Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton is known for being an instant sell-out. Now that “Hamilton” is coming to Pittsburgh, fans of the Broadway hit can begin dueling online to get tickets.
How many will be available?
“There will be four weeks of performances, eight shows a week, at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Benedum Center,” says Marc Fleming, vice president of marketing and communications for the Cultural Trust. “Approximately 88,000 people will see “Hamilton” during the January 1 to January 27 run here in Pittsburgh.”
“From a capacity standpoint,” he says, “that is the equivalent of six concerts at PPG Paints Arena or 2.3 sold-out games at PNC Park.”
The Trust, along with its partners at Broadway Across America, is bringing the Tony Award-winner to town as part of the 2018-19 season, which also includes “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Anastasia,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Come From Away” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Current 2017-18 season subscribers are guaranteed tickets when they renew by May 1. And renewing subscribers may request to add up to two additional subscriptions to their order for the coming soon.
How can you get seats?
If you’re not already a subscriber, one option for seeing “Hamilton” is requesting a new subscription for the entire upcoming season. A limited number of new subscriptions will be granted on a first come, first served basis after existing subscribers have decided to renew or not. If your request is granted, you’ll be contacted by early summer with the good news.
Individual tickets will also go on sale for each performance during the season. Sale dates have yet to be announced. And there will be a ticket lottery for every “Hamilton” performance in Pittsburgh, but the dates and details for that lottery won’t be available until this fall.
To stay posted on all that upcoming information, make a note to periodically check here during late summer and early fall.
Is it worth all the effort?
Thousands of ticket-buyers have elevated the show to legendary status.
According to Fleming, this tour will feature an all-new cast and be produced with the same talent, attention to detail and high quality as the New York City, Chicago and West End productions. Often, the touring cast boasts members that grew up in and around the local area. But we won’t know until sometime this fall whether any native Pittsburghers will be performing.
The story of Hamilton — who was George Washington’s righthand man during the Revolutionary War, served as the country’s first Secretary of the Treasury and was shot and killed in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr — has always been intriguing to the American public. That interest intensified in 2015, when Miranda set the political drama to music, including hip-hop, soul and pop.
Still wondering what all the fuss is really about?
“I recommend that people Google ‘Why is Hamilton so popular?’” Fleming says. “What I find fascinating is how this groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning Best Musical means so much, to so many, for so many different reasons.”
