Why Hamilton Has Heat By ERIK PIEPENBURG UPDATED June 12, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/06/theater/20150806-hamilton-broadway.html

Hamilton, the mega-buzzy bio-musical about Alexander Hamilton and the founding fathers, opened to glowing accolades unlike any in memory. It received 11 Tony Awards, including best musical, and 16 Tony nominations, the most nominations in Broadway history. It won the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award. In his review, Ben Brantley writes: Yes, it really is that good.

Its one of the most talked about Broadway shows since The Book of Mormon in 2011. Why? Its a theatrical rarity: a critically acclaimed work, written by a young composer, thats making a cultural impact far beyond Broadways 40 theaters. That its told through the language and rhythms of hip-hop and R&B genres that remain mostly foreign to the musical theater tradition has put it in contention to redefine what an American musical can look and sound like. As Mr. Brantley wrote in his review of the show Off Broadway, the songs in Hamilton could be performed more or less as they are by Drake or Beyonc or Kanye. Ethel Merman it aint.

So whats the story behind a show thats become a Broadway must-see with no marquee names, no special effects and almost no white actors? Here, in six snapshots, is an explanation of why Hamilton is a big deal.

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Its a Genuine Smash Hamilton is on track to become one of the biggest critical and commercial hits in Broadway history. It won 11 Tony Awards, including best musical, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama and a Grammy Award for best musical theater album. Other awards include the Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History and the George Washington Book Prize. Mr. Miranda received a genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The love isnt just from theater circles. Mr. Miranda and several cast members performed at the White House, where Mr. Miranda freestyled for President Obama, and Michelle Obama, the first lady, called Hamilton the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life. Mr. Miranda has appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and in Vogue, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Hamilton is also a hit in the acting world, after the shows producers agreed to share some of the profits with original cast members who performed in its development and first productions.

An open-ended run of Hamilton is to begin in Chicago this fall, with a separate national tour set for 2017.

A Brief Hamilton History Mr. Mirandas interest in Hamilton was sparked when he wrote a paper in high school about the 1804 duel between Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr, which reminded Mr. Miranda of old-school rap rivalries.

Its a hip-hop story, he said in a 2012 interview. Its Tupac.

He was inspired to write a musical after reading a copy of Alexander Hamilton, a 2004 biography by Ron Chernow. After developing the work for a few years, in 2009 he sang a number from what would eventually become Hamilton as part of a night of poetry and music at the White House. Three years later, excerpts from The Hamilton Mixtape, a proto-Hamilton song cycle, opened Lincoln Centers annual American Songbook series.

The full-fledged Hamilton opened in February at the Public Theater to positive no, glowing reviews.

Diversity Led by a cast of mostly black and Latino actors, Hamilton has already helped challenge the perception that Broadways nickname as the Great White Way refers to the color of the actors onstage.

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Our cast looks like America looks now, and thats certainly intentional, Mr. Miranda, 35, said earlier this year. Its 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.

A story of immigrants, from creators who are the children of immigrants, Hamilton has contributed to the national conversation about immigration. A line from the show Immigrants/We get the job done gets such sustained applause that the pause that follows has been lengthened to allow time for the ovation to end.

Hamilton isnt the first time Mr. Miranda, who attended the elite public Hunter College elementary and high schools on the Upper East Side, has helped to bring nonwhite actors (and audiences) to Broadway. In 2008 he won a Tony Award for best musical for In the Heights, his show that featured Latin and hip-hop-inspired songs and choreography in a story about Latino families living in Washington Heights. In 2009 he translated some English lyrics by Stephen Sondheim into Spanish for the Broadway revival of West Side Story. (Some of the lyrics were later changed back to English.)

A Hot Ticket Hamilton started performances on Broadway in July, selling over 200,000 tickets in advance and bringing in almost $30 million. It has continued to be a box-office powerhouse, nipping at the heels of blockbuster musicals like Wicked and The Lion King to become one of the highest-grossing shows now on Broadway. Among the most high-profile audience members to see it at the Richard Rodgers Theater have been President Obama and his daughters, Sasha and Malia.

An Off Broadway production that ran in 2015 at the Public Theater was an enormous success, selling out 119 performances. Celebrities from the world of pop music (Madonna), politics (Dick Cheney), books (Gay Talese) and Hollywood (Jake Gyllenhaal) flocked to see the show, which became one of the hottest tickets in New York.

Conservatives were particularly smitten. Fabulous show! said Rupert Murdoch.

Getting It Right The historical accuracy of Hamilton was crucial for Mr. Miranda, whose interest in all things history extends not just to 18th-century politics but also to musical theater. At the wildly popular lottery for Hamilton tickets, Mr. Miranda has answered questions from the crowd using only quotes from the musical A Chorus Line.

Ron Chernow, the historian whose Hamilton biography inspired the show (and who Mr. Miranda consulted for guidance), said Hamilton provides a convincing and very interior look at its title character.

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Mr. Chernow wrote in a recent T Magazine profile of Mr. Miranda: I think he has plucked out the dramatic essence of the character his vaulting ambition, his obsession with his legacy, his driven nature, his roving eye, his brilliant mind, his faulty judgment.

Some historians, many of them fans of the show, have nonetheless questioned its historical accuracy, asking if Mr. Miranda overglorifies Hamilton while glossing over less attractive aspects of his politics.

Musical Language Broadway and hip-hop have been troubled partners. Shows like last seasons Tupac-inspired musical Holler If Ya Hear Me have tried unsuccessfully to bridge rap and musical theater.

Hamilton has the potential to be a Broadway game changer thanks to its seamless integration of rap and storytelling. Hip-hop aficionados have taken note. Ahmir Thompson, who is also known as Questlove and is a founding member of the hip-hop band the Roots, recently said: Watching the show I realized: O.K., Lin-Manuel knows hip-hop. This guy has totally done his homework.

