Seeing Hamilton in London

Seeing Hamilton in London
by ndhouston (2018-08-16 05:34:17)
Edited on 2018-08-16 08:35:07

Gosh, that was great. My daughters and I ended our summer with a performance of Hamilton in London. Yes, seeing a biographical play about an American Revolutionary in London was a bit weird, but economics drove us to it. I tried to get tickets for our family when we were in New York City at the end of July, but the prices were exhorbitant. In fact Hamilton tickets were so expensive on Broadway that it was cheaper for us to fly round trip from Munich to London, stay for two nights in reasonable accomodation, enjoy the sights of one of the world’s great cities, and see Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Broadway tickets were more expensive than all of that.

To put it directly: It. Was. Awesome. Brought me to tears, in fact, because it let me know that whatever the faults America has, we haven’t completely forgotten our most important history. In our quest to show our expat children their native land, we’ve seen a ton of American history sites this summer: The Alamo, Savannah, Gettysburg, [Edit: Yorktown], Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York City. And then to tie it all together with a visit to London - where, like it or not, it all began - was absolutely fantastic. Hearing Washington’s farewell address played out against the backdrop of the incredulity of King George III while sitting in a theater named for Queen Victoria brought it all home, at least to me. Meanwhile, my daughters left the theater wondering if Thomas Jefferson really looked and sang like Prince. ;-)

We left London the day after, but before leaving we had the privilege of touring St. Paul’s. We explored the whole place, and went up in the dome. At the end of the tour we visited the east end of the Cathedral. Behind the altar, in maybe the most important place in the Cathedral, is a memorial to the 28,000 Americans who died in Britain during WWII. We’re tied to the UK by more than a common language.

It's one of the few things in life that exceeds its hype

You can't even begin to understand how good it is until you see it. The brilliance of it transcends the performers.

I cannot begin to understand how one man was able to create 3 hours of such pure brilliance.

We've seen it twice now, and it may have been even better the second time.

Michael Luwoye is playing Hamilton in NYC right now, and he was brilliant, I think better than Javier Munoz. My understanding is that he was the lead for Hamilton in San Fran and LA.

If you have the chance to see it, just do it

excellent post

and you have also motivated me to go see Hamilton this fall.

You’ve inspired me to get myself to Chicago to see it.

I’ve hesitated due to believing that much of the magic was due to the original cast, but I know I’ll regret it if I don’t go. Off to Stubhub.

Don’t need stubhub. You can buy tix directly from theater *

You'll regret it if you don't.

I got the chance to see the original cast in NYC and I think it will go down as a life highlight. It's really quite special.

Don't hesitate, it is transcendent

I had a post a few months back about seeing it in Atlanta.

I think Miguel Cervantes (the Chicago cast's Hamilton)...

...is a better performer than Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Almost everyone else who's played Hamilton

is a better performer than Miranda.

But overall, he's on another level. He's a once in a generation talent as a lyricist and storyteller.

Quibble

Donald Glover is in his generation.

I'm not sure I retract.

Though it's at least a razor-thin margin.

That's interesting (and good to hear). On the soundtrack

the personality Miranda brings jumps out and I love many of his line readings. But his voice is definitely not his strong suit.

That’s a fun name to carry through life

Everyone who mentions him has to immediately clarify.

Yes, definitely go see it. My wife and girls and I have

seen it twice. It is just fantastic!!! Enjoy yourself!

Yes you should.

I saw it in Chicago shortly after it opened there. It was tremendous in all ways, certainly the best Broadway show I have seen. The Chicago company and performance are excellent. Highly recommend it.