Yeah, I don’t think most are going to break any box office records. But on the other hand, the production costs are so low that they should still be moneymakers.
Presumably they mostly don’t do it because they’re worried that people will see the movie of the show and then not see the show? Not necessarily great business sense to sell a $10 movie ticket or a $4 rental instead of a $200 theater ticket.
In that case maybe it makes sense to only do it for crazy blockbusters like Hamilton. It’s like not blacking out local broadcasts when the game sells out. It’s not possible for a Hamilton recording to reduce ticket sales for Hamilton because with every show sold out and tickets going for 2-4x normal prices, they’re already selling the maximum number of seats to Hamilton they can.
I have tickets for a performance next month at the Kennedy Center. I’m a Kennedy Center member so I was in on the pre-sale, but even with that the tickets wound up costing over $600. Each. (No resellers involved; that’s direct from the Kennedy Center.) My friend and I definitely weren’t *hoping *to pay that much, but when the time came and the Very Expensive Seats were the only ones left, we decided to go for it. Anyway, it’s been a done deal since late February; now we’re finally only weeks away!
Like others, I definitely remember not being interested in *Hamilton *at all when I first heard about it. History? Told via rap and hip-hop? No thanks. Even when it started to become popular, I was fine with the idea of never seeing it. But then I watched Hamilton’s America on PBS a couple years ago, and heard bits of some of the songs…and I was hooked.
I purchased/downloaded the cast recording a while ago, but I only really listen to music in the car and I haven’t had much chance to become familiar with it (I’m blessed with a very short commute to work). I might make an effort to listen all the way through at least once before the show, but I won’t be pressed if I’m not able to.
I have a hard time coming up with a person who would spend $200 (or $600) on the stage show and are located where they could do so, but wouldn’t if they could just spend $10 to see a recording. $200-600 is a lot of money for a few hours of entertainment. You’re probably not paying that unless you legitimately enjoy live theater or are very price-insensitive.
Hell, I could see the recording for free and *still *pay that much for the stage show.
Well, yeah. There is absolutely no substitute for a live, in-person show. And of course ticket prices that high require a certain amount of disposable income. I’m not sure why you have such a hard time imagining that people like me exist, though.
I have a hard time imagining someone willing to pay $lots for a live show who wouldn’t be willing to do so when the cheap recording option was available.
Of course I have no problem imagining people like you. I am a person like you!
I finally saw the show on Tuesday night (9/11). Wow.
I mean, WOW.
I’m stingy with my standing ovations*, and I never bow to peer pressure when it comes to them, but when the final note faded I was one of the first people to stand. I wish there’d been some greater way to show my appreciation…like, a *flying *ovation or something.
I don’t remember the last time I got to the end of a show I’d never seen before and was *immediately *ready to see it again. In fact, I went so far as to go to the Kennedy Center’s website to see what tickets were available for this weekend’s shows (the run ends on Sunday). There were, like, 7 tickets left for Saturday’s matinee and 4 tickets left for Sunday’s: if any of them had been even in the $300 range I *might *have bought one, but everything was $600+ (which is what I’d already paid). (I’ll admit, though, that for just a split second I thought about getting one anyway!)
Now, some of this is not surprising. I am a huge musical and live theater fan, and over the past year I’ve come to believe that Lin-Manuel Miranda is a damn genius. Plus, there’s this thread. So, I had high expectations…but I wasn’t prepared for them to be so thorougly exceeded.
*Standing ovations seem to have become the default: I don’t remember the last time I went to a performance that didn’t get one. It annoys the living crap out of me, but that’s a topic for a different thread.
Just gonna throw this out there: Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a show before Hamilton, called In the Heights. If you happen to be in the Orlando area, I’m currently playing in the band for a professional production of it, and we have two weeks left of the run. It’s basically like Hamilton (rap/hip-hop music) except set over Latin music, to represent the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Come check it out!
I recently made plans to go to NYC in late January to catch a Wednesday night show at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola: I’ll be staying in town through the weekend (I have family there), and am thinking about catching a Broadway show on Thursday night. I’ve actually never seen a show on Broadway, which is kind of amazing given my love of theater – both plays and musicals. Even more amazing, though, is that I find myself seriously considering going to see *Hamilton *again! I can get a “mid premium” seat for less than I paid in September, but more than I should probably spend. Part of me feels like I should take the opportunity to see something new (to me), but part of me also feels like it could be so great to see it on Broadway. This could be it…I might have finally lost it!
OMG this is a huge win for doing more than “Alexander Hamilton” and going into the show’s waaay less frequently parodied (and yet IMHO the most awesome) number. Thank you!!
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