No less a theater luminary than Stephen Sondheim, who knows his way around a lyric, is a fan of the musical achievements of Mr. Miranda, who has a degree in theater studies from Wesleyan University.

Rhyme does something to the listeners perception that is very important, said Mr. Sondheim, and Lin-Manuel recognizes that, which gives the Hamilton score a great deal more heft than it might otherwise have.

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'Hamilton' is the most important musical of our time

http://www.businessinsider.com/hamilton-is-the-most-important-musical-of-all-time-2016-3

Chris Weller, Tech Insider

Mar. 19, 2016, 10:00 AM

In less than a year since making a home at New York's Richard Rodgers

Theatre, Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop-infused musical "Hamilton" has

already left an indelible mark on both the audience that watches it and

the building that houses it, as the insane number of ticket

sales have made clear.

It's fair to say that "Hamilton" is quickly asserting itself as the most

important musical of our time.

Miranda's revolutionary musical gets people thinking about race, history,

and theater in ways they're probably not used to. He educates audiences

about an important a piece of American history through rap and hip-hop

in a work of art so ingenious that it would be brilliant even if there were

no message behind it.

"Hamilton" is just cool like that.

The most obvious difference between "Hamilton" and a history textbook

is that nobody in the play looks how they actually looked in real life.

Miranda, a Puerto Rican from New York, plays Alexander Hamilton, the

rags-to-riches protagonist who moved to the US from the Caribbean at

just 17 years old. The rest of the cast is made up of black, Hispanic, and

Asian-American performers, a choice Miranda has repeatedly said was

deliberate.

"Our cast looks like America looks now, and that's certainly intentional,"

Miranda told the New York Times last year. "It's a way of pulling you into

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the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have

about the founding fathers at the door."

In that way, "Hamilton" democratizes history. It turns America's origin

story into a beef between superstars, and it uses today's most popular

genre of music to package that story for the masses. "It's a hip-hop

story," Miranda said in a 2012 interview. "It's Tupac."

What you get in that alchemy of modern tastes and old influences is a

cultural phenomenon where people suddenly love history.

"That was the first [show] that didn't make me want to go to sleep when I

was in it," 16-year-old Pedro De Los Angeles, a student at the Democracy

Prep Charter High School in Harlem, told Newsweek last month. "It just

stuck in my head, and I found history interesting. If history class was like

that every day, I'm pretty sure the Regents wouldn't be a problem."

As other students and teachers from across the country reiterated to

Newsweek writer Zach Schonfeld, "Hamilton" meets them in the middle.

It gives teachers a way to articulate the importance of the time period,

while also giving a students an easy on-ramp to an otherwise boring

subject. The cast's diversity only adds to that accessibility.

And since the play's soundtrack unapologetically hijacks your brain,

those kids (and their parents) sing the songs over and over like "Let It

Go" but nerdier.

Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Daveed Diggs (who's black), rap battles

George Washington, played by Christopher Jackson (who's half black,

half white), while Miranda (who's Latino) stands by as Hamilton.

This is after Diggs, this time playing Marquis de Lafayette, sings one of

the fastest songs in Broadway history, at one point managing to cram 19

words inside a time span of just three seconds. ("Hamilton" as a whole

contains more than 20,000 words, which, if sung at a more normal pace,

would take between four and six hours.)

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This reliance on speed keeps audiences alert, never letting them slouch

into their chairs. For a two-and-a-half-hour play about the American

Revolution, that's saying something.

The only other musical that "Hamilton" competes with for its GOOG

status (that's "Greatest of Our Generation") is "Rent," a play that

Miranda himself credits as a major influence.

"Rent" did for HIV/AIDS in the mid-1990s what "Hamilton" seems to be

doing on multiple fronts today: eliminating racial barriers in art

while educating us about an important period in American history, all

with insanely catchy tunes.

"Hamilton" is still five months away from its first birthday on Broadway.

In that time and in the ensuing years it inevitably spends getting

comfortable in New York, not to mention theaters around the country, its

gravitas will only grow.

"Hamilton" succeeds as a work of art because it's more than just a

musical. It's cultural criticism done with the utmost grace and

cleverness. But it's also education, as Miranda stuck religiously to the

facts of Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton. Those facts

show Hamilton as a rough-riding iconoclast of his era. He was cool and

influential and changed history forever.

It's only fitting that "Hamilton" does the same.

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Why we love 'Hamilton' By Todd Leopold, CNN

Updated 6:54 AM ET, Fri February 12, 2016 http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/12/entertainment/hamilton-musical-grammys-feat/

Wicked fell short of a best musical Tony, with "Avenue Q" taking the

prize in 2004. But it's had a long life, with devoted fans queueing up

many times to see the story of "The Wizard of Oz" from the Wicked

Witch's point of view. It's still going on Broadway after more than 5,000

performances.

Monty Python on Broadway? Eric Idle got the blessing of his cohorts to

turn Monty Python and the Holy Grail into a musical, and the result

won three Tonys, including best musical, in 2005. It ran for more than

1,500 performances and has toured all over the world. At one point, Clay

Aiken, pictured, joined the cast as Sir Robin.

Jersey Boys could have been a simple jukebox musical, but the story of

the Four Seasons had too much going for it to fit into that (juke) box. The

result won best musical at the 2006 Tonys and is still running, more than

4,000 performances later.

Billy Elliot: The Musical, based on the 2000 film about a boy who loves

ballet in the midst of a grim UK miners' strike, had the benefit of a

superstar music writer: Elton John. (Lyrics and book are by Lee Hall.)

