Overview
If there's ever a time not to throw away your shot, it's this: getting the chance to be in the room where Lin-Manuel Miranda chats about Hamilton live in Australia in March. The smash-hit musical's creator is heading Down Under for the first time since the show started its Australian run, to see the Aussie version which kicked off in Sydney, then hit Melbourne and is now playing Brisbane. Even better: he's doing a live public Q&A session to share some insights about the theatre production that everyone has been talking about for almost a decade now.
While the news that Miranda would hit Brisbane for an in-person Hamilton fan event was revealed last week, further details have now dropped. The Tony-, Grammy-, Emmy-, Olivier- and Pulitzer Prize-winner will take to the QPAC Lyric Theatre stage on Sunday, March 5 to discuss all things Hamilton in an interview with Leigh Sales.
Also joining them: actor Jason Arrow, who plays Alexander Hamilton in the Australian production.
Destination NSW
Attendees can expect to hear about everything from Miranda's decision to make the show to begin with through to how the lyrics for Hamilton's famous tunes came about — and about the music theatre easter eggs peppered throughout the piece as well.
Folks eager to get the Hamilton scoop from the man himself will need to hope they have luck on their side, however, given that the only way to attend is to win free tickets. Entries open at 10am AEST today, Monday, February 20, via the QPAC website, closing at 10am on Wednesday, February 22 — which is when winners will be drawn, then notified by email.
Miranda's Brisbane Q&A is an Australian exclusive, so Hamilton obsessives elsewhere in the country will need to make plans to hit up the Sunshine State if they score tickets.
Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+.
"I have been waiting such a long time to come to Australia and I can't wait to be with the company down under in-person for the first time," said Miranda when his visit was first announced.
"I have heard such great things from friends and fans in Australia, it is going to be fantastic to be able to meet them and watch them perform."
The biggest show in musical theatre this century, this game-changing, award-winning, rightly raved-about take on 18th-century American politics is about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as well as inclusion and politics in current-day America. In addition to its swag of Tony Awards — 11 in fact, which includes Best Musical — it has nabbed a Grammy Award and even a Pulitzer Prize. And, Miranda wrote the music, lyrics and the book for the critically acclaimed hip hop musical.
Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+.
The Broadway hit's Aussie production features a cast that currently includes Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Martha Berhane as Eliza Hamilton, Callan Purcell as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, and Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Sami Afuni plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, Wern Mak does double duty as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha plays Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, and Brent Hill steps into King George III's robes.
When it finishes its Brisbane season at QPAC's Lyric Theatre on Sunday, April 23, the show will leave the country for a New Zealand run. That'll mean that fans will then need to be content with watching the filmed version of Hamilton's Broadway production, which started streaming via Disney+ in 2020, again. (And yes, it's as phenomenal as you've heard).
Brisbanites keen to see Hamilton for cheap in-person can also try the $10 ticket lottery, which offers tickets for less than the cost of lunch.
Daniel Boud
Lin-Manuel Miranda will chat with Leigh Sales and Jason Arrow at QPAC's Lyric Theatre, South Bank, Brisbane on Sunday, March 5. To enter to win free tickets to attend, head to the QPAC website between 10am AEST on Monday, February 20–10am on Wednesday, February 22.
Hamilton's Brisbane season runs until Sunday, April 23 at QPAC's Lyric Theatre, South Bank, with tickets available via the musical's website.
Top image: Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+.