Who Is Currently Starring In Hamilton
In the original production, Lin-Manuel Miranda played Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. took on the role of Aaron Burr, and Phillipa Soo wowed as Eliza Hamilton. But today, there are multiple productions of Hamilton currently being staged around the world, in addition to a touring company. For the latest in casting news, check out the musicals website.
Early Life And Education
Lin-Manuel Miranda was born on January 16, 1980, in New York City to Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, a clinical psychologist, and Luis Miranda Jr., a Democratic Party consultant. The name “Lin-Manuel” was inspired by a poem about the Vietnam War, Nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel, by the Puerto Rican writer José Manuel Torres Santiago. He was raised in the neighborhood of Inwood. He is of Puerto Rican descent, along with Mexican from a grandparent. During childhood and his teens, he spent at least one month each year with his grandparents in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. Miranda has one older sister, Luz, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the MirRam Group, a strategic consulting firm in Government and Communications.
Miranda attended Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. Among his classmates was journalist Chris Hayes, who was Miranda’s first director when Miranda starred in a school play described by Hayes as “a 20-minute musical that featured a maniacal fetal pig in a nightmare that had cut up in biology class”. His classmates also included rapper Immortal Technique, who bullied Miranda, although the two later became friends. Miranda began writing musicals at school.
The Move To The Greatest City In The World
A statue of Hamilton stands in Central Park today, along the East Drive at 83rd Street. More information about the monument
Hamilton wasnt born in the United States. He was born in the West Indies on the island of Nevis in either 1755 or 1757 . From meager beginnings and life as an orphan, he moved to New York City in 1772 and attended Kings College on a scholarship.
Also Check: When Is Rolling Loud New York
Winner Of The Pulitzer Prize For Drama And 11 Tony Awards
Where do you start with Hamilton? The hit hip-hop-infused musical drama about the 10 Dollar Founding Father Without A Father from Lin-Manuel Miranda has all but taken over the world since its first sold-out run the at Off-Broadway Public Theatre in 2015. Now housed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the foreseeable future, the rollicking historical epic is a true arbiter of our times, with its message of inclusivity, passion, diversity and resistance from oppression as relevant now as it ever was.
Tracing the life of Alexander Hamilton, a figure largely overlooked by history Lin-Manuel’s opus first came to him whilst on vacation when he happened to pick up Ron Chernow’s lauded biography. Taken by the largely unknown story of America’s first United States Secretary of The Treasury, he immediately began to sketch the outline of the musical. Citing Alexander’s non-stop attitude to his life and work, Miranda felt that the score would benefit from a unique mixture of rap, hip-hop and classical musical theatre flourishes to tie the story to the present day. Alongside samples from Notorious B.I.G, scathing political disputes are turned into rap battles, notching up the excitement from the audience and bringing the important decisions of the past into screaming technicolor.
What Is The Musical Hamilton About
The Broadway musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the 10 dollar founding father without a father, who came to the United States as an orphan after a hurricane had destroyed the small Caribbean island he called his home. In the time span of almost 30 years he moved to the United States, overcame poverty, fought in the American War of independence and played a major role in the United States first government while facing struggles and rivalry. That, however, is only one side of the story. In the musical, you will also learn about his personal life, including friendships, love, family and the countrys first affair. Even after Hamilton throws away his shot in the duel of 1804, his legacy lives on.
We encourage you to listen to the intro song of the Hamilton musical. It provides you with a great idea of what the Broadway musical is all about and also gives you a taste of the brilliant music you can expect.
Don’t Miss: How Much Are Tolls From Baltimore To Nyc
Patron Health And Safety
All guests over the age of 12 at Sheas Buffalo, Sheas 710, and Sheas Smith Theatres must be fully vaccinated for entry for performances. Patrons are considered fully vaccinated at least 14 days after their final dose of a Pfizer, Moderna, or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. All patrons will be required to wear masks at all times while in the facility. Sheas Performing Arts Centers policies will continue to evolve and will follow recommendations from the CDC, New York State, and Erie County.
Rochester: M& t Bank Broadway Season At Rbtls Auditorium Theatre
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Nov. 16-21, 2021
Pretty Woman: The Musical – Dec. 7-12, 2021
My Fair Lady – Feb. 22-27, 2022
The Bands Visit – June 7-12, 2022
Mean Girls – July 5-10, 2022
Other shows coming to Rochester include Hamilton and carryovers from the 2019-2020 season, Cats and Dear Evan Hansen . Tickets and more information are available at rbtl.org.
* * * * *
You May Like: Toll Calculator Virginia
Taking Live Theater Onto Film And Streaming
During the pandemic, Disney debuted the filmed version of “Hamilton” streaming on Disney+, though the theatre industry has largely shied away from filming and distributing productions for profit .
The online audience is “a huge audience theater has ignored for far too long,” Kenrick said. “It would be utterly foolish if people did not take advantage of that.” He added, “You can let people continue to do that illegally, and profit from it illegally. Or you can make it part of the package.”