The show won best musical at the 2009 Tonys, one of 10 honors it

received. The show ran for more than three years.

When the "South Park" guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, teamed up

with "Avenue Q's" Robert Lopez, who knew what would happen? The

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result, The Book of Mormon, was one of the most rapturously reviewed shows of recent

years and won nine Tony Awards in 2011, including best musical. It's still running almost six

years later.

Once is about a Dublin busker and a Czech woman -- whose characters

go by Guy and Girl -- who meet and become artistically and romantically

involved. The show, based on the 2007 film, won eight Tony Awards in

2012, including best musical. It ran for almost three years.

Hamilton, which blends hip hop and other musical styles to recount the life of American

founding father Alexander Hamilton, has been the toughest ticket on Broadway since late

2015. The musical by composer-star Lin-Manuel Miranda (second from right) won 11

Tonys, including best musical, and has become a genuine phenomenon. It follows in a long

tradition of hugely popular Broadway shows. Click through to see others.

The Producers, based on the 1968 Mel Brooks movie, was an

immediate smash when it debuted in April 2001. Tickets went for a then-

unheard-of $100 a pop and set single-day box-office records. The show

eventually won 12 Tony awards, a record. The original duo of Matthew

Broderick and Nathan Lane were replaced by several other performers,

including Tony Danza and Roger Bart, seen here.

Mamma Mia! may not have won a Tony for best musical -- it lost to

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" -- but the good-natured 2001 show built

around ABBA songs ran for almost 14 years. It's the longest-running

jukebox musical -- a musical built around previously released pop songs -- in Broadway

history.

Hairspray might have seemed an unlikely source for a musical -- a John

Waters film about 1960s high schoolers? -- but it was a smash when it

debuted in 2002 and ran for more than 2,500 performances. It also

picked up a Tony for best musical.

Avenue Q seemed the quintessential off-Broadway show: a little

quirky, as if "Sesame Street" were crossed with a black comedy

about 20- somethings. But it proved to have great staying

power when it came to the Great White Way, running for more than

2,500 performances and winning a Tony for best musical in

2004.

(CNN)They don't call "Hamilton" "an American Musical" for nothing.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit Broadway show embraces the history and diversity of American

culture like no musical before.

His songs blend rap, hip-hop, R&B, classic Broadway and even a little operetta to tell the

story of the Caribbean-born, French- and Scottish-heritaged Alexander Hamilton, one of the

founding fathers. The cast is multiethnic, including African-Americans as Aaron Burr,

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and a Chinese-American as Hamilton's wife,

Eliza. (Miranda himself is of Puerto Rican ancestry.)

And, through the fast-paced music and energetic staging, "Hamilton" tells the story of

America's founding and early years, drawn from Ron Chernow's award-winning 2004

biography.

The musical was widely anticipated before its off-Broadway debut in January 2015, followed

by a move to Broadway in August. Good luck getting a seat: The show is sold out until the

fall.

Much of America will get its first look at "Hamilton" on Monday's Grammy Awards, and

Miranda couldn't be more thrilled.

"We're going to do the opening number, scream with joy, and then celebrate the fact that we

were just on the Grammys. Best night ever," he told USA Today.

What makes the show so special? Here are five reasons:

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It puts rap and hip-hop center stage Broadway is usually slow to follow musical trends. It's taken decades for rock 'n' roll to make

an impact, never mind other genres.

So a show that brashly features rap battles, shoutouts to Biggie Smalls and Eminem, and a

cast of color might not be the easiest sell for the, ahem, Great White Way. (The classic term

refers to streetlights, incidentally.)

But Miranda, who dazzled with the salsa- and hip-hop-infused "In the Heights," has created

a show steeped in both urban sound and urbanity. He's a master of both intricate rhyme

and hummable melody.

"'Hamilton' is making its own resonant history by changing the language of musicals," wrote

The New York Times' Ben Brantley in his rave review. "And it does so by insisting that the

forms of song most frequently heard on pop radio stations in recent years -- rap, hip-hop,

R&B ballads -- have both the narrative force and the emotional interiority to propel a hefty

musical about long-dead white men whose solemn faces glower from the green bills in our

wallets."

It's been a mainstream hit It's not just New York's theater patrons who have embraced the show. The "Hamilton" cast

album had the highest debut for any Broadway cast album since 1963, hitting No. 12

and selling more than 50,000 copies its first week. It's still on the charts more than four

months later.

Selling CDs is fine, but the coin of the realm these days is downloads and streams.

"Hamilton" is no slacker there, either: Its songs were streamed 16 million times that first

week, and the album -- which is more than two hours long -- was still in iTunes' top 25 as of

February 10.

But perhaps the real indicator is recognition. Daveed Diggs, who plays Thomas

Jefferson, told GQ he was recognized by a teenager -- in the Bronx.

"This, like, 17-year-old kid is crossing the street. I'm running past him, and he dropped his

stuff on the ground. 'Oh my God, you're Thomas Jefferson!'" Diggs said with a laugh. "I was

like, 'That's the first time anyone's ever said that to me, but yeah. I am.' And then, you know,

he took a bunch of selfies, and we talked for a little while."

It's history in the making "Hamilton" may be set in the 18th century, but it's just as relatable to today, Miranda says.

The discussions of large vs. small government, of the value of immigrants, of isolationism

vs. internationalism are as current as this year's presidential campaign.

"The fact that you could take the rap battles of our show, put them in the mouths of different

talking heads and put them on MSNBC tomorrow and they'd be just as relevant, gives me

hope," he told "The New Yorker Radio Hour." "It's heartening to me to know that this was

never a perfect union. ... The beefs between Hamilton and Jefferson are the beefs we're

always going to have."

