'Hamilton' Fans Endure Day Of Sweltering Heat To Get Tickets
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hundreds of people lined up downtown Tuesday morning to get their hands on tickets to the hit musical "Hamilton," with many of them camped out overnight, eager to see the hottest show on Broadway.
The musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda comes to Chicago in September, and tickets will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Whether they were Broadway enthusiasts, trying to make a profit on tickets, or just buying a gift for someone else, some people lined up nearly 24 hours in advance, willing to endure a day of sweaty Chicago heat.
"My lady wants to make them our anniversary present for her parents," said Vernon Esmond, who was the first in line.
Esmond said he's not even planning on going to the show himself.
"I'm trying not to. I'd rather be at home watching the Cubs game, but if I do it, I have to do what I have to do," he said.
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The line started just outside The Private Bank Theatre at 18 W. Monroe St., and wrapped all the way around the block, snaking past the front of the line into an alley.
"I like a lot of the songs. I like the diversity of the cast, which is something that I really will enjoy. I like the stronger women that are in the musical, despite the fact of the time period that it's set in," Rocio Valladares said.
For a lot of the folks in line, there was no shade to take at least a little shelter from Monday's 90 degree temperatures, but they said the heat was worth it to get tickets for "Hamilton," which won 11 Tony Awards this year.
"I have wanted to see this show since before it opened. I love LLM [Lin-Manuel Miranda], and I have so many friends in New York who've seen it, and I've envied them so much, because this musical is amazing. It's about the American experience; the way it's cast, the way it's sung, it's just everything that makes America great," said Olivia Wong, who waited 12 hours in line to get tickets.
Miranda, the creator and star of "Hamilton," announced he's leaving the show in New York next month, but folks in Chicago said they hope he'll make a few appearances here.
Tickets also will be available by phone at 800-775-2000, or online at broadwayinchicago.com. Chicago performances begin Sept. 27.
There will be a total of 199 shows from Sept 27 to March 19, and tickets range from $65 to $180 at the box office. However, fans in New York have paid upwards of $15,000 per ticket, so there's plenty of profit to be had on the secondary market. Within an hour of tickets going on sale, some had already hit secondary markets like StubHub, where sellers were asking as much as $8,000 per ticket.
If you don't want to pay even face value, there will be a lottery before every show; 44 tickets per show will be sold for $10 each.
Some fans have said they plan to sell their tickets for thousands of dollars, but not Cara Maas.
"They're crazy. They don't appreciate Alexander Hamilton like we do; Lin-Manuel Miranda, they don't get it," she said.
