‘HAMILTON’ HITS HOME
Three years after debut, Broadway hip-hop musical in Hampton Roads
NORFOLK — Who would’ve thought to turn the life story of one of America’s Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, into a hip-hop musical?
Luckily, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda did. What’s even more lucky is that the show is now in Norfolk. Fans couldn’t contain their excitement at Tuesday’s opening night.
One was Marva Parker. Originally from New Jersey, she said she was pleased to see the big crowd outside the theater.
“I’m really excited because back up north, we have New York where we have all of the plays all the time, and people are just starting to come here,” she said.
The Broadway show tells the story of Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who rose out of poverty to become the nation’s first Treasury secretary. He was also George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War.
The show, which first debuted on Broadway in 2015, has quite the fan base. Hundreds of people formed lines outside of Chrysler Hall earlier this fall to buy tickets.
Laura and John Stewart traveled two hours from the Eastern Shore to see “Hamilton” in Norfolk. Laura has been waiting for two years to see the show and jumped at the chance. John may have fallen asleep during the second half of “The Lion King,” but Laura is no stranger to musical theater.
“I grew up in Dallas and they always had the Dallas musicals. I used to know the songs to all the musicals and I used to act them out for my brother and sister when they were little. They had to suffer through it!” she laughed.
Sheryl Musser, another excited first-timer, said she already loves the show’s soundtrack.
She’s not the only one. The hit show won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2016. The soundtrack contains something for everyone as it blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and, of course, Broadway.
The show was also nominated for 16 Tony Awards that year, winning 11. And Miranda, the writer, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
It’s no surprise then that seeing the award-winning show doesn’t come cheap. In New York City, the best seats will run you about $849. Locally, the top price is $299.
Some lucky fans will get to see the show for much cheaper, however, thanks to the #Ham4Ham lottery. Tickets won through the lottery system are only $10, fitting since Hamilton graces the cover of the $10 bill.
The random lottery opens at 11 a.m. two days prior to the performance and closes at 9 a.m. the day before. Notifications are sent out around 11 a.m. that day and the purchase window for tickets is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. the day before the show. Forty of these tickets are available for each performance and one entry is allowed per person.
Want to try your luck at the “Hamilton” lottery? Download the app at bit.ly/2RKklvG on your phone or go to bit.ly/2LLNWBo to register online.
The nearly three-hour performance will be in Norfolk until Dec 29. Tickets are still available for many shows and can be found at bit.ly/2RJkH60.