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Miranda enlisted Chernow, who wrote the biography, as an adviser and read voraciously --

other books about the founding fathers, biographies of Aaron Burr, Hamilton's writings.

Observers have been impressed.

"It's got a real vision of America and it takes our history very seriously," said New Yorker

editor David Remnick on "The New Yorker Radio Hour."

A winning crew Miranda is not only the composer and star: He's been "Hamilton's" best ambassador,

relentlessly doing interviews, maintaining an entertaining Twitter account and

enthusiastically celebrating his work.

"There's lots of moments ... where I'm holding a sword and shooting a gun and it's 7-year-

old Lin wish fulfillment," he told "The New Yorker Radio Hour."

But he's the first to say it's not just him. There are his "teammates," as he calls them,

including director Thomas Kail, scenic designer David Korins and cast members Diggs,

Christopher Jackson and Leslie Odom Jr. (Miranda and Jackson are core members of the

rap/comedy group Freestyle Love Supreme.)

And he has a secret weapon: musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim, an acquaintance.

"I was knocked out -- I thought it was wonderful," Sondheim told The New Yorker of hearing

some early songs. "They seemed so fresh and meticulous and theatrical."

You can see it for free Well, almost.

Every day, the show has a lottery in which it sells 21 front-row seats for $10 each. Needless

to say, that's an incredible bargain: you can't see a movie in New York for $10, much less a

sold-out Broadway show.

But that's not all.

Miranda and his friends are inveterate performers, so a few days a week there's a

performance of -- something. For a few months the performances were outside the Richard

Rodgers Theatre, where "Hamilton" is staged, but when winter moved in and the crowds

became too much, the quickie shows gravitated online.

Now, that's entertainment.

But maybe the reason everyone loves "Hamilton" is because the show loves them back,

Miranda told GQ.

"I think what people are responding to about Hamilton is that it's a musical, but it's not

hermetically sealed," he said. "It has a lot of influences from the rest of your life in it. I think

that's what people are responding to, just seeing themselves in the show. Seeing

themselves reflected."

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Exploring the hype behind the Broadway hit 'Hamilton' By Christy Kuesel | Monday, June 6 2016

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2016/06/hamilton-hype

Lin-Manuel Miranda, playwright and actor in "Hamilton," performs as the title character on

Broadway.

Hamilton: An American Musical is a name recognizable to nearly every ear. Most Americans

today are divided into two camps: those who dont understand what all the hype is about, and

those who would give their left arm to see the show on Broadway. The rise of Hamilton to

worldwide fame is impressive considering the show only premiered off-Broadway in Feb. 2015.

So how did Hamilton reach the critical and public success it has in such a short time period?

Lin Manuel Miranda originally got the idea for Hamilton when he picked up Alexander

Hamilton, a biography written by historian Ron Chernow, in an airport. Miranda first decided to

adapt the book into a hip-hop album entitled The Hamilton Mixtape and performed the now

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famous Alexander Hamilton rap at the 2009 White House Poetry Jam. He then developed his

idea into a musical, which sold out at the off-Broadway Public Theater in New York City.

Ever since transferring to Broadway at the Richard Rogers Theatre in Aug. 2015, the shows

success has skyrocketed. Hamilton has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a Grammy

Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The show has also been nominated for a record-

breaking 16 Tony Awards, including seven individual actors being nominated for their roles.

Does Hamilton deserve all of its praise? The show is certainly a phenomenon in how quickly it

captured the hearts and imaginations of all different kinds of people and its level of critical

success, especially considering the topic of the musical. Ten years ago, no one would have

believed that the most popular Broadway show of 2016 was about one of the less well-known

Founding Fathers.

What makes Hamilton so special is that it dabbles in many different fields but does not commit

to one. The show combines rap, history and politics to form a musical that is not only about

Alexander Hamilton himself, but also about how history is formed and what America has

become.

Though the Hamiltons titular character is the focus of the show, Hamiltons perspective is by

no means the only viewpoint explored by over the course of the play. The audience sees

Hamilton as a great orator in the eyes of his friends, a greedy elitist in the eyes of his enemies

and a hero in the eyes of his wife. Central charactersincluding Aaron Burr and Thomas

Jeffersonall had different opinions of Hamilton and what he contributed to the founding of

America, but the audience is ultimately left to form their own opinions of him.

The mechanics of Hamilton also make it stand out from other Broadway shows, as the show

seeks to be more accessible to its audience than most any other show. The diverse cast seeks to

more closely emulate the racial makeup of America today rather than in the eighteenth century,

and almost all of the main roles are played by racial minorities.

The show also makes significant inroads into making the show available to those who would not

normally be able to see it. A ticket to Hamilton on any given night requires having several

hundred dollars sitting around, and the lottery that take place for tickets is the only affordable

way to see the show. The live lottery that takes place every Wednesday features a #Ham4Ham

show, where Miranda, often accompanied by guests from his show or elsewhere, gives a short

performance to entertain those waiting to find out if they scored one of the coveted last-minute

tickets.

Hamilton also made history once again by starting a program where 20,000 eleventh-grade

students in New York City will pay only $10, or one Hamilton bill to attend a Wednesday

matinee performance of the show.

What lasting mark will Hamilton leave on Broadway and on popular culture? It is impossible

to tell whether Hamilton, with its diverse cast and accessibility to its fans, will transform the way

Broadway operates. The shows efforts to include all its fans, both online and at the actual show,

instead of merely those who can afford ticket prices could pave the way for a more inclusive

Broadway.

Hamilton tells audiences the story of how a self-made man changed the course of history while

actually making history itself. Only time will tell what impact the musical will have on show

business. In the meantime, we can only wait for the national tour.

