So it was a bit of a shock to basically everyone when suddenly Hamilton became the hottest ticket on Broadway. Written by Lin Manuel-Miranda, who had previously written In the Heights and contributed to Bring It On: The Musical, the show seemed to go from zero to ABSOLUTELY FUCKING EVERYWHERE. Several of my friends became obsessed. As is often the case with the people I tend to surround myself with, they began talking about it constantly.
Have I told you about the power of my irritation?
See, when something starts to annoy me, I have a very narrow window to learn to like it or wind up hating it forever. As I was about to go to New York, I declared my intent to see Hamilton, so as to keep myself from hating it. Several people pointed out that it was, you know, sold out until next year. Whatever, I replied. I was going to see it.
Come the day we had reserved for Hamilton-going, Diana and I went to the theater, where she already had a friend at the front of the cancellation line. Said friend was able to get us three tickets at face value (one for each of us, one for herself). Sarah and Katie joined us, and put their names in for the lottery. Now, when you do a show lottery, the popularity of the show pretty much decides your chances. A show like Hamilton means they're not...good. So we're standing there as the names are being drawn, and name after name does not belong to any member of our party.
"This is our last draw for the night," announces Daveed Diggs (Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson)...and reads Sarah's name. Our entire group makes a terrifying, drawn-out screeching noise, like we have been possessed by the spirits of every velociraptor currently in residence at the Museum of Natural History.
The five of us proceed to a local Italian place for dinner, bolt our spaghetti, and meet up with Josh in line. Josh has secured a ticket through the simple, if nerve-wracking expedient of waiting for the StubHub prices to drop back to "just trying to recoup my investment" levels, and then running from their last-minute ticket office to meet us. So yes. The power of my spite* got six people into a completely sold-out show at the last minute, all with good seats, no one paying scalper prices. Behold the power of spite.
(*Odd as this may seem as an ordinary superpower, I have never lost a ticket lottery. Either I or someone in my immediate group has always won. It's weird, but useful.)
Hamilton is very simply staged: there are few props, even fewer sets. It's mostly just stark wood and people implying their surroundings through context. The cast is intentionally diverse, representing America as it is today through the faces on the stage. And it never stops. Not for one second. Even the slow moments are fast by the standards of most shows.
I hoped to like Hamilton. I didn't expect to love it. I certainly didn't expect to sob through great swaths of it. The soundtrack is available now, and there is so little speech in the show that just listening to it is more than enough; you'll get basically the whole show.
But I am so glad I got to be in the room where it happens.
January 18 2016, 23:19:52 UTC 1 year ago
And if you have Amazon prime, you can listen/stream/download for free!
January 18 2016, 23:48:47 UTC 1 year ago
*ahem*
I'm part of a group buy going when it gets to Chicago in October, and a friend had introduced us to it when she was here for New Years, but only through YouTube clips. So thank you for this information!!
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January 18 2016, 23:59:27 UTC 1 year ago
On the offhance you haven't yet discovered the lyrics page:
http://atlanticrecords.com/HamiltonMusi
Not just the lyrics page -- the *extensively footnoted* lyrics page. Exhaustively footnoted, even. *mwah*
January 19 2016, 00:05:33 UTC 1 year ago
I needed this in my life in the worst way. Thank you!
January 19 2016, 03:27:07 UTC 1 year ago
Same information, but I think a little easier to flip through, imo.
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January 19 2016, 00:05:42 UTC 1 year ago
January 19 2016, 00:17:05 UTC 1 year ago
I'm so glad you blogged about this because I was wondering what all the Hamilton references going off on the net at the moment were alluding to. Thank you!
January 19 2016, 00:23:52 UTC 1 year ago
January 19 2016, 00:46:43 UTC 1 year ago
:) Amazing songs and it's so fantastic that you did win that lottery!
January 19 2016, 03:01:55 UTC 1 year ago Edited: January 19 2016, 03:14:14 UTC
ETA: Done!
January 19 2016, 05:20:47 UTC 1 year ago
January 19 2016, 07:14:55 UTC 1 year ago
January 19 2016, 11:49:24 UTC 1 year ago
I've had good luck with ticket lottos, too. That's how I saw Wicked when it was the hot new thing on Broadway.
January 19 2016, 14:09:01 UTC 1 year ago
January 19 2016, 19:19:12 UTC 1 year ago
While, yes, I'm happy you get to enjoy the thing, I am selfishly gleeful that it will enter the lexicon of Stuff You Might Reference and I can reap the benefits of that.
January 19 2016, 22:46:02 UTC 1 year ago
* As a weirdo magnet, I'm already pretty scared hanging out on the streets in SF and I grew up in the Bay. I don't even think I could handle going to the one city even weirder, plus with worse weather, plus they literally laugh in your face and insult you for being an outsider if you wear a color.** And I like colors, dammit.
** My shrink also told me she got super insulted in public the last time she went to NYC because she dared to wear a red shirt in public, and her New York Accent was apparently no longer acceptable because she wore a color. REALLY?!
Ah well, maybe in a few years it'll hit SF and I can suck it up to go see it there.
January 20 2016, 18:20:46 UTC 1 year ago
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January 21 2016, 17:05:07 UTC 1 year ago
You're so lucky you got to go! Everyone wants to go! And you got to see the original cast and everything! You got to see daveed diggs and stuff! So cool.
January 23 2016, 08:40:12 UTC 1 year ago
January 25 2016, 03:15:28 UTC 1 year ago
I generally have good lottery luck but my only can't lose show so far seems to be RENT - although on my last trip to NYC I got into Matilda, If/Then and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (the last being a rush line though) with no problem.
Yay for NYC show luck :)
January 28 2016, 21:36:19 UTC 1 year ago Edited: January 28 2016, 21:38:01 UTC