Hamilton, the Tony Award winning musical featuring both rap and hip hop songs, is set to hit Chicago. While Hamilton in Chicago caused huge lineups for fans looking to score tickets to the popular show, it appears that other agencies are looking to capitalize on the potential success of Hamilton in Chicago.
StubHub, a ticket outlet owned by eBay, is posting tickets for Hamilton in Chicago at $8,000 USD. Tickets through Ticketmaster are a more affordable $340, but it seems as though theatre goers looking to pick up tickets for Hamilton in Chicago are having a challenge trying to pick them up through the online ticketing company.
Given tickets for Hamilton in Chicago are for its run in September 2016, after Leslie Odom Jr’s and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s final performances on July 9, the skyrocketing price can only be attributed to the insane popularity of the show. New York Times reports that, in part at least, Hamilton can attribute its popularity to its connections to 21st century America. Miranda has said that he was reminded of a rap battle when he read about the struggles between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
“It’s a way of pulling you into the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door,” he has said about infusing rap into the Broadway musical.
People looking to see Hamilton in Chicago will doubtless be hungry for that unique fusion of rap with more traditional musical rhythms. Miranda, however, will not be a part of the performances of Hamilton in Chicago; he is working on Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt, though he admits that he will likely drop into the performances from time to time to tread the boards, according to USA Today. It has been widely reported that both Miranda and Odom will be leaving the performance July 9, well before Hamilton in Chicago bows.
The fight to get tickets for Hamilton and its Chicago performances has caused many to wonder if perhaps there are bots snatching tickets before the public at large can get them. Certainly, there are people who are finding the significant price increase over the Ticketmaster site for tickets to be quite distasteful.
WGNTV reports that as of this morning, there was a significant line up for Hamilton and its Chicago run. Of course, if there are bots from sites like StubHub that are snagging tickets before consumers can get to them, it will be increasingly difficult to acquire these prized tickets.
This would not have been the first time people have suggested that ticket resellers are the ones snagging the tickets for a show and then reselling them for exorbitant amounts. Earlier in June, it was reported that Canadian band The Tragically Hip would be doing one final show, as their lead singer Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Tickets sold out in minutes, but ticket resellers were selling tickets for the band’s shows at three and four times, at minimum, of the price that the tickets were sold for on places like Ticketmaster.
Miranda had a little fun in announcing that Hamilton was coming to Chicago earlier this year, according to DNA Info.
“Chi-Town, birth place of Kanye West, Common Sense, Chance the Rapper — some of the best hip-hop in the world and the source material for Kander and Ebb’s best musical,” Miranda declared. “We’re coming to see you first.”
While pricing for Hamilton’s Chicago show is clearly on the rise as a result of the influence of ticket resellers like StubHub, it is unfortunate that potential audiences are getting a sour taste in their mouths as a result of the Hamilton in Chicago prices on StubHub. It’s difficult to be happy about seeing a highly rated performance when you know that there is a very good possibility that you may not get tickets – or that the prices will be so high, the tickets cost as much as a small vehicle. Regardless, Hamilton opens in Chicago in September 2016.
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