Ten bucks for a ticket to see “Hamilton”? The Kennedy Center and producer Jeffrey Seller announced Friday that it will distribute 40 $10 tickets through an online lottery two days before each performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical.
The online lottery will open at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 10, for 40 orchestra-seat tickets to the first performance June 12. Each subsequent lottery will begin two days before the next performance for the entire 14-week run, which ends Sept. 16.
The #HAM4HAM lottery goes back to the show’s beginnings on Broadway, when the “Hamilton” cast and their friends would entertain the crowds that lined up daily outside the theater for the chance to trade a Hamilton — the $10 bill bearing the show’s namesake — for an orchestra seat to the hip-hop musical. The lottery went digital when the weather turned colder, where it has remained. The producers have continued the lottery with new production, including those in London and Chicago.
The lottery system provides low-cost access to the blockbuster production at the Kennedy Center, which is selling seats for as much as $625. Demand for tickets for the summer-long run has been high.
Starting June 10, participants must register for the lottery using the “Hamilton” app or by visiting the musical’s website, hamiltonmusical.com/lottery. There is no cost to enter, and each winner may buy up to two tickets. Each digital lottery opens at 11 a.m. Eastern time two days before a performance and closes the following day at 9 a.m. Notifications will be sent at 11 a.m. the day after the lottery (which is the day before the performance), and tickets must be purchased with a credit card by 4 p.m. that day. Tickets may be picked up at the Kennedy Center two hours before showtime. For more detailed instructions and requirements, visit the show’s website.
Regular tickets are still on sale at the Kennedy Center box office and by phone and Internet. More tickets may become available at short notice.