The Australian production of Hamilton managed to break box office records before the show had even kicked off in Sydney, with over 250,000 tickets sold before the first preview on Wednesday.
Speaking on The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald’s Please Explain podcast, the show’s original Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller confirmed it was a record for musical theatre ticket sales in Australia. “We’re not just confident [that audiences will see the show], we are sure of it because we know how many tickets we have sold,” Seller said. “It’s the largest advance in the history of Australia.”
Jason Arrow and the Australian cast of Hamilton.Credit:Daniel Boud
Sources close to the production, who wished to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about sales, confirmed the production had sold more than a quarter of a million tickets before the first preview.
That means more than $40 million has been spent at the box office since tickets for the show went on sale in August, eclipsing ticket sales from other popular productions such as The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, The Book of Mormon and Wicked. Ticket sales are generally a closely-guarded secret in the live performance industry, with producers reluctant to reveal how well shows are selling unless they have a hit on their hands.