#also loling at nyc's white male theatre critics who were all THE SHOW GOT SO BORING WHEN THE WAR ENDED & IT WAS JUST WOMEN & FEELINGS

[thefederalistfreestyle]

Should You *Really* Pay $600 to See ‘Hamilton’ in San Francisco? (KQED):

[. . .] I saw the show’s star-studded opening preview last night, and I’ll be straight with you: it’s great, far exceeding my expectations. Whether or not it’s worth a sizable chunk of your paycheck depends on a few factors — not the least of which is the size of your paycheck. (More on that later.)

Let’s run down the pros and cons.

You Should Pay $600 to See ‘Hamilton’ in San Francisco If:

[. . .]

2. History is your jam and you don’t sweat the details. If you’re one of those people who can’t see a historical epic without raising a finger and saying, “Yes, but…” — look elsewhere. There’s a lot to love in Hamilton, but if you’re an American history buff, you’ll inevitably call a few things out as exaggerated or glossed over. If you’re happy to be taken for a ride and fact-check the plot afterward, you’re good.

3. You can be patient for a show to get going. Honestly, for the first handful of songs, Hamilton is just plain silly. Really. Guys in 18th-century getups shouting “Layyyydies!” and quoting Grandmaster Flash in the same breath as Gilbert & Sullivan? Songs that seem like lectures from your professor? Yeah. Give it until the Schuyler Sisters come on. If you get to “Satisfied” or “Wait For It” and you’re not invested in Hamilton’s possibilities — he’s got an important job with George Washington, he’s married, he has his whole life ahead of him — you’ve probably picked the wrong show.

[. . .]

5. You think interesting women are important. For as much turmoil as Hamilton, Madison, Washington and Jefferson deal with in the show, there’s not a lot of emotional complexity to their characters. The women appear much more multidimensional than the men, who show the most heart when under the women’s spell. Cast-wise, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Angelica and Solea Pfeiffer as Eliza are both incredible, and the closing number gives additional depth to their roles.

[. . .]

That about sums up the pros. And now…

You Should Not Pay $600 to See ‘Hamilton’ in San Francisco If:

1. You are a hardcore rap fan. I can’t stress this enough. Hamilton’s libretto is rap music that belongs in a Disney movie. It’s simple, with uninteresting beats, and though the lyrical wordplay is clever, the meter and flow don’t change up much. This, along with its crystal-clear enunciation, could be a function of the theater context. But so much of the art of rapping is developing one’s own personal style, and in Hamilton, everyone has the same style. It’s a problem, even if your love of rap only extends to the 1990s. And if you’re looking for the sonic and lexical explorations by rap music’s recent innovators like Young Thug, Future and Migos, you won’t find them. Basically this is rap music for people who don’t like rap music.

[. . .]

3. You’re a stickler about cultural appropriation. Most of the show’s laughs come from interjecting overt hip-hop slang, phrases, and dances into the “formal” script. The juxtaposition of the two is low-hanging fruit, but it’s not offensive — unless if you’re protective of black culture being co-opted for a history lesson on Broadway, and well, that’s basically this whole show.

[. . .]

6. You really love Daveed Diggs. As Alexander Hamilton, lead actor Michael Luwoye is excellent and workmanlike in filling Lin-Manuel Miranda’s humongous shoes. Joshua Henry as Aaron Burr? Isaiah Johnson as George Washington? All fine. But Jordan Donica plays Thomas Jefferson in a juvenile, clownish fashion, as if director Thomas Kail explicitly asked him to make Jefferson look uncool. (This is exemplified in the way Donica delivers a Notorious B.I.G. line in the cabinet battle, with a seemingly intentional lack of style.) I’m not arguing that the real-life Jefferson was a cool dude, but the portrayal here doesn’t fit.

7. You’re a set/costume/design nerd. The set for Hamilton is essentially static — a balcony on the perimeter, a rotating turntable on stage, and intermittent lighting and props to mix it up. The costumes are perfectly executed but nothing groundbreaking. The cast does a lot with this mostly unchanging landscape, but it’s not going to blow anyone away.

So there you have it. Still want to join the wave and be part of theatre history? You’re now armed with all the knowledge you need. Don’t throw away your sh… oh, you know how it goes by now.

oh shit Chance the Rapper & Questlove & Busta Rhymes have been called out as non-hardcore rap fans