Jason Arrow and the Australian cast of Hamilton.Credit:Daniel Boud
Sources close to the production,who wished to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about sales,confirmed the production had sold more than a quarter of a million tickets before the first preview.
That means more than $40 million has been spent at the box office sincetickets for the show went on sale in August,eclipsing ticket sales from other popular productions such asThe Lion King,Phantom of the Opera,The Book of Mormon andWicked. Ticket sales are generally a closely-guarded secret in the live performance industry,with producers reluctant to reveal how well shows are selling unless they have a hit on their hands.
The show will open at the Sydney Lyric Theatre next week to full houses,after it was one of the first productions to getapproval from NSW Health to stage 100 per cent capacity performances.
The sales putHamilton in the same ball park as Australia’s other biggest show,the playHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, whichsold 200,000 tickets in its first four days of pre-sale. However the numbers forHarry Potter are impacted by the fact each audience member is required to purchase two tickets – one for each performance of the two-part show.
BothHamilton and Harry Potterare produced in Australia by Michael Cassel,placing him in charge of the two most commercially successful productions in the country.