Sold-Out Hamilton Takes the Singing to the Street

The hottest Broadway show not on any stage is a free, five-minute performance running two to three times a week about two hours before curtain on the sidewalk outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. There, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of and a lead actor in the rap musical Hamilton, MCs an impromptu performance with guests from his own and other Broadway hits, past and present. “Thank you for coming!” he shouts before introducing his guests. “We’ll be here hopefully for a nice long time, thanks to you, so come back.”

Audiences have obliged. Anywhere from 300 to 700 fans show up for what’s been dubbed the #Ham4Ham ticket lottery and show. The hashtag first appeared during Hamilton’s run at New York’s Public Theater earlier this year. A handful of names were drawn for $10 (a “Ham”) tickets at each performance. When the hip-hop tale about one of America’s founding fathers moved to Broadway in July, the lottery, the hashtag, and the buzz came with it.