Cheyenne Jackson

[+ purplekow]

He is coming to a local theater accompanied by the NJ Symphony for a concert of standards of 60's lounge songs. Anyone able to recommend him. Megan Hilty will be at the same venue a few weeks earlier. Any comments about listening to these performers for two hours or so?

Cheapest seats can be had for $32 for the two, so it is not a matter of cost, just time.

 

As an aside. Was looking into getting tickets to Hamilton. There do not seem to be any tickets beside resale tickets until at least November, though some are coming onto the market Tuesday, i expect them to be gone before I can get them. Some of the resale tickets for a Friday in November are going for $2500 for the pair. Is the show that good ir is the hype that good?

[dcguy20]

I saw Megan Hilty at The Kennedy Center in DC over a year ago. It was a very entertaining evening. In all honesty I don't remember what songs she sang, but she had a lovely voice.

 

I had a ticket to Hamilton during the recent snowstorm. Had to sell my ticket as I couldn't make it up there for the Sunday matinee.

[+ WilliamM]

As an aside. Was looking into getting tickets to Hamilton. There do not seem to be any tickets beside resale tickets until at least November, though some are coming onto the market Tuesday, i expect them to be gone before I can get them. Some of the resale tickets for a Friday in November are going for $2500 for the pair. Is the show that good ir is the hype that good?

 

It depends. I liked "Hamilton," but I have liked many Broadway musicals more.

For example, I loved the original cast "Nine," the recent revival of "South Pacific" and "The Light in The Piazz." Going back several decades I enjoyed "Take Me Along," "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" and "The Sound of Music" more.

[+ quoththeraven]

Megan Hilty is well worth the time, although my only exposure to her was through the TV show Smash, where she usually performed at least one musical number a week.

 

I haven't listened to or seen Hamilton, although a lot of my social media friends have, but it would primarily appeal to those who like updated/remixed versions of history, non-traditional casting and the commentary on the past non-traditional casting can bring to the table, and music that is more like what you hear outside of Broadway than more traditional Tin Pan Alley-type music (not a pejorative, just a description). I would be there for all that but cannot justify paying hundreds of dollars to see it. I'm more likely to listen to the cast album. Right now I have Taeyang's album RISE on autoplay, so it may take awhile for me to get to Hamilton.

 

On the topic of non-traditional casting: my acting abilities might have prevented this anyway, but as a member of drama club in high school, not being 100% white meant I was automatically shut out of leading roles. One year I played the Ambassador's wife in Pygmalion, who was represented as a (South Asian) Indian. I got to wear a sari borrowed from the faculty adviser, who'd visited or lived in India, but that this was considered necessary to "sell" me in the role outrages me now.

 

I'm sorry, but keeping Asian-Americans out of roles that are not specifically Asian or modified to be Asian is discrimination, plain and simple. Though my daughter was part of a youth production of Big the musical where child Josh was white and adult Josh was black, so things have changed somewhat, although not for everyone.

[+ WilliamM]

 

I haven't listened to or seen Hamilton, although a lot of my social media friends have, but it would primarily appeal to those who like updated/remixed versions of history, non-traditional casting and the commentary on the past non-traditional casting can bring to the table, and music that is more like what you hear outside of Broadway than more traditional Tin Pan Alley-type music (not a pejorative, just a description).

 

I would have enjoyed "Hamilton" much more if I saw the musical after the cast album was released. It is a sung-through musical, without much dialogue. It is not really an updated/remixed version of history, except that Hamilton is rarely the central figure in history books.

 

When I was in college in the 1960s, I saw quite a few out-of-town tryouts of Broadway musicals, like "Funny Girl," "I Can Get It For You Wholesale," and "Flora, the Red Menace" (the first two with Streiesand , "Flora" with Liza Minnelli). Those musicals were not sung-through, so the 8 or 9 songs were a bit easier to take in. And the music and lyrics were by people who wrote the music and lyrics for many Broadway shows (so there were agree).

[RyanDean]

At this point, Hamilton's not going anywhere (aside from several simultaneous touring productions), so -- as good as it is -- I'd say sit tight until the frenzy settles a bit. (I've seen it three times. To be clear, I'm not a superfan -- just fortunate.)

 

As for Cheyenne and Hilty?

Though I've not seen either, I'd definitely spring for the Hilty. (And probably for Cheyenne. He's definitely purty, with serious pipes. If he did the concert in his Xanadu costume, I'd be right over. THOSE THIGHS.)

[bostonman]

 

I haven't listened to or seen Hamilton, although a lot of my social media friends have, but it would primarily appeal to those who like updated/remixed versions of history, non-traditional casting and the commentary on the past non-traditional casting can bring to the table, and music that is more like what you hear outside of Broadway than more traditional Tin Pan Alley-type music (not a pejorative, just a description).

 

Two gentle observations, lol - properly, "Tin Pan Alley" music has not been much of the Broadway musical fabric for quite some time now, aside from revivals of older shows, and new shows that deliberately do throwbacks to that style (what they call "pastiche" writing), such as The Drowsy Chaperone or Thoroughly Modern Millie. Much of the newer show music has more of a pop/contemporary edge to it - composers such as Jeanne Tesori (in her Fun Home/Violet vein) or Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, The Bridges Of Madison County, or the more Vegas-pastiched Honeymoon in Vegas), or others whose music plays less on Broadway but are still part of the contemporary musical theatre scene (writers like Pasek and Paul, for instance).

