendiary ways of expressing his views. 

 

 

 

 

 

"

 

Updated On: 10/23/15 at 12:05 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 12:07pm

You saw Hamilton in Washington?

[Hellob]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 12:32pm

^^^ I think the combo of LMM being so approachable irl and social media combined with the feeling that if you're not at this show, you're missing out is what fuels the "Linsanity". Patti Lupone or "insert name" could be in the best show and give the best performance but they aren't likely to acknowledge your existence. I really don't think he has a machine behind him (the show might). His ability to be cool to everyone is better than any PR team. That being said, it's obvious the show is a massive hit but will it trickle into being a household name show? Idk, when I tell non theater fan friends about it (everywhere in between Cali to Detroit) no one knows what I'm talking about. 

I also agree with the other poster who said it's too bad the jerk writer was the one who put it down bc there is room for discussion/debate over flaws but there's nowhere to discuss them bc the fever is so high. I wonder how it will be viewed in 5-10 years? 

Anyway, I think whether you love/hate his shows, his twitter, his hype- he's still a great thing to happen to Bway and will hopefully inspire the next generation to realize you can be cool and love theater. So many "cool" people think theater is laaaaame, he's changing that perception and that's something to applaud.

[macnyc]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 1:00pm

Hellob said:  Anyway, I think whether you love/hate his shows, his twitter, his hype- he's still a great thing to happen to Bway and will hopefully inspire the next generation to realize you can be cool and love theater. So many "cool" people think theater is laaaaame, he's changing that perception and that's something to applaud.

 

Absolutely! Just look at what Lin-Manuel has done with the Ham4Ham shows. He's generously giving up his time (the commodity he probably has the least of, nowadays) to highlight other performers and shows, both on Broadway and off, and even give a glimpse into the inner workings of his show (the Ham4Ham with the stage manager was genius, I thought). So even if you're not able to afford tickets or you have to wait a long time to find something affordable, you can attend the lottery if you have time and take part at least in this!

 

Updated On: 10/23/15 at 01:00 PM

[Petralicious]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 4:06pm

macnyc said: "Hellob said:  Anyway, I think whether you love/hate his shows, his twitter, his hype- he's still a great thing to happen to Bway and will hopefully inspire the next generation to realize you can be cool and love theater. So many "cool" people think theater is laaaaame, he's changing that perception and that's something to applaud.

 

 

 

Absolutely! Just look at what Lin-Manuel has done with the Ham4Ham shows. He's generously giving up his time (the commodity he probably has the least of, nowadays) to highlight other performers and shows, both on Broadway and off, and even give a glimpse into the inner workings of his show (the Ham4Ham with the stage manager was genius, I thought). So even if you're not able to afford tickets or you have to wait a long time to find something affordable, you can attend the lottery if you have time and take part at least in this!

 

 

 

"I have not thought of that before, very excellent point! Giving Back is always good, and time as you say is more important than money sometimes

 

[indytallguy]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 5:38pm

Miranda seems both gracious and generous, a winning combination I will always value. I have no doubt then 10-20 years from now some young artist will be telling Miranda stories just as Danny Burstein recently did regarding his three-hour meeting with Sondheim.

[Steve C.]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 6:20pm

Why does he hate Hamilton? I don't think he does; he loves all this free publicity he gets especially from people who have seen it or are soon to see it. I'm sure he loves Hamilton the way basically theater and BWW posters are still gushing about Hamilton and hating Riedal on these message boards.  

It's getting to the point where someone will ask " do you mean the actors actually brush their teeth and go to the bathroom?"

Don't get me wrong LM is very generous with his time and ability to offer the lottery. I'm sure he gets requests now for PR and publicity from hundred of magazines and theater interviewers, NPR. The show deserves high accolades and it deserves all of the plenty of good reviews that it received. But...how many of us remember the names of people or critics that loved the show aside from the NYT?

Lastly I love the show and the OBC release. I thought even the Barnes and Noble pics were cute. The show is very very good but really, it's not my reason for living. (And you don't have to hate on me, I love Hamilton just like you do, but Riedal, Riedal Riedal is just what he loves). He'll be more upset if you don't buy his trashy book. 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 6:33pm

@Ramsay --actually you did not answer either of the questions I posed, but I'll let it slide. If you want me to say that Playbill is lazy, I will. They are basically a cut and paste operation. But I don't think you cite good examples of being over the top. All theatre outlets (this one included) report tirelessly on celebrity sightings. Why? Because (for better or worse, mostly worse) the public has a voracious appetite for that stuff. And the guns? I think that is legitimately something of interest to folks and ought to be reported. 

There is a chicken/egg problem here: Hamilton has more celebrities to snap pics of because it is a show everyone wants to see. Is that their fault? (I guess, in one sense, it is. How dare that create a show that is (in your hype-free description) terrific?) If celebrities were beating each other up for house seats to Dames at Sea, is there any doubt Playbill and BWW and Theatermania and Broadway.com would be printing their pics?) Likewise, there is a heightened interest in things Hamilton, so when a Hamilton artifact suddenly becomes accessible, is it any surprise people are interested? I'm sure the Hamilton Grange and Trinity Churchyard have increased traffic too. And I am quite sure neither has engaged a press agent to promote themselves. Finally as to press agents and your conspiracy theory, the show has a press agent who has the job of promoting his show. LMM has a press agent who, I am positive is not putting out press releases about who is coming to Hamilton or what weapons are being displayed where. And as to your conspiracy theory, I think it speaks for itself.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 7:41pm

The thinking that these sites are promoting Hamilton incessantly by mentioning all of these huge celebrities, and not acknowledging that they are only doing as a means of improving their search engine rankings by associating their sites as one that provides information on Beyonce, Jay-Z, and all of these other huge celebrities is a pretty critical flaw in logic.

 

It is the same thing as when Playbill will dream-cast a show, and it is all of these odd choices for roles, but coincidentally mention a bunch of people who are huge SEO fodder, and then people try to suggest better people for the role? Dreamcasting the show was never the point to begin with.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/23/15 at 9:32pm

I have no idea what any of that means and I'm glad for it. It's an admission that I don't know everything more than a Roxy pride in ignorance type thing.