What it took to bring ‘Hamilton’ to Wichita

Tuesday’s announcement that musical-turned-cultural icon “Hamilton” was coming to Century II during the 2021-22 Broadway in Wichita series spread quickly.

“We announced in such a small way and it really caught fire,” Amy Hamm, executive director of the American Theatre Guild, which produces the series. “It’s exciting to see there’s that much enthusiasm. It makes me really proud to bring this show, and the Broadway seasons to Wichita, and bring the best of Broadway to the market.”

While the run dates of the show, number of performances and ticket prices have yet to be determined, Hamm feels that just getting a commitment for the show is an accomplishment for Wichita.

“When you look at where the show’s been – the top markets, the big cities – and unfortunately for markets our size, ‘Hamilton’s’ been looking at going back to the major cities,” Hamm said. “I feel like we’re in great shape being able to get it in the season we are. I think kudos to ‘Hamilton,’ too, for looking into markets the size of Wichita and trusting their show in our hands and not just going to the largest markets in the country.”

The Kansas City-based American Theatre Guild, the largest not-for-profit touring Broadway presenter in the nation, serves a dozen markets, including Birmingham, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Eugene, Oregon; Kansas City, Lubbock, Texas; Riverside, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara, California; South Bend, Indiana; and Toledo, Ohio, as well as Wichita.

Of those markets, only Kansas City has had “Hamilton” so far, with Hamm saying a “handful” of the others will see it in the 2021-22 season.

While dates have not been locked down, Hamm said to expect a two- or three-week run of the musical, with eight performances a week.

The current tour plays Jacksonville, Florida, population 892,000, for 16 performances over 13 days later this month. In May, it arrives at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, giving 33 performances in 34 days.

One big question – whether the Century II stage would be able to hold the same size show as the Broadway original or the touring company version – was answered on Wednesday by an American Theatre Guild spokesman, who confirmed it would be the same size and scope as those versions.

While ticket prices have been some of the most expensive for Broadway shows or tours – seats in St. Louis range from $99 to $449 – Hamm said ticket prices have not yet been set but will after lengthy conversations with the “Hamilton” team.

“’Hamilton’s’ really open to hearing conversations about what’s most appropriate and what’s most responsible in each market,” she said.

An El Dorado native, Hamm’s interest in theater was first stoked by trips to see musicals in Wichita produced by the former Broadway Theatre League.

So what does it take to bring “Hamilton” to Wichita?

“It takes building great relationships with New York, and showing them past successes that Wichita has, and showing them that the support is there in the market, and having a great team like the one we have in Kansas City to support the show,” Hamm said.

With the “Hamilton” stop will come a boost to the economy in Wichita, Hamm said.

“It’s huge,” she said, noting a study that found the group’s 2018-19 season generated an estimated $4.5 million in the greater Wichita area.

“We see such a huge increase in foot traffic in hotels, in restaurants, in taxes,” she said. “It’s a huge boost for the economy, especially in a market like Wichita where we see people coming from hundreds of miles away because it’s such a wonderfully centrally located market.”

Hamm is pitching the 2020-21 season – which includes “The Lion King,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” and “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” – as the surest chance to nab tickets for the mega-musical in the season to come.

“It’s the only way to ensure you get tickets for Hamilton in ‘21-’22,” she said.

For any theater fan who’s been in a coma for the past five years, “Hamilton” is writer-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s eclectically told musical about the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton.

It received 11 Tony Awards in 2016 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year.

Among fans of the show is Wayne Bryan, producing artistic director of Music Theatre Wichita, who has seen the show six times with tickets for a seventh during its San Francisco run later this year.

“’Hamilton’ is an amazing show that really changed the face of where musical theater can go,” Bryan said.

Manuel’s previous musical, “In the Heights,” was presented by MTW last summer, and wouldn’t have gotten the exposure or audience without the success of “Hamilton,” Bryan added.

“It’s opened doors for people of color,” he said, “It’s opened all kinds of opportunities for different styles of music to be authentically integrated into storytelling.”

Indeed, the cast album – the best-selling cast album ever with more than 6 million in sales – includes an eclectic mix of hip-hop, R&B and other styles.

“It’s a great surprise that the score is filled not only with hip-hop and R&B, but some really gorgeous ballads, a touch of vaudeville, a little bit of the Beatles for King George,” he said. “It’s a very melodic score, once you get past how fast the words come at you.”

Bryan proudly counts at least a dozen MTW alums who have been a part of the Broadway and touring casts of “Hamilton,” with at least one in every company so far.

“It’ll be a lot of fun when they announce the cast for the company that comes here to see who of our alumni will be in that one also,” he said.

Bryan also praised the authenticity of the show, with Miranda basing his work on a biography by Ron Chernow.

“Immediately people are charmed and engaged by the story,” he said. “It’s very moving and unlike most bio-musicals it is extremely accurate factually.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 5:01 AM.