Want to Buy Tickets for “Hamilton” in Philly? Get “In Line” … Online

As of noon on Friday, nearly 3,000 people were waiting to buy “Hamilton” tickets online, and the estimated wait time was more than an hour and a half.


Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton set records for Broadway box office sales (as the first show to break $3 million in eight performances), as well as Tony nominations (a whopping 16). So when we heard the musical was coming to Philadelphia (where much of it is based), we were expecting a mad rush to get tickets.

But maybe not this kind of rush. If you want to secure a ticket for Hamilton at the Kimmel Center on Friday, you’ll have to get in line … online.

Tickets for the venue’s 2018–19 Broadway Philadelphia Season went on sale at 9 a.m. on Friday. Purchasing a seven-show package is the only way to secure a seat for Hamilton (as of Friday, at least). At noon, nearly 7,000 people had already entered an online “line” to access the Kimmel Center’s website to buy tickets. Nearly 3,000 people were still waiting, and the estimated wait time was more than an hour and a half.

Here’s how the “line” works: In effort to prevent online overload during ticket sales, the Kimmel Center is using digital ticket management system Queue-it to help accommodate high user demand. If you try to visit the Kimmel Center’s website to buy tickets, you’ll be redirected to an online queue. Queue-it will tell you how many people are “in front” of you and let you know approximately how long you’ll have to wait before you can access the Kimmel Center’s website to buy tickets. You can sign up for an email alert, which will remind you when it’s your turn to buy a ticket. (This technology is either wonderful or terrible. That’s up for you to decide.)

https://twitter.com/juliezeglen/status/977177336129949696

Hamilton will run at the Kimmel Center’s Forrest Theatre for almost 12 weeks, between August 27th and November 17th. Prices for the Kimmel Center’s 2018–19 season range from $281 to $944 for first-timers, depending on what day you buy and which seat you want.

For those who are “legacy” buyers, or renewing subscribers, prices range from $246 to $908.

Other shows playing at the Kimmel Center this season include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beautiful — the Carole King Musical, Cats, The Book of Mormon, and more.

Good luck out there!