‘Hamilton’ Musical Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda Takes The Stage For The Last Time And Ticket Prices Were Astronomical
Hamilton musical creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has reached the end of his run as the titular character in his critically acclaimed production, Variety reports. Saturday night will be the last time that Miranda plays Alexander Hamilton in the foreseeable future, in the hip-hop flavored musical that tells the life story of the founding father.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo Bid Farewell to Hamilton https://t.co/eEm1nkw5vl pic.twitter.com/hpNYLVICwA
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 9, 2016
Lin-Manuel isn’t the only original Hamilton cast member who will be making their departure. According to Variety, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Phillipa Soo will also be leaving. Odom, Jr. won a Tony Award this year for playing Hamilton’s rival, Aaron Burr. Phillipa Soo, who played Hamilton’s wife Eliza, received a Tony nomination for the role. Phillipa tweeted her farewells on Saturday.
Thanks to all for the love and support the past 2 yrs. I will cherish #Hamilton and everyone the RR Theatre. ?? Til next time, folks!
— Phillipa Soo (@Phillipasoo) July 9, 2016
Leslie Odom, Jr. shared a nostalgic-looking black and white photo of his wife in his Hamilton dressing room with the caption, “An angel helped me box up this dressing room tonight.2 more. #HamiltonBway”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHoSSK3ArGN/
Hamilton won a total of 11 Tony awards, a Pulitzer, and a Grammy.
Miranda shared some touching tweets reflecting on his time as both the star and creator of Hamilton on Saturday morning, Variety reports. One of them was a screenshot of a Facebook memory where he’d lamented the difficulty of composing rap lyrics for Hamilton.
An FB status update from 5 years ago today. pic.twitter.com/sTplFDWIep
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 9, 2016
He also shared a GIF of Phillipa Soo and Leslie Odom, Jr. behind the scenes.
I catch a glimpse of the other side… pic.twitter.com/OTtntY59do
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 9, 2016
As Variety reports, although Lin-Manuel Miranda is leaving the cast, he has a lot of big projects lined up after he leaves the Hamilton stage. He will star in a live-action movie, Mary Poppins Returns, with actress Emily Blunt and is also set to contribute music for Disney’s Moana. His alternate, Javier Munoz, will be taking over his Hamilton cast duties.
Hamilton musical tickets have been a hot product since the production premiered on Broadway. According to Money Magazine, the high-end of the premium tickets for the musical has been $849, a recent price increase from $475. However, the cost on the resale market has been going for over $1,000 for a while.
But the secondary market price of Hamilton musical tickets for Miranda’s last performance is approximately $2,700, according to the resale site SeatGeek. That’s about 15 times as much as the face value of regular Hamilton seats. As Money Magazine notes, you may see cheaper prices online but this price includes all of the additional charges. If you’re looking for an orchestra seat for the final Lin-Manuel Miranda performance, then you’ll have to dish out $10,000.
Even though he’ll officially be leaving the production, Miranda will still profit from the Hamilton musical. He will make at least $6.4 million in a year and will earn even more when the production moves from Broadway and goes on the road to other locations in the United States. As Money Magazine suggests, those earnings will skyrocket if a movie version of the musical is ever produced.
The Hamilton musical cast made a tribute video to celebrate Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast members who are leaving the production, Entertainment Weekly reports. The video is a montage of performance clips, behind the scenes footage, and memorable moments in the show’s run so far.
“The cast, it’s such a good group of people, and we all have fun. Even though we’ve been doing it, some of us, for over a year now, we come to work and it’s like, ‘Oh, I love you,'” says cast member Okieriete Onaodowan, who plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in Hamilton.
[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions]