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Post by priorwalter on Jul 18, 2018 20:21:19 GMT
Does anyone have an idea of when the cast will be leaving? Coming in December and would love to see Rachelle and Rachel, but thinking I may be a little late.
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Post by theatremadness on Jul 18, 2018 20:42:12 GMT
Does anyone have an idea of when the cast will be leaving? Coming in December and would love to see Rachelle and Rachel, but thinking I may be a little late. According to the casting notices for recasting, the new cast would be due to start around the end of November but of course all subject to change! However, considering these types of contracts are usually for a year, I'd be surprised if, unless any current cast members decide to stay on, the new cast aren't on my December!
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Post by daniel on Jul 19, 2018 8:14:20 GMT
Does anyone have an idea of when the cast will be leaving? Coming in December and would love to see Rachelle and Rachel, but thinking I may be a little late. I believe cast change is 24th November. There's been no announcement, but I'm sure someone on here mentioned it a while back.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 19, 2018 8:38:32 GMT
Hamilton Standing Ticket Report
No one has reported back on the new standing tickets yet, so I'll share my experience from yesterday.
Arrived at the theatre about 4:45pm. The doorman actually laughed and said something like "You'll be lucky" when I said why I wanted to get into the box office. Not the nicest of welcomes to a theatre. I notice he disappeared quickly when I got a ticket.
Officially, you join the returns line. I've never seen a returns line at the Victoria Palace Theatre yet, but I guess they say returns line in case people start camping out overnight for tickets as they do in the US. And, if there ever is a line, it's unlikely there will be any standing tickets left.
They only sell these in person when there are no tickets or returns left, which is true most of the time and you can check on Ticketmaster. I'd imagine they go on sale as soon as the box office opens.
So, onto the sales process. The friendly chap working in the box office said he thought there was a standing ticket left and it turned out there was.
Buying the ticket takes a few minutes, as they have to explain the rules for standing tickets. They need your name and address details, telephone, email and to see your photo ID. The standing tickets are £12.50 and payment is by card only. You then get given a receipt, but not the ticket, which you can collect from 6:45pm onwards.
When you come back to the theatre for the show, you join the main queue. The only difference is, you don't have your payment card scanned by the machine, but instead get sent to the box office, where they check your photo ID and payment card again and issue the ticket. You get a real ticket, not one of the little slips, which is great.
You also get given a printed copy of the rules. Currently, all of the standing tickets are at the back of the Grand Circle, but the way the rules are phrased, it looks as though they are planning to issue spaces on the other levels in the future (although no telling if the price will be the same).
Hamilton Standing Ticket Location and Rules
The standing tickets are behind the back row of seats on the Grand Circle.
You want to get there early to choose a good position. You are restricted to standing in the middle section, roughly behind seats 10 to 20 and you also have the option to choose to stand behind someone short (but bear in mind that some people in that row lean forward). Also, this makes Row J quite an undesirable place to sit now, as you have the standing people directly behind you.
You do feel a bit in the way, as you're standing in the area where people walk to their seats and want to congregate during the interval. You also can't really leave your position once you've chosen it, including during the interval, as someone else will nip in.
There were nine people standing yesterday (and a tenth person joined after the interval, presumably because it was a better option than her seat). There was enough space that you weren't touching the person next to you. My ticket was numbered 7, so I'm guessing they sold two more after me. No idea how many standing tickets are sold, but 10 is about as many as you'd want with the position still staying comfortable.
As to the rules. It basically boils down to no leaning, no sitting on the floor/stairs and no sitting in an empty seat. I did rest my hands lightly on the barrier behind the row of chairs, but leaning is out. There is an usher positioned right behind policing everything. Leaning on the back wall isn't officially banned on the rules slip, but the angle is such you wouldn't be able to see.
Assuming you choose the right people to stand behind, the view is very good. Distant, but not blocked. You do lose the top of the stage, so you can't some of the upper level (you only see the lower half of Jamael when he's briefly up there, but he is tall). You do get a good view of the sides of the stage.
Sound quality is excellent in that section and you have a perfect view of all the lighting effects.
As for standing? It's not comfortable and I'm feeling it today. You've got the three hours of the show, then you queue to get in and you probably want to be there early to stake out a good position. Wear comfortable shoes, as work shoes like I had on aren't great. With that said, the Upper Circle legroom is terrible and that ends up uncomfortable, so I'd take standing tickets as value for money any time.
You won't see anything during the standing ovation, as the seats in front are at the same level as you are. But the bows are the incredibly short, "blink and you'll miss them" type.
The Show?
It's Hamilton. It's what you'd expect.
The audience was well-behaved throughout. A few fan girls in, but not unbearable and entrance applause was muted.
There were a few covers on and the ensemble seemed smaller than usual.
Sifiso Mazibuko was on as Aaron Burr. Perfectly fine, but he didn't stand out at all to me compared to Giles Terera. In some ways that's good, as it makes Jamael Westman as Hamilton come across as the most important character, rather than being overshadowed by Burr.
Waylon Jacobs was on as Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson. I don't think it's the best role for him to cover. I found it hard to make out some of his words and his French accent is the 'Allo 'Allo type. But he does try to put some energy into it and the character is always a crowd pleaser.
