With the news that Lin-Manuel Miranda is leaving Hamilton on July 9, the elusive tickets to the Broadway smash hit may have gotten just that much harder to get a hold of. And if you can get a hold of them, expect to pay exorbitant prices.
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Miranda’s contract, along with the contracts of many other cast members, is due to expire shortly. Miranda’s a busy man: he’s written music for the Disney animated musical Moana , he’s working on a film adaptation of In the Heights and he’s set to co-star with Emily Blunt in Disney’s upcoming Mary Poppins Returns. He’s also wrangling Hamilton touring productions and considering a new musical, according to sources close to him. Producers have not commented on whether or not Miranda may continue to perform sporadically in the show.
Miranda also runs Ham4Ham, Hamilton’s unique ticket lottery show that ensures even those who don’t get same-day Hamilton tickets don’t leave empty-handed. A phenomenon of its own, Ham4Ham is featured on the official Hamilton YouTube account and has featured stars like Patti Lupone and Lea Salonga. For those who can’t spend hours on the streets of New York City, there’s even Digital Ham4Ham videos available. The future of Ham4Ham without Miranda is unsure.
Other cast members are seeking raises for their work in what has become a full-blown cultural phenomenon and are prepared to walk if they don’t get them.
Hamilton is sold out through January 2017 and the only tickets available now are through a fraught secondary market filled with scalpers, counterfeiters and other opportunists. Orchestra seats run up to $4000, while even seats at the very back of the rear mezzanine can cost over $1500. (Compare this to the $500 it cost me, including Ticketmaster’s abusive fees, for two front orchestra tickets to a January 2016 showing -- purchased months in advance, in September 2015 -- for an idea of how wild these prices are.)
Even this rich asshole from Shark Tank got scammed on StubHub and was unable to get into Hamilton , so god help anyone else trying.
