Hamilton

Melburnians, are you ready to sit in the room where it happens? Because Lin-Manuel Miranda's game-changing, award-winning, rightly raved-about Hamilton is in town. The Broadway sensation is playing Her Majesty's Theatre, so make sure you don't throw away your shot to see the biggest thing in musical theatre this century.

The Broadway blockbuster finally made its way to Australia in 2021, opening at the Sydney Lyric Theatre with a cast that included Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Chloé Zuel as Eliza Hamilton, Lyndon Watts as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, and Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. But the farewell of our Aussie summer brings Arrow, Zuel and company — including Shaka Cook as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, Marty Alix as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, and Brent Hill as King George III — and their explorations of 18th-century American politics in song to Melbourne.

Haven't become a Hamilton obsessive yet? Not quite sure why it has been the most-talked about theatre show of the past six years? The critically acclaimed hip hop musical, for which Miranda wrote the music, lyrics and the book, is about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as well as inclusion and politics in current-day America. In addition to its swag of Tony Awards — 11 in fact, which includes Best Musical — it has nabbed a Grammy Award and even a Pulitzer Prize.

Until now, Melburnians eager to see the show had to be content with trips north or watching the filmed version of its Broadway production, which started streaming via Disney+ in 2020 (and yes, it's as phenomenal as you've heard).

It also won't be Miranda's first musical to come to Melbourne, with his take on the classic 2000s film Bring It On: The Musical hitting the city in 2018. Other big musicals, such as The Book of Mormon, have toured the country after their big local premiere seasons, so Hamilton's Melbourne stint was hardly unexpected. The $10 ticket lottery tagging along for the trip from Sydney is sure to be welcomed the season through.

Hamilton's Melbourne season kicks off on Tuesday, March 15 at Her Majesty's Theatre and is currently booking through to August. Visit the musical's website for further details.

Images: Daniel Boud.