About Hamilton
Hamilton: An American Musical has become one of the most talked about and beloved musicals in the history of Broadway. Its unprecedented concept has captured the hearts of millions and broken records that other theatre productions could only dream of. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creative force behind Hamilton as he wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the show. Miranda credits his idea from the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Hamilton is a story about the life of Alexander Hamilton through rapping and song. What makes Hamilton unique is that Miranda casted non-white actors to play the Founding Fathers and other characters in the show to represent how America’s demographic has evolved since the 18th century and also how America is a nation of immigrants. Miranda is quoted saying “Our cast looks like America looks now, and that’s certainly intentional.” The catchy hip-hop music also adds a twist to the typical showtunes that are often featured in a musical. Hamilton is for every audience, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, or gender. If you want to see one of the best shows to ever be presented on Broadway, then make sure you get your Hamilton tickets from TicketNetwork today! TicketNetwork has your access to all Hamilton tickets, from productions on Broadway in New York City to the West End in London. TicketNetwork has it all!
History
Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired by the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. He imagined a musical that told the told the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. So Miranda began by writing and recording songs with a project called The Hamilton Mixtape. Miranda was invited to perform songs from his other musical, In the Heights, at the White House in the spring of 2009. Instead of performing music from In the Heights, Miranda performed the first song from The Hamilton Mixtape. From then on, he continued to work on music and script for the show. The first version of the musical was performed at Vassar College’s Reading Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York in July 2013. It was a workshop production of the show that contained the entire first act and a few songs from the second act. This workshop production was directed by Thomas Kail and starred Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton. Only two other actors were casted in the Vassar Workshops as well as the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of the musical. These two actors were Daveed Diggs (as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson) and Christopher Jackson (as George Washington). Due to the positive response from the Vassar Workshop, Hamilton went into official production and had its world premiere Off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York, New York. Previews began on January 20, 2015 and the opening night was on February 17. This production was also directed by Thomas Kail. The Off-Broadway showing was so successful that by July 2015, Hamilton began previews on Broadway at Richard Rogers Theatre. The Broadway production opened officially on August 6, 2015 and has been running ever since.
Other Productions
Hamilton began previews in Chicago at the CIBC Theatre in September 2016 and then officially opened in Chicago on October 19, 2016. Miranda attended opening night and applauded the cast for its performance. The Chicago production is produced by Jeffrey Seller who has said the show will run for two or more years. The London production, which has its residency in the Victoria Palace Theatre, premiered on December 21, 2017. Production is set to start in the beginning of 2022.
Awards and Records
Hamilton’s success is pretty much unprecedented on Broadway. On Labor Day week in 2015, it was the second-highest grossing show on Broadway only behind The Lion King. This was only one month after opening night. Hamilton also set a Broadway box office record when it grossed $3.3 million in a single week in the fall of 2016. This made it the first show on Broadway to gross over $3 million in a single week.
There are countless accolades and awards Hamilton has received over the years including 16 Tony nominations in 2016 alone. There are actually too awards the production has received to list them all! But some of the most notable awards are listed below for the original Broadway production:
- Tony Award for Best Musical
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Leslie Odom, Jr.)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daveed Diggs)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Renée Elise Goldsberry)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler)
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
- Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album
- Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack/Cast Album
In addition to this extensive list of accolades, the off-Broadway production received the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and seven other Drama Desk Awards. The West End production won seven Olivier Awards in 2018, including Best New Musical. Hamilton will be unlike any musical you have ever seen. Don’t miss out on one of the most amazing musicals to ever hit the Broadway stage. Grab your Hamilton tickets from TicketNetwork today!