NEW YORK, June 11 — Tickets to the smash-hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” are going for record-breaking prices — skyrocketing to more than US$6,000 (RM24,498) apiece.
Fans are shelling out to see the July 9 final performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's creator and current leading actor. Since debuting in July 2015, the musical focused on America's founding fathers has won fans as high-profile as US President Barack Obama and swiftly become Broadway's most popular.
“We're calling 'Hamilton' the cultural equivalent of the Super Bowl,” said a spokesperson for the ticket resale website StubHub, referencing the annual American football championship.
Miranda — who wrote and composed the musical — announced June 2 he would perform the lead, Alexander Hamilton, for the last time, taking a break to devote time to other projects.
It's not the final performance of the musical itself, which will run on Broadway at least until 2017, but the star power of Miranda has fans clamouring for seats.
Tickets have already gone for US$6,500 on StubHub and US$6,600 on another website, TiqIQ, the two outlets confirmed to AFP.
The average ticket cost for Miranda's last show is US$1,747 on StubHub and US$4,798 on TiqIQ.
Some tickets went on sale for US$14,800 on StubHub, though buyers have yet to drop that kind of money.
Miranda has repeatedly spoken out against the ticket resale system, which allows companies to use software capable of buying up large numbers of tickets and then reselling them at inflated prices.
Producers recently decided to raise the base prices of the best tickets to rates from US$475-$849.
At the same time, they reduced the price of tickets that normally sell between US$21 and US$46 to US$10 a piece, which fans can try and snag through a lottery system.
“Hamilton” has been nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony Awards, given out to recognise achievement in Broadway productions. The ceremony will take place tomorrow in New York. — AFP
