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Post by Seriously on Apr 8, 2016 18:32:47 GMT
Yeah, British "open auditions" don't have the greatest track record in actually finding people. They're usually just a cheap source of advertising.
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Post by ali973 on Apr 8, 2016 18:35:03 GMT
There will be other means to find performers of a different background through talent agents (stylistically, I mean). There's tons of performers who can dance, sing and rap who don't do musicals and end up being backup singers and dancers for top performers like Beyonce, Madonna, etc. List goes on.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 20:57:49 GMT
They cast the London production of In the Heights fine and that's a much smaller production than Hamilton will be.
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Post by andrew on Apr 8, 2016 21:06:51 GMT
Hamilton is going to have no problems casting all the known and unknown talent there is to be found. If they're struggling to fill believable leads they'll also have no financial issues with pulling across acting talent from America.
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Post by ali973 on Apr 8, 2016 21:13:07 GMT
Didn't Lin just more or less say he's opening it in London? How is wife wants him to do things in different countries and how he'd love to do it in London?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 22:20:31 GMT
He did say he would love to do it in London. It's not guaranteed though, things could have changed. He's becoming busier every week and he might be sick of playing the role by now, who knows? Leslie Odom Jr has also expressed interest in coming to London.
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Post by Jon on Apr 8, 2016 22:25:58 GMT
He did say he would love to do it in London. It's not guaranteed though, things could have changed. He's becoming busier every week and he might be sick of playing the role by now, who knows? Leslie Odom Jr has also expressed interest in coming to London. I imagine it depends when it opens in London, I think he'll leave once cast change happens for the Broadway company, he was or still is working on Moana, the upcoming Disney animated film as well as perform in Hamilton. I think he might do a few months in London but not any longer. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 22:43:55 GMT
He did say he would love to do it in London. It's not guaranteed though, things could have changed. He's becoming busier every week and he might be sick of playing the role by now, who knows? Leslie Odom Jr has also expressed interest in coming to London. I imagine it depends when it opens in London, I think he'll leave once cast change happens for the Broadway company, he was or still is working on Moana, the upcoming Disney animated film as well as perform in Hamilton. I think he might do a few months in London but not any longer. Yes I could easily see him leaving the Broadway cast in July, taking a year or so off to work on other things and then opening the show in London for 3-6 months. He will definitely be done with Moana as that is out this November but knowing what he's like, I'm sure he'll have started working on something else by then. Just don't want to get my hopes up so will remain as realistic as possible haha. |
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Post by Jon on Apr 8, 2016 22:50:40 GMT
Yes I could easily see him leaving the Broadway cast in July, taking a year or so off to work on other things and then opening the show in London for 3-6 months. He will definitely be done with Moana as that is out this November but knowing what he's like, I'm sure he'll have started working on something else by then. Just don't want to get my hopes up so will remain as realistic as possible haha. Even if he doesn't star in it, he'll still be actively involved with the West End transfer as part of the creative team. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2016 8:54:55 GMT
I've been reasearching and listening to some clips from the show.
Will the storyline appeal to UK audiences too? The story is about America, will it appeal to us?
The songs sound super catchy though but i think it will do better on Broadway than over here
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2016 9:05:16 GMT
Well, Evita worked for UK in spite of its Argentine subject, and Les Mis seems pretty popular even though people's knowledge of French history doesn't extend as far as the June Rebellion, and how much do British people know about Mormonism anyway?
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Post by Steffi on Apr 10, 2016 9:09:32 GMT
There might not be as much of an extreme hype over here but I don't see why a gripping show about American history won't appeal to a UK audience (and don't forget all those tourists from all over the world who come to London and watch shows).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2016 9:36:47 GMT
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Post by infofreako on Apr 10, 2016 10:29:45 GMT
I was going to respond to the comment about its subject matter but I've been beaten to it. I certainly don't think location of a story matters though
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Post by primitivewallflower on Apr 10, 2016 18:48:48 GMT
And as a counterpoint, remember the example of Rent: a hyped US musical with a story that was far more universal and ahistorical than Hamilton... and it only played for, what, less than 2 years in London IIRC? So it's just tough to predict.
I think Hamilton will do fine but with the caveat that the story arc and the stakes involved are a little more tied up in actual history than Les Miz or even Evita.
