‘Hamilton’ a record breaking hit before box office even opened: Mirvish

TORONTO — Mirvish Productions says “Hamilton” proved itself a record-breaking smash before the box office for the musical officially opened, a spokesman says.

People lined up as early as 4 a.m. Monday for a spot in the lottery as the public sale kicked off, said the Toronto theatre company’s director of sales and marketing.

About 12 hours later, John Karastamatis estimated that 90 per cent of tickets had been claimed, and only single seats were available for purchase.

Karastamatis said it usually takes weeks for a show to see such success, but even in the pre-sale stage, “Hamilton” saw 10 times more interest in than any of the marquee hits Mirvish has staged over more than a half-century.

He said demand among Mirvish subscribers, casual theatre-goers and American Express customers well exceeded the number of seats that had been set aside for early order.

“It really is quite unprecedented for us,” said Karastamatis. “I would even go as far as saying that even the top of the line high-profile concerts that fill stadiums, there’s more interest in this than there is in those.”

Karastamatis said “Hamilton” fans who haven’t got their tickets yet should continue to check for seats, noting that no show is truly sold out until curtain call.

However, he warned against buying tickets from online resellers hawking tickets at grossly inflated prices.

“Hamilton” is set to run at the Ed Mirvish Theatre from Feb. 11 to May 17, 2020.

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