Marsha Songcome was on as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds. She's always good.
I did grab the ensemble names who were on, so I'll try and match them. For the unlisted cover roles, Jack Butterworth was away and I believe Barney Hudson went on in his track. I think James Reynolds was covered by Stephenson Adjern-Sodje. But always difficult to tell from a distance.
Standouts as always, Obioma Ugoala as George Washington and Cleve September as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 8:38:58 GMT
They mentioned that they weren’t auditioning for King George so that probably means Mike is extending.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 8:59:08 GMT
Whenever they've posted audition notices, they've told people not to expect to audition for King George. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's more likely to be their way of making sure they have diverse auditionees with the necessary dance skills (rather than a room filled with white men with great comic timing, taking up valuable audition spots for a cameo role when they're trying to cast EVERYONE) than to mean that the role is already cast. King George is an easy role to fill, they really don't need to advertise it in the same way.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 9:26:11 GMT
Whenever they've posted audition notices, they've told people not to expect to audition for King George. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's more likely to be their way of making sure they have diverse auditionees with the necessary dance skills (rather than a room filled with white men with great comic timing, taking up valuable audition spots for a cameo role when they're trying to cast EVERYONE) than to mean that the role is already cast. King George is an easy role to fill, they really don't need to advertise it in the same way. All he really needs to do is the "dadadadada" and a posh English accent and that's KG sorted.
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Post by ellie1981 on Jul 19, 2018 11:06:28 GMT
Thanks for all the info, Dr. Tom. I’ve seen the returns queue to the left of the theatre but never talked to them to ask what their general success rate is.
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Post by welsh_tenor on Jul 19, 2018 16:25:14 GMT
I’m now going to be overnight in London on Wednesday night and just looked online but there are no tickets available in the returns online nor the premium seats!
If anyone hears of a ticket going spare please let me know... if not I’ll have to go to see the new Wicked cast!
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Post by priorwalter on Jul 19, 2018 17:54:56 GMT
Thanks for the help on cast change! Will be eagerly looking for that casting announcement.
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Post by liv22 on Jul 19, 2018 18:13:36 GMT
I saw that Hamilton posted the audition call on Instagram which got me wondering...is it up to the cast member whether they want to stay on for another year and then only the roles of the people leaving get filled? Or do you essentially have to 're-audition' for your own role?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 18:21:45 GMT
Does anyone know if Giles is okay? I keep seeing on West End Covers Twitter page that Sifiso is going on for Burr.
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Post by daniel on Jul 19, 2018 18:26:04 GMT
I saw that Hamilton posted the audition call on Instagram which got me wondering...is it up to the cast member whether they want to stay on for another year and then only the roles of the people leaving get filled? Or do you essentially have to 're-audition' for your own role? ultimately it's up to the producers. The performers will all be on a one year contract (unlike some Broadway shows which have open ended deals) and when it comes to re-casting the producers will consider a number of factors. How happy are they with the actors' performance on stage, their conduct off stage, their attendance and sick record. Is there another performer they would like to take the role? Of course the opinion of the incumbent performer is taken into account, and if they themselves decide they want to leave, the producers cannot block that, but it is the producer who decides who stays. Often they will audition for all roles just to scope the market and see who else is out there, but existing cast members would typically be asked to re-audition.
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Post by liv22 on Jul 19, 2018 21:21:00 GMT
I saw that Hamilton posted the audition call on Instagram which got me wondering...is it up to the cast member whether they want to stay on for another year and then only the roles of the people leaving get filled? Or do you essentially have to 're-audition' for your own role? ultimately it's up to the producers. The performers will all be on a one year contract (unlike some Broadway shows which have open ended deals) and when it comes to re-casting the producers will consider a number of factors. How happy are they with the actors' performance on stage, their conduct off stage, their attendance and sick record. Is there another performer they would like to take the role? Of course the opinion of the incumbent performer is taken into account, and if they themselves decide they want to leave, the producers cannot block that, but it is the producer who decides who stays. Often they will audition for all roles just to scope the market and see who else is out there, but existing cast members would typically be asked to re-audition. Interesting, thanks! I wasn't sure how cast change works with regards to whose decision it is for a performer's continued run in a show.
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Post by indis on Jul 19, 2018 22:53:11 GMT
saw ir today: great ensemble, some great songs but don’t get the hype. Didn’t come out thinking „need to see it again“ like i did in other shows. Also the horrible seats and missing space for legs may be a reason too. Still don’t feel my legs
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Post by last5jamie on Jul 20, 2018 7:49:27 GMT
saw ir today: great ensemble, some great songs but don’t get the hype. Didn’t come out thinking „need to see it again“ like i did in other shows. Also the horrible seats and missing space for legs may be a reason too. Still don’t feel my legs Agree! It's an unpopular opinion I guess. I love the songs, it's catchy and clever but that was it. I still listen to the cast recording but it's not a show I would need to see again, maybe from another seats (read "stalls") but the prices are so hyped up I would rather see more other shows for the price of 1 premium ticket.
