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"Hamilton" is the most coveted Broadway show right now, and tickets are sold out for months in advance.
2016-06-06
The musical — created and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda — features a multiracial cast rapping and singing the story of Alexander Hamilton, America's founding father and first secretary of the treasury.
It took six years for the musical to come together, but since it has there's no stopping it.
"Hamilton" won a Grammy earlier this year for best musical theater album, and the cast performed at the White House for an education initiative. Celebrities and politicians, including Kerry Washington, Amy Schumer, and the Obamas, have been gushing about the show, and many have seen it more than once.
With an album that has reached gold status, a mixtape set for release later this year, and a behind-the-scenes book, "Hamilton" is everywhere, even if you are unable to secure (or afford) a ticket.
Not surprisingly, the show is up for best musical — as well as a record 15 other nominations — at the Tony Awards, which take place June 12.
Here's what you should know about Broadway's hottest ticket:
Created and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical is based on "Hamilton," a biography about Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Miranda read the entire biography while on vacation in Mexico in 2008, but he discussed the idea for a hip-hop musical based on Hamilton's life with Jeremy Carter, a former theater critic, a week before he even went on vacation.
In 2013, Miranda performed the first act and a couple other songs at a Vassar workshop. Miranda and cast members Daveed Diggs, Chris Jackson, and Javier Muñoz would continue to perform in both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions.
Six years after the idea first formed, the musical took shape and became the most coveted ticket on Broadway.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
It first previewed Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in January 2015, and opened February 2015. Official Broadway previews began July 2015, and the show opened in August.
Miranda stars as Hamilton. The musical features a diverse, multicultural cast. Original Broadway members also include Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
It was originally supposed to be called "The Hamilton Mixtape," but Jeffrey Seller, the musical's lead producer, convinced Miranda to change the name to simply "Hamilton."
Standard tickets start at $139 and premium tickets start at $549, but secondary tickets can go for upward of $2,000 via third-party sources like StubHub, unless you're lucky enough to win the $10 tickets given out in a digital lottery.
The cast album dominated the Billboard charts, reaching No. 1 on the rap charts, debuting at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart, and topping the Broadway cast albums chart. The album has gone gold, meaning more than 500,000 copies have been sold.
Love for the musical has even extended to Chicago, where a baby camel at the Lincoln Park Zoo was just named Alexander Camelton, as "a nod to the Founding Father and the hit musical."
As tickets for the Broadway musical continue to be a hot commodity in New York, a Chicago production will open September 27. A national tour will make stops in cities such as San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and a production will also open in London in 2017.
Later this year, "The Hamilton Mixtape" will come out, which will feature songs from and inspired by the musical, performed by artists including Ben Folds, Chance the Rapper, Regina Spektor, and Jimmy Fallon.
Miranda coauthored "Hamilton: The Revolution," a behind-the-scenes look at the musical and the history behind it, with Jeremy McCarter. The book was released April 12.
Anjelica was a pop-culture reporter at INSIDER. Before that she was an entertainment intern at Business Insider. She graduated from Ohio University's Scripps College of Communication in May 2015 and watches far too much TV.