Streaming is a part of the theater industry’s future, according to Ross. “There’s money to be made,” he said, and offering recorded productions will strengthen the industry. “We want to share this story with as many people as possible. We need to acknowledge that even when we go on tour, there are still people through either geographic or financial barriers who are not able to see these shows.”
On its latest earnings call Thursday afternoon, after a quarter in which Disney’s theme parks bounced back and led to financial outperformance compared to Wall Street expectations, there was discussion of the future of theatrical releases of films, but no discussion of the live Theatricals business.
Filmed productions are a relatively untapped market, and so it is difficult to gauge whether they become part of a new normal in the theatre industry. But the current situation for live theater is a pivotal moment, and producers may be too eager to reopen and go back to the way things were before Covid.
Alexander Hamilton A Real American
Alexander Hamilton was born in the Caribbean island nation of Nevis, one of the small islands of the Lesser Antilles, east of Puerto Rico. Fatherless and orphaned as a child, Hamilton made his way to New York City at age 17 where he was noticed for his talent, making his way to a degree from what is now Columbia University.
Hamilton is one of our countrys founding fathers. He played a role in the American Revolutionary War as an aide to George Washington, founded the Bank of New York , helped develop the American Constitution, founded our American financial system, and founded the first American political party, the Federalist Party. When did Hamilton sleep?
As the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton crafted the deal that allowed the U.S. to pay our Revolutionary War debt by selling bonds. As part of the deal, our nations capital was moved from New York City to Washington D.C. This was the foundation of our U.S. financial system which has now grown into the worlds financial system.
School children in the United States learn about the 1804 duel between arch-rivals Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton that ended Hamiltons life. The founding father is buried in Trinity Church downtown. He deserves a long, restful sleep and our eternal gratitude. He did pretty good for an orphan from the Caribbean.
This article was originally published on September 1, 2015.
Read Also: Renew Italian Passport Nyc
Should Broadway Take Its Shot
While Broadway’s reopening may have seemed on surer footing two months ago, the surge in Covid cases due to the highly transmissible Delta variant questions the decision to reopen in September.
“The theater-going public are voting with their dollars,” Kenrick said. “If you rush this, it’s going to cost you a lot more than if you take it slow and steady.”
While the Broadway League announced measures on July 30 to prevent the spread of Covid such as mask and vaccination requirements for all Broadway theatres Kenrick remains skeptical.
In a sign of the uncertainty, the Broadway League announced it will not be distributing box office grosses for the 2021-22 season, a decision it said was based on factors including the staggered roll-out of returning and new productions, and anticipated variations in performance schedules.
London’s equivalent reopening experiment doesn’t instill confidence.
On July 19, London’s West End attempted to reopen when capacity restrictions were lifted. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s $8.1 million production of “Cinderella“ canceled its opening night performance after a cast member tested positive for Covid. Lloyd Webber halted performances indefinitely on July 19, and on July 23, he announced the production would open August 18. However, in an interview with The Telegraph, Lloyd Webber stated: “who knows when we will open here? 2084?”
Andrew Lloyd Webber, through his firm, did not respond to a request for comment.
Broadway’s Biggest Star Is Tourists
A big factor in Broadway’s ability to be financially successful, though, remains a major wildcard: tourists. With tourists accounting for 70% of Broadway ticket sales, show business is in trouble. According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, tourism in New York City decreased from 66.6 million visitors in 2019 to 22.3 million visitors in 2020: a 67% reduction. The office projects 36.1 million visitors in 2021. To combat the substantial decrease in tourists, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $30 million promotional campaign funded by federal relief funds.
Rosenberg expressed concern about the return of Broadway’s most populous audience.
“There’s a large chunk of that Broadway audience that is a tourism audience,” he said. “That tourist audience, I think, is going to take a little longer to come back.”
That’s another reason Kenrick believes Broadway should wait until the entire tourist industry and downtown Manhattan are revitalized.
“The theater industry supports over 96,000 jobs in Manhattan. The people working on specific shows add up to just a fraction of that amount,” Kenrick said. “The majority are hotel workers, restaurant workers, shop people, all the people whose jobs center around the presence of theater in New York.”
What was risky before is riskier now, even for Disney.John Kenrick, theater producer and historian
Disney Theatricals declined to comment.
Also Check: Wax Museum Times Square Nyc
Hamilton For Puerto Rico
After Hurricane Maria, Lin-Manuel Miranda with family roots in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico used his influence to bring attention to the plight of the Puerto Rican people and to encourage tourism to Vega Alta. In 2017, Miranda and his father, Luis Miranda Jr., inaugurated the Placita Güisín, a café and restaurant in Vega Alta barrio-pueblo. In 2019, Lin-Manuel moved his memorabilia to a new gallery, the Lin-Manuel Miranda Gallery, within the Placita Güisín and opened a merchandise store, TeeRico. The location has become a tourist attraction.
Ticket Lottery And Ham4ham
Hamilton, like some other Broadway musicals, offers a ticket lottery before every show. Initially, 21 front-row seats were offered in each lottery. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda began preparing and hosting outdoor mini-performances shortly before each daily drawing, allowing lottery participants to experience a part of the show even when they did not win tickets. These were dubbed the “Ham4Ham” shows, because lottery winners were given the opportunity to purchase two tickets at the reduced price of one Hamilton each.