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Post by actorsinger on Jul 20, 2018 8:28:29 GMT
I saw that Hamilton posted the audition call on Instagram which got me wondering...is it up to the cast member whether they want to stay on for another year and then only the roles of the people leaving get filled? Or do you essentially have to 're-audition' for your own role? ultimately it's up to the producers. The performers will all be on a one year contract (unlike some Broadway shows which have open ended deals) and when it comes to re-casting the producers will consider a number of factors. How happy are they with the actors' performance on stage, their conduct off stage, their attendance and sick record. Is there another performer they would like to take the role? Of course the opinion of the incumbent performer is taken into account, and if they themselves decide they want to leave, the producers cannot block that, but it is the producer who decides who stays. Often they will audition for all roles just to scope the market and see who else is out there, but existing cast members would typically be asked to re-audition. It is extremely rare for existing cast members to have to re-audition for their roles! They are either asked to stay, or asked to leave. They can, of course, leave if they’re asked to stay, but once they’re in the cast they don’t have to re-audition to stay on for another contract.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 20, 2018 8:30:07 GMT
saw ir today: great ensemble, some great songs but don’t get the hype. Didn’t come out thinking „need to see it again“ like i did in other shows. Also the horrible seats and missing space for legs may be a reason too. Still don’t feel my legs Yesterday's show had covers on for about half of the leads as well. Much as I like seeing covers, I think that number loses something, particularly for a first viewing. And you do need to choose seats carefully for such a long show. You really feel it in the second half, particularly as most of the best songs are in the first half.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2018 9:40:26 GMT
I had the OBCR playing on shuffle while I was doing homework yesterday and “Say No To This” came on right after “A Winter’s Ball”. So much for being reliable with the ladies, A.Ham...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2018 9:52:34 GMT
I finally saw this last weekend, it's very slick but for me it lacked heart. I just didn't really care too much about the characters, felt more like a (very original) presentation of history. I enjoyed it, uniformly strong cast and I think it's definitely worth seeing but I wouldn't see it again. In The Heights for me was the better show. It lives up to the hype though more than Mormon did for example
I was sat 4th row stalls and although the leg room was decent the seats were quite uncomfortable after a while. Also found the signage in the theatre surprisingly poor considering the recent refurb
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Post by liamo37 on Jul 25, 2018 18:15:07 GMT
Went to see it on Monday. Lovely theatre, was an absolute pleasure to be in an air conditioned building to get a break from the heat. Thought the show was great but just a tad too long. My daughter, who is 12, adored it, sang along with every song and was in tears at the end.
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Post by distantcousin on Jul 25, 2018 19:34:42 GMT
I finally saw this last weekend, it's very slick but for me it lacked heart. I just didn't really care too much about the characters, felt more like a (very original) presentation of history. I enjoyed it, uniformly strong cast and I think it's definitely worth seeing but I wouldn't see it again. In The Heights for me was the better show. It lives up to the hype though more than Mormon did for example I was sat 4th row stalls and although the leg room was decent the seats were quite uncomfortable after a while. Also found the signage in the theatre surprisingly poor considering the recent refurb I felt exactly the same about it. I felt no connection to any of the characters and I didn't care about them, much as they tried to make them cool by changing their race and performing rap battles etc (which I found cringeworthy, personally) It's quite novel. The choreography is exciting and a lot of the songs are good, but I'd leave it at that. The hype and the critical plaudits mystify me. The last half an hour redeemed it somewhat and there was some emotional arc to it, but otherwise, it was a whole load of "meh" and a show about male ego as far as I could see.
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Post by ellie1981 on Jul 25, 2018 22:37:08 GMT
Coming back tonight after taking the mother. She enjoyed it, but commented several times “Hmm, there’s a lot of rapping”. Apparently she’d completely forgotten everything I had told her to prepare for it, even so much as after entering the theatre saying “So this is about Lady Hamilton then”. I truly despair sometimes.
She found the leg room in Royal Circle Row A rather uncomfortable. I didn’t have an issue, but I’m shorter at 5’5” and even have short legs for my height, so there’s the one advantage there. Mum was a little disappointed that King George didn’t come out for the curtain call, it there was a very funny moment during What Comes Next where a fly landed right on Michael Jibson’s face as he was trying to be all menacing.
A few covers on tonight. Waylon Jacobs was fantastic as Burr. Perhaps the most clear in his enunciation compared to GIles and Sifiso - very impressive for a second cover. Wish I could have said the same for Miriam-Teak Lee. She was serviceable as Angelica, and I thought there were mid issues in the first act, until it just continued fr the second. She just didn’t project very well at all. I seriously missed Obioma as Washington, with Gabriel Mokake on instead - great voice but not the same gravitas. Another where the height difference between him and Jamael makes quite a bit of difference.
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Post by showtoones on Jul 26, 2018 1:32:55 GMT
Why is Giles off so much? I understand people get I’ll but I feel like everyone who posts never sees him?
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Post by ellie1981 on Jul 26, 2018 4:15:01 GMT
Why is Giles off so much? I understand people get I’ll but I feel like everyone who posts never sees him? I think he was on earlier in the week, but I’ve now seen the show six times and he’s been off for the last three.
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