Disclaimer: This is a satirical piece.
By: Anna Toth
Playhouse Square just announced its 2019-2020 Broadway Season featuring “Hamilton the Musical.” At this time, no other shows have been announced.
Instead, the popular musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda will spend the entire 10-month Broadway season occupying both the Keybank State Theatre and Connor Palace Theatre.
“We’re delighted to present ‘Hamilton the Musical’ to Cleveland four years after it’s original release,” Playhouse Square said.
While general admission tickets for the upcoming production of “Hamilton” in July and August of 2018 have yet to go on sale, Playhouse Square is positive that this longer run will be just as popular.
Including “Hamilton” on the 2017-2018 Broadway in CLE season led to a dramatic increase of season ticket sales. So many, in fact, that Playhouse Square had to limit the number of season tickets they sold featuring the musical to ensure there would be tickets to sell to the public later.
Playhouse Square customer service representative Elizabeth Skyler said that, while they expected “Hamilton” tickets to go fast, they were totally unprepared for how quickly the season tickets would sell out.
“They sold out in a matter of days,” Skyler said. “We were helpless, totally caught off guard.”
The rapid-fire sale of season tickets featuring “Hamilton” gives Playhouse Square reason to believe that the general admission tickets for “Hamilton” in July and August will sell quickly too. It was also a huge motivator to bring the musical back to Playhouse Square for an entire season.
“Hopefully, this longer run satisfies fans who threw away their shot to get tickets the first time,”
Playhouse Square representative Philip Laurens said.
However, some people will never be satisfied with this engagement. Cleveland State student and theatre critic Gwendolyn Kochur points out that there are many flaws with having even a show like “Hamilton” occupy both theatres for the entire season.
“Hamilton isn’t the only great show out there,” Kochur said. “There are plenty of other shows capable of blowing us all away.”
Playhouse Square doesn’t seem worried, especially since the popularity of the show seems to be unwavering. Laurens explains that having “Hamilton” occupy both theatres for the entire season will double people’s chances to see the hit musical.
“Many people have been waiting years for their shot to see ‘Hamilton’,” Laurens said. “With this unique Broadway season, people won’t have to wait for it anymore.”
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