Hamilton Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show By MICHAEL PAULSON and DAVID GELLESJUNE 8, 2016

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/theater/hamilton-inc-the-path-to-a-billion-dollar-show.html?action=click&contentCollection=Theater&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Just how many Hamiltons can Hamilton make? Broadways new blockbuster has only been open for 10 months, but already, this hip-hop musical about Americas founding fathers is one of the great successes in recent theatrical history.

The shows cast members were invited to the White House and have become regular guests on late-night talk shows. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musicals creator, was on the cover of Rolling Stone. Fans and enterprising line-sitters camp outside the theater around the clock, hoping to snag last-minute seats. Tickets are almost impossible to come by, except those resold at highly marked-up prices. And celebrities have streamed in: Beyonc. Barbra. Bernie.

All that enthusiasm means a lot of money for the men and women who brought the show to Broadway. Months ago, Hamilton recouped the $12.5 million it cost to mount. It is now making an estimated $600,000 a week in profit, and every indication is that its touring productions, which begin in Chicago in September and in San Francisco next March, will be highly profitable, too.

Producers and investors together stand to make tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Miranda will become quite wealthy. And a diverse group of collaborators from the lighting designer to Mr. Mirandas show-tune-loving father will share in the bounty.

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Even if Hamilton isnt playing in Bangkok decades after its debut (as was the case with Phantom of the Opera), its not unreasonable to expect that Mr. Mirandas unlikely hit will ultimately generate upward of $1 billion in sales.

Of course, nothing is certain: Theater history is dotted with fizzled triumphs. (The Producers, for example, was a must-see on Broadway and toured, but lost steam.) After the June 12 Tony Awards, Hamilton will face a new set of challenges, with new cast members and new markets. But there is a demonstrated path to riches for the few musicals able to translate Broadway success into long-running and international popularity: The Lion King and Phantom each claims to have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide, and Wicked has passed $4 billion.

Forecasting the future for Hamilton is risky, but the shows current fortunes, and the model provided by other shows, are instructive. Here, based on documents filed with government agencies and interviews with people familiar with various aspects of the musicals finances, is a look at how Hamilton makes money and where that money goes.

WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM

Broadway: $100 million per year

The revolutions happening in New York.

On Broadway, Hamilton is consistently selling out all 1,321 seats at the Richard Rodgers Theater and is currently grossing about $1.9 million a week in ticket sales. Simply by maintaining that pace, the show would bring in nearly $100 million a year (thats grosses, not profits). But there is reason to expect that figure to rise. In a bid to blunt profiteering the widespread scalping of tickets at highly marked-up prices the show may soon raise prices above the current ceiling of $475 for premium seating.

At $100 million a year, the Broadway production of the show would pass the $1 billion mark in a decade. The shows current pace will be tough to sustain, but not unimaginable Wicked this year set a record by reaching the $1 billion mark on Broadway in just over 12 years, and Hamilton, although running in a smaller theater, has higher ticket prices.

Scalping: $60 million per year so far

We create. You just wanna move our money around.

The hottest ticket on Broadway cost, on average, $172 during the week that ended June 5. But thats just what the initial purchaser paid. Many theatergoers pay considerably more by purchasing resold tickets on sites like StubHub, Craigslist and Ticketmaster. Those tickets are being listed for as much as $5,018 each, but most are sold for considerably less. The average resale of Hamilton tickets on StubHub is roughly $872,

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according to a New York Times analysis, a markup of $700 above the current average original ticket sale price.

For any given performance, roughly 13 to 22 percent of the seats at the Richard Rodgers somewhere between 180 and 300 tickets are available on the secondary market, according to The Timess research and interviews with ticket sellers. So for each performance of Hamilton, ticket sellers and brokers are reaping roughly $150,000. With the Broadway cast putting on more than 400 shows per year, that means these sellers could reap about $60 million per year, just in New York money the producers, investors and Mr. Miranda will never see.

Touring: $80 million per year, in Chicago

Tomorrow therell be more of us.

If Hamilton follows the pattern of other recent theatrical megahits, its profits will substantially increase when it plays outside of New York. The big money goes to shows that globalize by running productions in multiple countries, often at the same time. (The Phantom of the Opera, for example, has been mounted in 13 languages in 151 cities in 30 countries.)

Hamilton is moving quickly to take advantage of its moment. The Chicago production will begin just 13 months after the Broadway opening and run indefinitely. The PrivateBank Theater in Chicago, where Hamilton will play, is much bigger than the shows Broadway house, meaning that even if ticket prices are somewhat lower, revenues could be strong, and that run could nearly double the shows weekly profitability.

Hamilton is also planning two separate North American touring productions: one beginning in March in San Francisco, and one beginning in Seattle in 2018. The theaters on the road are likely to price tickets lower than in New York, but many of them hold more people, so these two tours, on top of Chicago, could dramatically increase the shows current revenues and profits.

The shows producers will soon announce a fifth production, in London, and if Hamilton follows the path of other monster musicals, it will eventually explore the possibilities of productions in Asia, Australia or Continental Europe. Profits from foreign productions are difficult to forecast, and given that Hamilton is a lyrically dense musical about American history, its appeal outside the United States, and in languages other than English, is uncertain.

Merchandise: $15 million and counting

Can I buy you a drink?

From T-shirts to CDs to books, fans cannot get enough Hamilton.

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The cast album has sold over 428,000 copies domestically, according to Nielsen. Track downloads have topped 212,000; on-demand streams from sources like Spotify and Apple Music have eclipsed 365 million. Together, thats roughly $11 million in gross retail sales.

More music is on the way. Mr. Miranda is working with the Roots drummer, Questlove, on a new recording of Hamilton songs, and more, featuring pop stars like Busta Rhymes, Ben Folds, Regina Spektor and Chance the Rapper.

