I scored front row seats to Hamilton for $186 and I’m going to share with you how I did it.
The musical is currently playing in New York and Chicago, and recently kicked off its U.S. tour here in San Francisco this month. It’s coming to a city near you (Los Angeles, Seattle, DC, and London to name a few). Schedule here.
How to Get Tickets for Hamilton
1. Theater Box Office
The easiest way is to go through the theater box office.
It’s been playing in SF for over a week now and I only recently bought our tickets straight from the theater website—front row, baby! Granted, it’s a partial view, but that doesn’t bother me. What’s worse is being 4’10”, then having some Dutch guy sit in front of me, completely obstructing my view, and potentially paying more for that seat. That happened to me the first time I watched Book of Mormon on Broadway and I was in tears before the show even started!
First, I called the box office directly. The rep told me that the only seats available for the show are partial views or orchestra seats for $700+. Then he asked me which day I was interested in and said he would have to check each day for what was available. I told him I’d do it myself.
Since I scoured every single date, I can tell you that for the San Francisco Orpheum Theatre, the best available seats for the run of the show through the box office website is the same date I got our tickets—Wednesday June 28 at 2pm. There are still several orchestra seats available in the front section of the Orpheum.
2. Vivid
The official secondary ticket reseller of SHN theatres is Vivid.
Pro: much more availability
Con: much higher price. For example, a balcony seat through the theater website costs $100. The cheapest balcony seat on the Vivid website is $349.
If you’re willing to spend the money, you can get nice seats through Vivid.
3. The Lottery
A batch of front row tickets for each performance are reserved for lottery winners. I’ve been entering the lottery since day 1. And even though I already bought tickets, I’m still entering the lottery! I’m not passing up my chance for a full-view front row seat! I do it every day just like brushing my teeth. It’s a given! I sign up for both me and Dean.
If you live in NYC or Chicago, there’s the Ham Lottery app that makes it super easy. You lucky ducks!
Go forth and conquer. I hope to see you at the show!
Janine Huldie
March 21, 2017 at 1:18 pmAwesome advice and going to have to keep this in mind to see this in the future here in NYC now!! 🙂
Catherine
March 23, 2017 at 10:33 amI was reading the Hamilton synopsis on Wikipedia and it looks really complicated and confusing. I hope I can keep up during the show!
Tamara
March 21, 2017 at 4:54 pmMy in-laws and cousins ALL just went in Chicago over the weekend. I have no idea how they did it! They said it took patience and ambition.
Congrats!
Catherine
March 23, 2017 at 10:32 amThat is amazing! Definitely agree it takes persistence and patience!
Cece
March 22, 2017 at 9:51 amShow tickets are so expensive!! Glad you scored a deal. I keep hearing about Hamilton all over the place, and know nothing about it, but if it comes to town I’ll definitely be interested.
Catherine
March 23, 2017 at 10:32 amCece, it will be in SoCal, check it out!
Dana
March 23, 2017 at 5:28 pmThe show is amazing – I saw a few of the SF cast members in NYC. I’d recommend listening to the soundtrack ahead of time. There is so much to see on stage in addition to the songs. The lyrics are brilliant, and by listening first you will be able to concentrate solely on the songs, which will give you a good idea of the show plot. Then when you are there, you can be amazed by the visuals – the ensemble is fabulous.
Enjoy! I’m going for the second time in May and I cannot wait for it. (<<<that's a Hamildork reference that you will get once you listen to the soundtrack)
Catherine
March 24, 2017 at 7:35 amThanks for the tip, Dana! I’m listening to the soundtrack now during my commute to work. I also read the wikipedia synopsis and it looks super complicated. I hope I can keep up!
Charlotte
March 24, 2017 at 7:27 amThat is amazing! I have been dying to see this for ages… I didn’t know there was an app!!! I’m right by NYC! Signing up for that lottery now 🙂 Thanks momma!
Catherine
March 24, 2017 at 7:59 amyou are welcome, charlotte! good luck! you deserve hamilton tix!
Cynthia Lucero-Obusan
March 24, 2017 at 2:31 pmThanks for the reminder about the lottery. I’m going to start entering daily and keeping my fingers crossed for some tickets!
Mo
March 27, 2017 at 1:22 pmFollowing some not-so-subtle hints I dropped, my husband got us tickets in Chicago for a September date. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack obsessively. With the Ham Lottery app I’m going to try to score tickets to an additional show. Thanks for the heads up!