 

And, in terms of updated/remixed versions of history, it seems to me that most musicals/plays that deal with historical events or biographies play with historical accuracy to an extent - not so much to deliberatly put any kind of spin on revisionist history per se, but simply to make for more vibrant theatre. Two of the great, great Broadway bookwriters who are/were drawn to historical subjects come to mind - Peter Stone (1776, Titanic, The Will Rogers Follies) and John Weidman (Assassins, Pacific Overtures) freely but carefully adapted the facts at times, in all their shows I just mentioned. And I don't think that anything they did with "changing history" is a liability in context of the shows themselves - it's not about dead-accurate history, it's about making a cohesive, entertaining, and often provocative piece of theatre. I think Miranda's Hamilton is simply following in the same vein.

 

And, I'll add that I happen to think that the books (let alone the scores) for 1776 and Assassins are two of Broadway's best.

[stop]

i have a horrible opinion of Hilty so I would say avoid her. A very good friend worked with her on Wicked in LA and she was a Cee U Next Time. She was horrible to the cast and crew and the occasions where I was at a party or event where she was as well, I was able to witness first hand what a horrible person she was. She may be a good performer but it is hard to take her seriously when I know she had probably just chewed out a dancer or stage hand backstage for standing too close to her or for wearing cologne that was offensive to her sensibility.

[tyro]

I'd never seen the acronym spelled out. Thanks, jeepo!

T

[stop]

I'd never seen the acronym spelled out. Thanks, jeepo!

T

 

I had a horrible client once that was just an awful person and we would do monthly meetings with her. Everybody in the company hated this woman because she was just awful. She didn't own the business we worked with, she was just one of the contacts. One of my employee's would always say at the end, "see you next time" it never registered with me.

 

So one day a different employee joined this meeting to see how it we ran it, and when "Bill" said "see you next time" my other employee burst out laughing so hard. He covered it up really well and said that somebody made a face outside the conference room, but afterwards "Scott" tool me aside and asked me how I could keep a straight face. I said I had no idea what he was talking about and he asked if Bill said that alot and it dawned on me he said it every month. So Scott said you realize he is calling her a cunt, and it finally clicked with me what he was doing.

[dcguy20]

jeepo1, this is the first time I've heard anything negative about Megan (not that I'm discounting what you're saying). Then again, I haven't heard anything positive either.

[stop]

jeepo1, this is the first time I've heard anything negative about Megan (not that I'm discounting what you're saying). Then again, I haven't heard anything positive either.

 

She does seem to have almost no press about her either way. I will say Eden Espinosa who also starred with Meghan in Los Angels was extremely gracious as part of the cast and was just one of the crew in her interactions. I got the opportunity to witness her after the show on a number of occasions. The pantages would do these mini back stage VIP tours and she would stay and talk to all of the people. Meghan always refused to do them. (I wasn't on the tours but my friend would do them sometimes and I would watch from the wings)

 

As a side note also in that cast were Adam Wylie who was on the tv show Picket Fences and grew up to be a very handsome man And an unknown named Adam who was really quite funny and had a damn good voice. I think he went onto be in a tv show if I remember correctly. Lol. He is now the highest paid post idol performer in their 10 year history.

[tyro]

You meant mah boy Sir Lambert, right? The one who should have won?

T

[stop]

You meant mah boy Sir Lambert, right? The one who should have won?

T

 

yes, he had (i have not seen him since the show so cant comment on him now) such a funny and Wicked sense of humor, always making people laugh and always playing pranks. It was strange seeing him on Idol because I never felt like his personality came out. His singing personality did but he was genuinely a really nice guy that went out of the way for the other cast members. He was the type of guy at a party that would go over to somebody sitting by them self and engage them in conversation to make them feel welcome.

[TruHart1]

yes, he had (i have not seen him since the show so cant comment on him now) such a funny and Wicked sense of humor, always making people laugh and always playing pranks. It was strange seeing him on Idol because I never felt like his personality came out. His singing personality did but he was genuinely a really nice guy that went out of the way for the other cast members. He was the type of guy at a party that would go over to somebody sitting by them self and engage them in conversation to make them feel welcome.

It's great to read this about Adam L., jeepo. I've always been impressed with his musicality and his bravery in coming out but never read anything positive (or negative) about his personality. There are (or were, I haven't checked for a year or two!) some Youtubes with Mr. Lambert sounding wonderful as Fiyero in "Wicked" in, I think, L.A. pre-Idol.

 

TruHart1

[stop]

It's great to read this about Adam L., jeepo. I've always been impressed with his musicality and his bravery in coming out but never read anything positive (or negative) about his personality. There are (or were, I haven't checked for a year or two!) some Youtubes with Mr. Lambert sounding wonderful as Fiyero in "Wicked" in, I think, L.A. pre-Idol.

 

TruHart1

 

Yes he was really great as Fiyero and it was in Los Angeles. My party comment about him was from a cast thing at somebody's house and there was a sister from out of town of one of the cast members who was sitting by herself of to the side, on the younger side, and she was clearly out of her element with this crazy group of gays and theater people who had been drinking. And he just plopped himself down next to her and asked all kind of questions about her life and growing up etc. Within a couple of hours she was singing Karaoke "don't go breaking my heart" with Adam and very much having the time of her life. I had a number of interactions with him during that time but that night really stood out with me as something special.

[leeper]

Saw Cheyenne Jackson in a cabaret-type setting, accompanied only by a pianist - he was superb. Terrific singer, nice between song banter, and very easy on the eyes. Totally enjoyed him. Saw "Hamilton" as well. It is both excellent and over-hyped, if that isn't too much of a contradiction. It will be around for a long time and, and in my opinion, won't be dependent on having the original cast intact to be enjoyed. That said, Jonathan Groff as King George, was a delight. I bought a resale ticket and paid too much.