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Post by Dave25 on Apr 10, 2016 19:40:32 GMT
I think the show's approach is too "musical parody".
Almost every song is told in a very childish way, very literal, with every word spoken/rapped in a fake/overly dramatic way, it becomes very posturing and annoying. Then he did this, then he did that, and then the people said, oh my god, this kid is insane man, what's your name man, alexander hamilton, my name is alexander hamilton, and then the chorus repeats his name for 40 times, and then after the dancers are done with their mandatory streetdance (in every song), of course, all ensemble and leads stand in a row to face the audience with dramatic faces staring into the audience, and then to top it all off, every song ends with a dramatic head flip on the last chord/dramatic pose facing the audience.
It gets very boring. Much, much more is needed for a good show.
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Post by ali973 on Apr 10, 2016 20:11:08 GMT
^ I can't..Someone care to take over?
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Post by Dave25 on Apr 10, 2016 20:31:09 GMT
Take a look at this clip, here you can see exactly what I mean. It is all "outside", every song has the streetdance, every end pose is a "cool one facing the audience", the ensemble is extremely repetitive in shouting words about what happens, and there is very little actual interaction between characters, only in a "mimicking way", and if it tends to go somewhere, the focus quickly turns towards the audience again, or a pose, streetdance or a cool word, that screams "musical parody". If you compare this to something like Miss Saigon (another dramatic show about history), there is only 1 character in the show that turns to the audience, and there is no "posing" at all. It's like the show doesn't take itself seriously at all. Because of this, I can't take it serious either. It creates a vibe that actually makes me laugh at times. Especially when the end pose of a song comes in.
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Post by 49thand8th on Apr 10, 2016 20:35:14 GMT
^ I can't..Someone care to take over? My roommate said basically the same thing after he saw Hamilton a few weeks after I did the first time. I can't really disagree with him (more Dave25's first post than his most recent), and I like the show. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2016 20:43:16 GMT
I think Hamilton's refusal to take itself too seriously is very much one of the key factors in its favour. Honestly, would people *rather* have a po-faced dull-as-ditchwater approach? It's a musical about a man who established American banks and spent 98% of his life writing essays for heaven's sake.
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Post by Dave25 on Apr 10, 2016 20:52:01 GMT
No, but the overly dramatic intonation of the rap and the poses does not match with the funny parody approach of the material.
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Post by Seriously on Apr 10, 2016 20:59:06 GMT
It looks like the choreographer thought he was doing a musical about football, the costume designer thought it was Beauty and the Beast, and the composer's been listening to Eminem's "One Shot".
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Post by andrew on Apr 10, 2016 21:02:28 GMT
No, but the overly dramatic intonation of the rap and the poses does not match with the funny parody approach of the material. I can see where you're coming from but, purely as a matter of personal opinion, could not disagree with your view more. As has been said, it's light hearted, and uses rap to talk about dramatic or serious things in a twenty-first century manner. Talking to the audience is a trope of theatre as old as the medium itself, I don't feel it's a negative part of the show. I don't really understand how it seems like a parody to you, it seems like a youthful retelling to me. I definitely can't see where you're getting street dance from. There's very little of anything like that in the show from my recollection. |
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Post by 49thand8th on Apr 10, 2016 21:28:18 GMT
No, but the overly dramatic intonation of the rap and the poses does not match with the funny parody approach of the material. Maybe because it's not supposed to be a funny parody? It certainly doesn't take itself 100% seriously the whole time, but it does when appropriate. |
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Post by galinda on Apr 10, 2016 21:45:56 GMT
Take a look at this clip, here you can see exactly what I mean. It is all "outside", every song has the streetdance, every end pose is a "cool one facing the audience", the ensemble is extremely repetitive in shouting words about what happens, and there is very little actual interaction between characters, only in a "mimicking way", and if it tends to go somewhere, the focus quickly turns towards the audience again, or a pose, streetdance or a cool word, that screams "musical parody". If you compare this to something like Miss Saigon (another dramatic show about history), there is only 1 character in the show that turns to the audience, and there is no "posing" at all. It's like the show doesn't take itself seriously at all. Because of this, I can't take it serious either. It creates a vibe that actually makes me laugh at times. Especially when the end pose of a song comes in. People are paying $300 for that? Think this is one bandwagon I won't be jumping on!!! |
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