Hundreds of fans lined the streets of downtown Chicago overnight, camping out ahead of "Hamilton" tickets being released to the public Tuesday.
The smash-hit Broadway musical begins a Chicago run on Sept. 27 with 199 performances officially set at the PrivateBank Theatre in the city's Loop.
There are 199 performances officially set for the Chicago stage and the buzz around the Tony-award winner has reached a fever pitch.
There are only three official ticket providers for the Tony Award-winning play: BroadwayinChicago.com, Ticketmaster, and the PrivateBank Theatre's box office, where people turned up in droves to wait along the sidewalk for the hottest ticket in town.
"There's been sort of a community and a camaraderie, it's been fine!" said one fan, Karen Olin.
Broadway in Chicago officials say the people who came to the box officer are doing the right thing, warning of a huge problem with counterfeit tickets in New York.
"You have to be careful of scams," a Broadway in Chicago spokesperson said. "I mean, even if you look around, there are brokers here, people are poised. People that have been here since 11:30 p.m. yesterday."
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The show’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced the details in a video posted on Broadway in Chicago’s Facebook page earlier this month.
"Chi-Town!" Miranda proclaimed. "Birth place of Kanye West, Common Sense, Chance the Rapper, some of the best hip-hop in the world and the source material for Kander and Ebb's best musical. We're coming to see you first! Hamilton's ghost insisted we open at the PrivateBank Theatre."
Those buying tickets are limited to six tickets per person. If they sell out too quickly, there will be one final option: A day of the show drawing where 44 $10 seats will be given out.
Here’s everything you need to know:
When to Buy: Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 a.m. Central
Where: The PrivateBank Theatre at 18 W. Monroe in Chicago’s Loop
Show Dates: Performances begin Sept. 27 and run through March 19, 2017
Runtime: 2 hours and 55 minutes with one intermission
How to Buy: Purchase online at BroadwayInChicago.com or Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-775-2000, or in person at The PrivateBank Theatre box office only
Price: Premium tickets will cost $500-$600 during peak times such as the holidays, the Chicago Tribune reports, but more than 18,000 seats will be sold for $10 through an online lottery.
"Hamilton,” about the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton, made history when the megahit earned a record 16 Tony nominations including honors for Best Musical and three personal nominations for Miranda, its star, composer and bookwriter.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hopera broke the record set by 2001’s “The Producers” and 2009’s "Billy Elliot," which both received 15 nominations.
"Hamilton" later went on to win 11 Tony Awards.