The online theatrical journal HowlRound characterized Ham4Ham as an expression of Miranda’s cultural background:
Ham4Ham follows a long tradition of Latina/o theatremaking that dates back to when the events in Hamilton were happening. … The philosophy behind this is simple. If the people won’t come to the theatre, then take the theatre to the people. While El Teatro Campesino‘s ‘taking it to the streets’ originated from a place of social protest, Ham4Ham does so to create accessibility, tap into social media, and ultimately generate a free, self-functioning marketing campaign. In this way, Ham4Ham falls into a lineage of accessibility as a Latina/o theatremaking aesthetic.
Don’t Miss: Wax Museum In Manhattan
Opening And Box Office Records
Hamilton‘s off-Broadway engagement at The Public Theater was sold out, and when the musical opened on Broadway, it had a multimillion-dollar advance in ticket sales, reportedly taking in $30 million before its official opening.
By September 2015, the show was sold out for most of its Broadway engagement. It was the second-highest-grossing show on Broadway for the Labor Day week ending September 6, 2015 ” rel=”nofollow”> The Lion King).
Hamilton set a Broadway box office record for the most money grossed in a single week in New York City in late November 2016, when it grossed $3.3 million for an eight-performance week, the first show to break $3 million in eight performances.
Roles And Principal Casts
Read Also: Pay Tickets Online New York
Hamilton Becomes Washingtons Right Hand Man
While Hamilton was in college, the Revolutionary War started and King’s College shuttered. Hamilton joined in a New York artillery company. He became a captain of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment and was so good at his job that he later became George Washingtons aide and secretary.
This gilded lead statue of King George III was erected in Bowling Green Park in 1770. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks Arts & Antiquities
He was there in “the Fields”, now City Hall Park, when the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time on July 9, 1776. A mob rushed to Bowling Green Park and toppled the statue of King George III. They hacked it to pieces and recast it as musket ballsthe war wasn’t over yet.
The Old Stone House is a replica of a Dutch stone farmhouse that was built in 1699.
Following the United States Independence, the Battle of Brooklyn was fought on the ground that later became Prospect Park. At what is now Washington Park, British and Hessian soldiers used the Old Stone House as an artillery position to successfully attack the Maryland Brigade.
Fort Washington Park is one of many Northern Manhattan Parks that share the rich history of the Revolutionary War.
In 1780, Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler and left the army in 1781.
Broadway Shows Set To Resume In Upstate Ny: Hamilton Mean Girls More
FILE – The cast of “Mean Girls” performs at the 72nd annual Tony Awards on June 10, 2018, in New York.Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP, File
The curtain will rise once again after more than a year of theaters being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NAC Entertainment has announced rescheduled dates for touring Broadway shows in Upstate New York, including at Sheas Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, RBTLs Auditorium Theatre in Rochester and the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. Performances include Pretty Woman: The Musical, Tina Feys so fetch adaptation of Mean Girls, and the Tony-winning smash Hamilton.
Albert Nocciolino, president & CEO of the Binghamton-based NAC Entertainment, said theaters will follow New York states Covid-19 guidelines for reopening, which currently allow smaller venues to open at 33% capacity with crowds up to 100 people indoors or up to 150 people with testing. He said that he expects to have full capacity by the time shows begin this fall.
We will not be opening unless we have 100% capacity, Nocciolino said in a phone interview. Clearly whatever the CDC guidelines are will be followed… If guidelines require masks, then we will.
Nocciolino said he wasnt yet sure if venues would be using New York states Excelsior Pass for coronavirus vaccine status on admission, as the first shows are still five months away.
See NAC Entertainments schedules for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, and Schenectady below:
Also Check: Thrush Poetry Submissions
Ways To Actually Get Tickets To Hamilton
quite
Its the question anyone connected to hears over and over and over: How can I get a ticket? The Richard Rodgers Theatre is regularly filled over official capacity and doesnt show signs of slowing down. But dont lose hope! Tickets are far from impossible to come by. Here are the ways you can get in the room where the phenomenon happens:
1.BUY TICKETS THROUGH THE BOX OFFICE HEAR US OUTIf youre willing to pay full price , there are tickets available for purchase at the box office or online for upcoming performances. For online purchase, stick with official ticketing websites like Ticketmaster.
Before you sigh that it will take too long: You may not have to wait months to see the show. Official re-sale tickets are often available through Ticketmasters re-sale program for same-day performanceor in advance, but not too far off.
Those intending to purchase a ticket must go through Ticketmasters Verified Fanprogram, which works to cut down on scalpers and others who want to resell their tickets for astronomical prices. While ticket reselling is still legal for those who have purchased tickets as Verified Fans, ticketholders can still command a high price. The good news is that Hamiltons premium tickets are still available for many performances.
Watch Brian dArcy James, and perform The Schuyler Sisters at Ham4Ham:
Watch the cast of Hamilton perform at the 2016 Easter Bonnet:
7. TRACK THE NEXT BLOCK OF TICKETS TO BUY FAR IN ADVANCE