Chicago Is Hot For "Hamilton"
Dedicated fans of the hottest stage musical ever to hit Chicago mingled with furtive entrepreneurs exchanging large envelopes of cash as Hamilton opened for intense ticket-selling business Tuesday at the PrivateBank Theatre in the heart of Chicago"s Loop.
It was not easy to tell the difference. The first man in line, recounted a touching story for the local news media about buying tickets for his wife"s parents as a gift as he cheerfully displayed his six-pack of precious Hamilton tickets for the cameras.
But after the TV cameras left, he could be seen interacting with another man handing out money to others as they also entered the theater to purchase tickets.
Hamilton, a hip-hop flavored retelling of a founding fathers life and death, has created a an enormous buzz. When tickets went on sale Tuesday morning for the Chicago run, the box office line numbered more than a thousand and online customers were left staring in frustration at the contours of Ticketmaster"s ticketlike hourglass icon.
In some cases for hours.
Melinda McMullen, of Chicago, said she had her computer trying to find "best available seats" for much of the morning. It was not her first time; she"d failed before, even though she thought she had prevailed.
"We made it all the way to the final step before checkout last time (before the system timed out)," she said in an email tapped out in frustration, "which was heartbreaking. And for such amazing seats!"
On Twitter, one potential customer, Bryan Hartman, complained of countless browser errors, timeouts and counting, concerns that were echoed widely on social media.
Others said theywere able to buy tickets online eventually, with some reporting that the Ticketmaster app seemed to work moreeffectively.
When the seven buy-in-person windows opened at 10 a.m. the PrivateBank Theatre box officethree at the regular box office and four temporary stations in the lobby more than 1,000 people stood in a line that circled the block, running west on Monroe Street, north on Dearborn Street, east on Madison Street and then south on State Street, wrapping around the theater.
"This," said Lou Raizin, president of the show"s happy landlord, Broadway in Chicago, "is beyond all of our expectations.
"The pressure on the system for this one show in Chicago ranks at the level of Adele"s national tour," Raizin said of Tuesday morning"s Ticketmaster complications. "Everybody is trying to get through the same pipe. It"s patience, patience, patience."
A total sellout in the next few days is unlikely. The initial block of tickets now on sale (for six months out of a planned two-year run, at the minimum) is far larger than for previous fast-selling shows like "The Book of Mormon." It"s not unusual for at least a portion of the ticket inventory to be held back for various reasons, meaning that tickets not available Tuesday may be attainable Wednesday and beyond.
The total inventory for that six-month block runs to well over 300,000 seats, though many were presold to groups and subscribers. Although Broadway in Chicago declined to reveal the total value of the inventory on sale, a very rough back-of-the-envelope calculation suggested that it was worth at least $20 million, and possibly a good deal more, given that premium seats were going for a minimum of $500. That inventory of premium-priced seats, "Hamilton" producer Jeffrey Seller told the Tribune in a previous interview, will account for, on average, about 10 percent of the house each night.
On the ticket resale site StubHub, the inventory of "Hamilton" Chicago tickets exploded Tuesday. Prices on Tuesday afternoon ranged from about $275 for poor seats in February to $10,000 for an average seat in the right mezzanine for the show on Dec. 23. Seller said in the previous interview that re-selling Hamilton tickets is not illegal in Illinois (which is true, provided a licensed broker is involved in the transaction), but it violates Broadway in Chicagos terms of purchase.
In-person ticket buyers were limited to six seats "per household," although it was not clear how that could be enforced, especially if more than one credit card was in use.
There were real fans in line Tuesday, whom Broadway in Chicago staffers tried to help outand humor even as they scowled at the obvious scalpers, who tended to be paying cash.
LaVonne Welker, 70, of Lindenhurst, said she had been in line since1:30 p.m. Monday, an arrival time confirmed by Broadway in Chicago staffers.She showed a reporter two sets of tickets one for the first night of performances Sept. 27 and one for Jan. 11, Alexander Hamilton"s birthday.
"I love the story of Alexander Hamilton, Welker said, "He was a genius. He was a visionary. He was tragically flawed. And his story is told by another genius who just writes the best lyrics.
Behind her was a younger fan, Bella Alcarese, 13, from suburban Westchester. She said she had been in line since 3 p.m. Monday along with her family and was running on three hours of sleep. She already had seen the show in New York but wanted to see it with her family.
I watched the Grammys and I really got into it, she said. "It seemed really cool.
Her favorite song? The Room Where It Happens, she said, breaking out into a smile.
Hope College student Cara Maas, 18, came from Grand Rapids, Mich., to brave the line.
We got a hotel and we were like, Well go at 5in the morning (Tuesday). But were going to check out the route to see where were going around 8:30 (p.m. Monday), she said. "So we get here and were like, theres a line. We need to get in line. So we just popped a squat and weve been here ever since.
Were obsessed with the show, and a chance to see it is gonna be the best day ever for us, she said before breaking into a rendition of Helpless with her friend.
Maas was among many others from as far away as San Diego popping a squat on the Loop sidewalk, many of them clutching phones and laptops as they tried simultaneously to buy tickets online.
Broadway in Chicago Vice President Eileen LaCario said she expected the line to diminish during the day, but it seemed clear that the box office would be busy until its closing time of 8 p.m., which was not expected to be significantly extended. By early afternoon, those who had lined up at dawn were finally reaching the box office windows.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-hamilton-tickets-on-sale-in-chicago-20160621-column.html
