Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Your Guide to Hamilton: Part One - What You Need To Know

I don't know if you HEARD, but a little show called Hamilton is coming to Minneapolis from August 29 through October 7 at the Orpheum Theatre.


If you haven't seen it, prepare to be obsessed. It IS all that. If you have seen it, be prepared to be re-obsessed. There's a lot to know and a lot to love about Hamilton. So sit on my lap like I'm Santa and listen (tm Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to our three-part series about Hamilton in Minneapolis. Check out Part Two: So Now You're Obsessed and Part Three: A Personal Note.



Joseph Morales and Nik Walker from the Hamilton tour
(Photo by Joan Marcus)
TICKETS:
If you're still looking for tickets, here's your go-to bookmark for the next few months:
Hamilton Ticketing Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

Want the latest news on ticket availability? Sign up for the Hennepin Theatre Trust Email List.

Don't forget about the digital lottery. Forty tickets at $10 each will be sold for every performance.
Here are the full details on the Hamilton Lottery. Be sure to download the Hamilton Lottery app so you are READY.

Now, friends: You might be tempted to buy tickets from a ticket broker. Don't do it. As Lin-Manuel Miranda himself explained in The New York Times in June 2016 in an editorial about legislation to stop ticket brokers from snatching up show tickets using bots:
"To use another metaphor from Guys and Dolls: Big Julie is using loaded dice, and you and I do not have a chance,” Miranda wrote. “Tickets are taken out of circulation, punishing people who can’t afford to pay more than face value. The extra money doesn’t provide a better concert or show experience for you, the fan. Instead, it goes straight to the broker’s bottom line.”
Listen to Lin. Don't do it. Not yet convinced? Hennepin Theatre Trust has in bold print on their website:
Please note that Ticketmaster and the Theatre Box Offices are the ONLY authorized source for HAMILTON tickets in Minneapolis. If you purchase tickets from any other source, we cannot guarantee the validity of the ticket and you risk being denied admission, refunds and/or exchanges if it is found to be fraudulent.
Just to recap: Ticket brokers are evil and ruining America.

Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Anthony Ramos
Original Broadway cast of Hamilton (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
IF  YOU'RE NEW TO HAMILTON:
  • Hamilton: An American Musical is about the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers. 
  • Music, lyrics and book are by Lin-Manuel Miranda and was inspired by Lin's reading of Ron Chernow's 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton during the run of his first musical, In The Heights.
  • The show features color-conscious casting with performers of color playing the founding fathers and an eclectic mix of hip-hop, soul, R&B and traditional show tunes.
  • Hamilton debuted off-Broadway at the Public Theater in February 2015, transferring to Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theater in August 2015.
  • In 2016, it won eleven Tony Awards and the Grammy for the cast album.
  • The show broke box office records like crazy and continues to do so.
  • Hamilton began a sit-down production in Chicago in 2016 and the first national tour started in 2017. The show opened on the West End of London in 2017. 
  • The tour arriving in Minneapolis is the second national tour.
Tommy Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire
Photo by Carolyn Cole/L.A. Times
MORE INFO AND NAMES TO KNOW:
  • Be sure to pronounce Lin-Manuel Miranda's name correctly: It's Man-Well, not Man-U-All. 
  • Crowds were so intense outside the theater during the Broadway ticket lotteries that Lin-Manuel began presenting short performances. You can see them on Lin's website and in Part Two: So Now You're Obsessed.
  • It's not just about the music--the choreography by Tony Award-winning Andy Blankenbeuhler is electrifying and astonishing. Check out this fascinating Playbill interview with Blankenbeuhler and look for the Bullet in the show.
  • Director Tommy Kail (with Miranda) created the freestyle hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme and directed In The Heights. He also directed the recent Grease Live.
  • Alex Lacamoire, the Music Director, Conductor and Orchestrator of Hamilton, also worked on In the Heights, Bring It On and Dear Evan Hansen.

Don't forget to check out our other Hamilton posts:
Part Two: So Now You're Obsessed
Part Three: A Personal Note

Happy Hamiltoning! Don't throw away your shot!