Overview
UPDATE: Thursday May 6, 2021 — New COVID-19 restrictions have been announced. We'll keep you updated on this event as the situation changes. For the latest information, visit NSW Health.
What time is it? Showtime! After taking the world by storm when it hit Broadway in 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda's critically acclaimed musical Hamilton is finally coming to the "greatest city in the world": Sydney. If, like us, you've been watching the filmed version of Hamilton with the original Broadway cast on repeat since it was fast-tracked to Disney+ in July, then we bet you could not be more satisfied with the news you'll finally be able to see it live on stage.
The record-breaking production, which nabbed 11 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Grammy Award and a Pulitzer Prize, was inspired by Ron Chernow's 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton. It tells the story of Caribbean-born immigrant Alexander Hamilton, who rose to become America's ten-dollar Founding Father ("without a father").
Directed by Thomas Kail, the musical tracks Hamilton's arrival in New York in the early 1770s, fighting in the Revolutionary War, and working alongside the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and his rival Aaron Burr to form the United States of America. On paper, the subject matter may sound a little dry. But Miranda's energetic lyrics and music, which spans hip hop, R&B, soul and traditional show tunes, as well as Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography ensure it's anything but. You'll be captivated by cabinet rap battles, hip hop-heavy duels and heart-wrenching ballads about Hamilton's complicated love life.
The Aussie production has also continued the Broadway musical's colour-blind approach to casting, by enlisting BIPOC actors to play historical white figures. The cast includes Jason Arrow (Disney's Aladdin, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Alexander Hamilton, Lyndon Watts (Disney's Aladdin, West Side Story) as Aaron Burr, and Chloé Zuel as Eliza Hamilton. A common feature of Hamilton is actors playing two different roles throughout the show — Marty Alix, who played Sonny in Sydney Opera House's season of Miranda's other Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, has signed on for the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton.
If you want to be in the room where it happens, Hamilton is opening at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, booking through to September. Tickets will set you back $70–250 a pop. There are flexible ticket options available, now including gift vouchers, which might suit those planning to travel to Sydney especially for the show. They'll also make excellent Christmas presents. The Sydney Lyric Theatre also has a COVID-19 safety plan in place, in accordance with NSW Health.
Top images: Images 1–5, US National Tour, Joan Marcus; Images 6–7, Broadway. Courtesy of Destination NSW.