NEW YORK – The mega-hit Broadway show “Hamilton” is on the move – a production will open in Chicago next September.
Producers said Tuesday that performances will begin Sept. 27 at the newly named The PrivateBank Theatre. It’s a coup for Chicago since the city has lured the hottest stage show in years and beaten a rival theater town where it might play well, too – Washington, D.C.
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical tells the true story of Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and the nation’s first treasury secretary. It is told by a young African-American and Latino cast.
It’s got a terrifically varied score, ranging from pop ballads to sexy R&B to rap battles, with lyrical nods to Gilbert and Sullivan, Jason Robert Brown, “South Pacific” and the Notorious B.I.G.
Group tickets for the Chicago run will go on sale Jan. 5. Single ticket sales will be announced at a later date.
The show is just the latest in a line of hit Broadway shows to take up residence in Chicago, including “Wicked,” “The Lion King” “Jersey Boys” and “The Book of Mormon.” The show “Kinky Boots” also had a well-received start in Chicago before jumping to Broadway and winning the Tony for best new musical in 2013.