‘I’m not going to chance it’: ‘Hamilton’ fans lined up at Music Hall to buy tickets
Jerry Cannon wasn’t taking any chances this time.
Though the St. Louis-area American history teacher had a co-teacher cover his class when online tickets went on sale for the touring production of “Hamilton” in St. Louis last year, actually snagging them was an “epic fail.”
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to chance it,’” said Cannon, who teaches eighth grade in Wentzville. “I’m driving to Kansas City.”
Cannon and several hundred others stood outside the Music Hall on Monday morning, when roughly 40,000 tickets went on sale to the public at 10 a.m. for Kansas City performances that start in June.
“Hamilton,” a musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton with a score that incorporates hip-hop, rap, jazz, blues and R&B-style music, won 11 Tony Awards in 2016. The tour is presented by the American Theatre Guild in Kansas City, along with Broadway Across America.
Many had registered earlier as verified fans to buy their tickets online, in addition to those who lined up at the Music Hall to buy a limited number of tickets in-person.
Season ticket holders had already bought up about 12,500 tickets for the first week of the three-week run. The remainder had been capped at four tickets per household, said Broadway Across America Executive Director of Marketing Krissi Diers.
“We limited the number of tickets just so we can get them in more people’s hands,” Diers said.
Not since the “Lion King” first came to Kansas City has a musical production generated such demand, Diers said.
Ticket prices range between $71 and $195, with a select number of $435 tickets available, for shows starting on June 18 to July 7.
Online tickets disappeared quickly, while tickets were sold at the Music Hall into the afternoon. Shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday, more than 1,000 people were waiting in a queue when tickets were released for one Sunday afternoon show, while another show had about 500 in queue.
Organizers did not release the number of people who registered as verified fans, but said they would keep fans informed via social media and the KC Broadway Series website if tickets sold out.
For those who did not secure tickets, a lottery held closer to the shows will provide a last-minute chance, organizers said. Those interested can sign up for an email list at BroadwayinKC.com or by using the Hamilton app.
Lolly Hindman, 13, and her dad, Tim, drove from Lawrence for the chance to buy tickets.
Lolly, an eighth grader, said she was an immediate fan of the music and lyrics when she was first introduced to it two years ago. In three days, she said, she had memorized the album.
The buzz appears to be contagious. Most of her classmates know the songs.
“If someone started singing ‘Hamilton’ (at school),” Lolly said, “everyone could join in.”
Tim Hindman, too, found himself drawn to the music his daughter kept playing.
“I admit she’s converted me,” he said. “We want to go. We’re intense about it.”
Shay McField knows a thing or two about an intense love for “Hamilton.” The 39-year-old Overland Park woman arrived at the Music Hall at 6 a.m., good enough for the eighth spot in line, to buy tickets as a surprise graduation gift for her daughter, Mykia Carrell.
Carrell, who graduates from Kansas State University in May, has blasted the music in the house and follows the production, the actors and the music.
“I figured this would be an awesome graduation gift,” said McField, before adding that she had no “plan B.” “This is a ‘failure is not an option’ move.”
Shortly after 10 a.m. McField walked outside grasping her tickets and sporting a relieved smile. Later came the Hindmans, who said scoring tickets “was worth the wait.”
Cannon said his entire class was rooting for him to secure tickets. He often incorporates the songs into his lesson plans, and his students “really get into it.”
The musical is not just the exciting retelling of the American Revolution-era he teaches. It helps him point his students’ attention in other directions.
“Then I can say, ‘You think Hamilton is great? Now, look at Sam Adams,’” Cannon said.
By Monday afternoon, he learned he’d have good news to tell his students. He left the Music Hall with two tickets, one for him and one for his wife.
“That’s all I wanted,” he said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 10:22 AM.