Hamilton can even sell books. Hamilton: The Revolution, a behind-the-scenes book about the creation of the musical by Jeremy McCarter and Mr. Miranda, went on sale in April with a list price of $40. In less than two months, it sold more than 101,000 copies, according to Nielsen, and hit the No. 1 spot on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list. (Other authors have benefited from Hamilton fever, too: Ron Chernows 2004 biography, which inspired Mr. Miranda to write the musical, has spent 33 weeks on the paperback best-seller list. This fall, Three Rivers Press will publish Jeff Wilsers self-help book Alexander Hamiltons Guide to Life.)

Many of those who manage to get inside the Richard Rodgers Theater visit the gift stand, which sells hats, magnets and mugs. And goodies are available even to those who cant get inside the theater. Bloomingdales is selling Hamilton apparel in New York, and plans to do the same in other cities as the show tours. Online, there is a thriving market for unlicensed Hamilton tchotchkes: perfume, dolls and key chains made by enterprising fans.

There is even a beer. Gun Hill Brewing in the Bronx has made a Hamilton-inspired pale ale. The brew wont enrich Mr. Miranda and his team; instead, some profits are going to Graham Windham, the social services organization co-founded by Alexander Hamiltons wife, Eliza. Dave Lopez, a partner at Gun Hill, says, Anything Hamilton sells these days.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Producers and investors: $31 million per year, and counting

Who provided those funds?

The vast majority of profits from Hamilton is going to the producers and investors who put up the $12.5 million to finance the show.

Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer, will reap big financial rewards. A veteran of other Broadway hits, including Rent and Mr. Mirandas first musical, In the Heights, Mr. Seller splits 42 percent of the net profits from the show with its other producers, Jill Furman and Sander Jacobs. (They are not saying how they divvy up their share.) That means the producers are splitting about $13 million annually from the current Broadway production.

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The producers are also entitled to 3 percent of the adjusted gross from Hamilton, which amounts to about $52,000 weekly, or $2.7 million annually, from the Broadway production. (Producers commonly get both a royalty and a share of profits.)

For Mr. Seller, it doesnt end there. His production company, Adventureland, is entitled to another 5 percent of net profits, or about $1.6 million a year, from the current production. Adventureland receives these so-called torchbearer points in recognition of his role in the shows development.

The investors who backed Hamilton a group of about 100 people that includes Robert Greenblatt, the NBC Entertainment chairman, as well as the power publicist Ken Sunshine split another 42 percent of the profits, or about $13 million annually, from the Broadway production. (The list of Hamilton investors has not been made public.)

Those are big numbers for the theater world, but they are likely to get much bigger in the coming years, as the show opens productions beyond New York.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: $6.4 million per year, and counting

Why do you write like youre running out of time?

Mr. Miranda, the shows 36-year-old creator, wears an unusual number of hats: He came up with the idea; he wrote the music, book and lyrics; and he is, for now, the star. That means he gets a salary (as an actor), as well as authorship royalties and profits that ordinarily would be split among multiple people. He is expected to leave the cast this summer and will then lose his salary (an undisclosed amount), but he will continue to receive the royalties and profits for as long as the show runs.

He is likely to make at least $6.4 million from the Broadway production over the next year; his earnings will grow considerably when the other productions begin.

The show has also dramatically transformed his earning potential. Disney has proved particularly enthusiastic: Mr. Miranda wrote a cantina song for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is writing music for the animated film Moana and has been cast to star opposite Emily Blunt in a live-action sequel to Mary Poppins. A film version of In the Heights, which had stalled in Hollywood, is back in development; and a film version of Hamilton is likely.

Mr. Miranda is also the ultimate rights holder for Hamilton. After the shows commercial life ends, he will own the rights for productions in regional theaters and schools, which can generate considerable revenue over time.

The Creative Team: $6.5 million per year, and counting

I never had a group of friends before. I promise that Ill make yall proud.

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Mr. Miranda rewards loyalty. The director, choreographer and orchestrator for Hamilton, as well as the shows costume, lighting and sound designers, all worked on In the Heights. All of them and the shows set designer are entitled to royalties, and all are likely to make millions of dollars over the life of the show.

Thomas Kail, the director, has known Mr. Miranda since the two were introduced after both graduated (a few years apart) from Wesleyan University. Mr. Kail helped develop In the Heights and Hamilton. He is entitled to 2.5 percent of the adjusted gross revenue from Hamilton, or about $2.3 million a year just from the New York production. Mr. Kail also receives 1.5 percent of net profits, currently about another $470,000 annually.

Andy Blankenbuehler, the shows choreographer, receives 1.75 percent of gross sales and 0.5 percent of profits currently totaling $1.7 million or so annually.

Mr. Mirandas musical partner, Alex Lacamoire, gets just under 1 percent of gross sales, currently about $790,000 annually. And the shows costume, lighting and sound designers Paul Tazewell, Howell Binkley and Nevin Steinberg receive between 0.37 and 0.5 percent of gross sales, currently worth about $336,000 to $454,000 per year.

As with all of the royalty and profit-sharing arrangements associated with Hamilton, the value of the creative teams cut will increase significantly when the productions in Chicago and beyond begin.

Performers: $312,000 at least, per year, split about 30 ways

Well give the world to you, and youll blow us all away.

This is the one late addition to the Hamilton profit plan: Mr. Seller agreed in April to share some of the shows earnings with the performers who helped as the musical was being developed.

The details are still being ironed out, but probably the opening-night casts at the Public Theater and on Broadway, and perhaps participants in pre-opening workshops at the Public Theater, will share 1 percent of the profits from the Broadway production and will also share a portion of the profits of touring productions.

