Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton to open in Sydney; production to feature Australian performers

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton begins previews on 17 March at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia, ahead of its official opening on 27 March. This marks the first time that the musical will be staged in Australia. A re-imagination of the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers, it traces his journey from orphan, to George Washington’s aide-de-camp, to Secretary of State, to his death. It brings together hip-hop, R&B, soul, pop and traditional showstoppers. Among the musical’s most popular tracks are ‘My Shot’, ‘Satisfied’, ‘Aaron Burr, Sir’ and ‘Alexander Hamilton’. The Australian production of the musical reportedly features 33 Australian performers who hail from Latino, East Asian and West African backgrounds, among others. It is produced by the Michael Cassel Group. This particular production is the only one being staged across the globe, since both Broadway and West End are shut owing to the coronavirus pandemic. When asked about how the musical will fare in Australia, Miranda spoke about the universality of its story. “The secret sauce of the show are the deeper themes of what are we meant to do with our time on Earth? If we have any awareness of the ticking clock that is our mortality, how do we deal with that? How do we act in a way that determines how we’re remembered?” The musical has won a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album, 11 Tony Awards, and in 2016, Miranda won the Pulitzer Prize for it. It premiered at New York’s Public Theatre in 2015, where Miranda played Hamilton. A filmed version of the musical premiered on Disney+ Hotstar in July 2020.