Sydney: are you ready to be in the room where it happens? By “it”, we mean Lin-Manuel Miranda’s record-smashing hip hop musical Hamilton, which is officially heading our way.
The NSW state government this morning announced that the show will open at the Sydney Lyric in March 2021.
We don’t know when tickets are going on sale, and we don’t know anything about the cast yet. But we know that it’s coming, and frankly that’s enough to make us lose our tiny minds.
Hamilton is the world’s biggest musical since Andrew Lloyd Webber was churning out shows about singing phantoms and dancing cats, and maybe even bigger than those blockbusters.
It won 11 Tony Awards in 2016 from its 16 nominations, making it the most nominated show – ever. Its cast recording album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard charts, the highest entry for a cast recording since 1963, and peaked at number three. In November 2016, it beat the record for the most money grossed by a Broadway show in a week, taking in an eye-watering $3.3 million.
What we’re trying to say is: Hamilton is a big fucking deal.
Which is why it’s great news that Sydney has secured the premiere, beating out Melbourne. They’ve got Harry Potter, but we’ve got Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who mightn’t be as well known as Jefferson, Washington or Franklin, but is arguably more interesting. His story of revolution is brought to life through a room-shaking hip hop score, with killer choreography and innovative staging. If you want to know more about the show, read Time Out New York’s five-star rave review.
There aren’t any ticketing details available yet, but there'll be a waitlist at hamiltonmusical.com.au and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date when we hear any developments.
Need your musical theatre fix before 2021? Check out our hit-list of the best musicals in Sydney.