The profit-sharing is likely to affect about 30 people, including not only actors and dancers but also stage managers. Its not clear how much they would get, but perhaps about $10,000 a year from the Broadway production alone. That is not a lot of money compared with what others are earning, but it is still significant to performers, many of whom work for relatively low salaries and have long periods between roles. (On Broadway, actors make a union-mandated minimum of $1,900 a week; the performers in Hamilton are making more than that. But many performers spend much of their careers Off or Off Off Broadway, where salaries are considerably lower.)

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The Hamilton performers worked hard to get a profit-sharing promise after they were unable to negotiate a deal as the Broadway production was opening, they hired a lawyer to represent them. It took them eight months after the Broadway production opened to win an agreement; they had argued that it was not fair, given their contributions to the show, to exclude them from sharing in its success.

Friends and Family: $3.7 million per year, and counting

Dont forget from whence you came.

Hamilton has proved lucrative for three others who helped along the way: Ron Chernow, a historian whose biography of Alexander Hamilton inspired and formed the basis for the musical; the Public Theater, the Off Broadway nonprofit that nurtured the shows late-stage development and presented its pre-Broadway production; and, most surprisingly, Luis A. Miranda Jr., Lin-Manuel Mirandas father.

Mr. Chernow, who is the musicals historical consultant and its tireless champion, gets 1 percent of the shows adjusted grosses as a royalty currently about $900,000 a year.

The Public Theater, which famously lived for years off the profits from transferring A Chorus Line to Broadway, gets 5 percent of the profits and 1 percent of the adjusted gross currently totaling about $2.5 million a year. The Public says it is putting most of the money into its cash reserves rather than its operating budget.

Luis Miranda Jr., a political consultant, is the most unusual beneficiary. He is an unabashed fan of musical theater who collects cast recordings and sings in the car, and he introduced his son to the genre. He is often present at his sons side, accompanying him to events and helping him manage many aspects of his life and career. He is getting 1 percent of the shows profits currently about $312,000 a year.

In each case, the value of their share will increase as the show adds productions.

Putting on a show: $34 million per year, in New York

The art of the trade. How the sausage gets made.

Even before the profits or the royalties for Hamilton are distributed, there is a more fundamental expense: the cost of putting on the show.

Winches and chain motors are $3,200 a week.

Dressers are $20,000 a week.

And electrics and sound cost $28,000 a week.

Hamilton pays about $295,000 per week for the Richard Rodgers, a fee that covers rent as well as the house staff, musicians, stagehands and more.

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The shows cast and crew are paid about $220,000 altogether a week. Advertising costs a relatively low $80,000 per week, thanks to all the free publicity. But things like taxes, pensions, lawyers and equipment rentals add up.

On the scale of Broadway musicals, Hamilton, with its modest set and midsize cast, has moderate running costs. All in all, it costs about $650,000 a week to present the show on Broadway, or about $34 million a year. But its proving to be one of the best investments in town.

Hamilton Raises Ticket Prices: The Best Seats Will Now Cost $849 By MICHAEL PAULSONJUNE 8, 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/theater/hamilton-raises-ticket-prices-the-best-seats-will-now-cost-

849.html?action=click&contentCollection=Theater&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

The producers of Hamilton are sharply increasing the cost of the best seats in the house, shattering Broadways top ticket price while also more than doubling the number of inexpensive seats available via same-day lotteries.

The paired moves raising the price for premium seats to $849 while offering 46 seats per show at $10 each are part of a broader effort to stanch the loss of tens of millions of dollars in potential revenue to scalpers, and to make the show available to people who cant afford costly theater tickets.

The show is sold out through next January, but the producers have already begun selling tickets for the following four months to some American Express cardholders. They intend to begin selling tickets for that same period to the public after the Tony Awards, which will be broadcast on Sunday evening; Hamilton is favored to win multiple awards, including best new musical.

An $849 theater ticket, although less than some people are currently paying for seats to Hamilton on the secondary market, is a record for the price being charged directly by a Broadway show. The Book of Mormon has long had the most expensive premium ticket on Broadway last week that show topped out at $477 and until now Hamilton has been lagging slightly behind, at $475 last week.

In the new block of tickets, about 200 seats at every Hamilton performance mostly in the center orchestra will be sold for $849. The rest of the house everything but the lottery tickets, or about 1,075 seats per show will be sold for between $179 and $199 (currently, the regular seats are priced from $139 to $177).

The 46 $10 seats sold via lottery will be in the theaters first two rows. Currently, 21 seats per show are made available by lottery.

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Many corners of the entertainment industry, including concert and sporting event promoters, have been frustrated by the money they are losing to legal and illegal scalping. A New York Times analysis suggests that resellers are making $60 million per year on Hamilton tickets money that does not go to the shows producers, creators or employees.

What has certainly been frustrating to me, as a business owner, is to see that my product is being resold at many times its face value and my team isnt sharing in those profits, the lead producer of Hamilton, Jeffrey Seller, said in an interview on Wednesday. Its not fair.

Mr. Seller said that he believed he has a fiduciary responsibility to his investors to try to stem the profiteering by resellers, and to acknowledge that the market has made clear that tickets to the show are worth vastly more than the prices at which the producers have been selling them.

How did I get to $849? By continually monitoring the secondary market and finding out where the average is, Mr. Seller said. If Im at $849, I think we may succeed in taking the motivation out of the scalpers to buy those tickets.

But, he said, he is also determined to get more tickets into the hands of people who are not wealthy. The show has teamed with the Rockefeller Foundation to allow 20,000 New York City public high school students each year to attend the show for $10 (The show gets $70 per seat, with the balance paid by the foundation).

