Tickets for the smash hit musical Hamilton with book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, have sold out where ever the show is playing. Great news for investors but it’s a headache for the public as a black market in overpriced or even phony tickets has evolved.
Determined to combat this the London producers Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh have announced plans to make sure all purchases are legitimate and are pioneering a paperless ticketing scheme which means no actual tickets will be printed. Instead on arrival at the venue audience members will be allowed in once they have swiped the credit card they used to book. Alternatively you can pay in cash at the box office. There’ll also be security on hand to make sure touts offering crooked deals are kept away from the venue, The Victoria Palace Theatre.
With performances for the mega smash hit about to begin on the 21 November 2017 here’s our “At a Glance” guide to what else the producers have been telling the press this week.
Official Awards History: “Winner of 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, HAMILTON has smashed box office records on Broadway where it continues its run at The Richard Rodgers Theatre with the largest advance ever recorded in theatre history. A second US production is also playing to capacity at the PrivateBank Theatre in Chicago and a third US production opened in March at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco”.
Official Summary: “HAMILTON is the story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and helped shape the very foundations of the America we know today. The score blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway – the story of America then, as told by America now”.
Principal Cast:
Jamael Westman (Alexander Hamilton)
Official Biog: Jamael Westman recently completed a run at Shakespeare’s Globe in The White Devil. Having graduated from RADA in 2016, he appeared in Richard Twyman’s production of Torn at the Royal Court Theatre. Hamilton marks Westman’s West End debut.
Michael Jibson (King George)
Official Biog: Michael Jibson’s previous theatre credits include Roots for the Donmar Warehouse, Road Show and Take Flight for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as Timon of Athens for Shakespeare’s Globe, Canterbury Tales for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Brighton Rock for the Almeida Theatre, Our House at the Cambridge Theatre for which he was nominated for an Olivier award and Oliver! at the London Palladium. His television credits include Saints and Strangers, Hatfields & McCoys, DCI Banks, Burton and Taylor, Thirteenth Tale, and The Alienist. On film his credits include Hunter Killer, The Bank Job, Beauty and the Beast, The Lighthouse, Les Misérables, The Fifth Estate and The Riot Club.
Christine Allado (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds)
Rachelle Ann Go (Eliza Hamilton)
Tarinn Callender (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison)
Rachel John (Angelica Schuyler)
Jason Pennycooke (Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson)
Cleve September (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton)
Giles Terera (Aaron Burr)
Obioma Ugoala (George Washington)
At certain performances, the role of Alexander Hamilton will be played by Ash Hunter.
Official Biog: Ash Hunter was recently seen on stage in Light Shining in Buckinghamshire for the National Theatre. His other theatre credits include Pitcairn at Shakespeare’s Globe, Antony & Cleopatra for the Royal Shakespeare Company and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Almeida Theatre. His television credits include the BBC’s The Secret Agent and Death in Paradise.
Ensemble Cast: Jade Albertsen, Curtis Angus, Jonathan Bishop, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Jack Butterworth, Jon-Scott Clark, Kelly Downing, Leslie Garcia Bowman, Lia Given, Greg Haney, Leah Hill, Barney Hudson, Waylon Jacobs, Miriam-Teak Lee, Phoebe Liberty, Alexzandra Sarmiento, Marsha Songcome, Christopher Tendai and Lindsey Tierney.
As always Hamilton will be directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire.
I always like to celebrate a show whose primary purpose is to give pleasure and Beautiful which is about to end its time at the Aldwych Theatre after a very respectable run of over two years, is just such a show.