The expanded lottery will allow 19,000 people per year to attend the show for $10 anyone can enter the lottery (and more than 10,000 people do each day), but Mr. Seller said it is clear that digital lottery participants are younger and more diverse than the shows general audience.

By raising prices, he said, In some ways, were taking from the rich to give to the poor, because theres no question those premiums are subsidizing those $10 tickets.

The scarcity and high price of Hamilton tickets have called new attention to the role of so-called ticket bots, which resellers use illegally, in New York to purchase large numbers of tickets to hit shows via automated software.

Mr. Seller said Ticketmaster, which sells tickets to Hamilton, has taken measures to restrict such sales. The steps buyers must take online to demonstrate that they are not bots are now more elaborate, and tickets are mailed out closer to showtime to reduce the opportunity for reselling.

The show also last month canceled more than $10 million in bulk purchases in excess of stated limits, suspected to have been bought by bots, and plans again to screen the next round of sales for such purchases and scuttle them. No one will be allowed to buy more than six tickets in the next block made available.

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Mr. Seller said that he believed the percentage of Hamilton seats purchased by bots had already dropped from 78 percent, early in the shows selling period, to about 25 percent. And the show, working with the Broadway League, is urging lawmakers in Albany to criminalize the use of bots now a civil violation and this week its creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, wrote an op-ed piece calling for legislative action.

The secondary market for Hamilton tickets has fluctuated over time. It has risen recently with anticipation that Mr. Miranda intends to leave the cast next month, and Mr. Seller said he believes the current average resale price is about $1,000. The Tony Awards could further drive up the resale value, but other factors might drive it down: the departure of some original cast members over the summer, and the opening of other productions, starting in Chicago this fall.

Hamilton Hits a New High: The Most Money Grossed in a Week on Broadway By MICHAEL PAULSONNOV. 28, 2016

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/theater/hamilton-hits-a-new-high-the-most-money-grossed-in-a-week-on-broadway.htmlShare

History is happening in Manhattan: Hamilton has set a record for the most money ever made in a single week by a Broadway show.

The musical, which attracted national attention just before the week began with criticism from President-elect Donald J. Trump of its quality and the manners of its cast, grossed $3.3 million last week. Thats a huge number on Broadway, where only unusually strong shows gross more than $1 million in a week, and most pull in far less.

Hamilton, which won the Tony Award this year for best new musical, is now the first Broadway show to gross more than $3 million for an eight-performance week. In 2013, Wicked grossed $3.2 million during a week in which that show had nine performances, one more than usual.

Hamilton, which uses hip-hop and a diverse cast to explore the life and death of Alexander Hamilton, also set a record for the highest premium ticket price charged by a Broadway box office $998 although some people have paid more buying tickets from resellers. The previous premium ticket price record was $700, for Barry Manilow on Broadway in 2013.

It is not clear how many seats Hamilton sold for a $998 box-office price, but the shows high average paid admission last week $303, which is a record for average paid admission suggests that a substantial number of seats sold for a premium. This price data, released on Monday by the Broadway League, reflects ticket prices charged by the producers and primarily sold at the box office or through Ticketmaster; it does not reflect higher prices paid by consumers for seats resold on the secondary ticket market.

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It seems clear that, barring a dramatic and unforeseen reversal of fortunes, Hamilton will be the top-grossing show this season, overtaking The Lion King.

Last week was a bonanza for Broadway, as it included Thanksgiving, which is generally the second most lucrative period of the year after Christmas and New Years. Tourists to New York are plentiful, and sought-after shows regularly increase their premium prices during those weeks. Thirteen shows grossed more than $1 million last week, including four that exceeded $2 million Hamilton, The Lion King, Wicked and Aladdin.

For Hamilton, the strong week follows a weekend of unexpected drama in which the vice president-elect, Mike Pence, attended the show. The cast addressed him afterward from the stage, asking him to work on behalf of all of us, and Mr. Trump reacted unhappily on Twitter. But that episode did not affect last weeks grosses Hamilton is a sold-out show, so its attendance does not fluctuate from week to week; its grosses vary because of pricing changes, and the prices charged for Thanksgiving-week tickets were set months ago.

Overall, the 34 shows running during the week that ended on Nov. 27 grossed $35.3 million, making it the highest-grossing Thanksgiving week, according to the weekly grosses report released by the Broadway League. The figures are not adjusted for inflation.

The week was not, however, the best attended there were two years in which more people attended Broadway shows over Thanksgiving, including last year.

This season has been lagging behind last in total grosses, but has gradually been making up lost ground. As the crucial holiday period begins, total grosses are 0.3 percent lower than last season. Overall attendance is up, if only slightly by 0.1 percent with a number of promising shows yet to open.

Among the new musicals this fall, three that faced skepticism in some quarters are starting strong. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, which stars the pop singer Josh Groban and opened to strong reviews, has grossed over $1 million every week except one when Mr. Groban missed some performances because he sick. Dear Evan Hansen, now in previews and playing in a small theater, grossed a healthy $883,677 over just seven performances, playing to full houses and with a strong average ticket price. And A Bronx Tale, also in previews, is starting well, grossing $717,860 in seven performances.

The news was significantly less good for another new musical, In Transit, an a cappella show that grossed $257,037 in eight preview performances.

Among plays, a much-anticipated revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, starring Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber, has been soft at the box office it grossed $428,583 last week and the producers have announced that they would close the show on Jan. 8, two weeks earlier than planned.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/thanksgiving_day/index.html?inline=nyt-classifierhttp://nyti.ms/1WOkKKOhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/theater/natasha-pierre-and-the-great-comet-of-1812-review.htmlhttp://nyti.ms/2gjsT6Jhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/theater/liev-schreiber-les-liaisons-dangereuses.html