Dates for ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ performances in Wichita have been set

“Hamilton” is coming to Wichita.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s iconic musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton, told through hip-hop, jazz, R&B and showtunes, will land at the Century II concert hall for 16 performances June 6-18, 2023.

“It’s the hottest show on the road right now,” said Amy Hamm, executive director of American Theatre Guild, which programs the Broadway in Wichita series.

“I’m just so proud to be able to bring this show here,” added the El Dorado native, whose interest in musicals was stoked by trips to Century II as a child.

“Hamilton” won nine Tony Awards in 2016, including best musical, book, original score, direction, costume, lighting and orchestrations; a Pulitzer Prize for drama; a Grammy for best musical theater album; and a Kennedy Center Honors. Its film version, which premiered on Disney+, won an Emmy Award for outstanding variety special in 2021.

Two years ago, “Hamilton” was announced for the 2021-22 season, but was delayed because of complications from COVID. Hamm said that the title has topped the list of requests by Broadway in Wichita subscribers and ticketholders for the past several years.

Hamm said that Wichita and Century II have been building a reputation that they can draw big audiences for big-ticket shows.

“We have to show (producers) that the community will come out and support it,” she said. “And I think that with the track record the area has shown with previous titles like ‘Lion King’ and ‘Wicked,’ that we could make a case this would be a great fit.”

(“Lion King” will return for 16 performances from April 27 to May 8.)

Hamm also credited the new management team at Century II. ASM Global took charge of operations at the beginning of the year.

“When you’re scheduling this level of a show, you have to be able to make a strong case that you have a team that is able to support the title and I think we certainly do with the addition of ASM at Century II,” Hamm said.

Chris Whitney, who began as general manager for Century II in January, said she was excited about “Hamilton.”

“This is one of those shows that we would have had to travel to another city to go and see. To be able to have it in our own backyard is amazing,” she said. “Finally, Wichita residents, Sedgwick County residents have the ability to go see a class-act, A-plus show in our town and support our own town. With ‘Hamilton’ coming, anybody who is everybody has talked about seeing it, so the opportunity for it to come to Wichita and to come to our building is so exciting.”

Whitney said she’s excited about the Broadway in Wichita series reaching a new generation.

“It isn’t your Rodgers & Hammerstein, ‘The hills are alive …’ traditional style, and to me that experience is going to be so vibrant and exciting for that younger audience that hasn’t been to a show or (said) ‘That’s not for me,’” she said.

The “Hamilton” company travels with an education program, Hamm said, that will involve learning activities based on the musical. She said it fits in well with the growing Staging the Future education program offered by American Theatre Guild.

Those who have season tickets for the 2021-22 Broadway in Wichita season have first dibs on the “Hamilton” seats. Individual tickets will go on sale late in the summer, Hamm said.

Hamm warned that long before this week’s announcement of “Hamilton,” tickets for the Wichita dates were attempted to be sold.

“There are a ton of secondary ticket sellers out there who are selling tickets they do not have,” she said. “We have not sold a ticket; we have not distributed a ticket.”

Hamm said Miranda’s creative approach to the story of Hamilton is the key to its success.

“It’s the intersection of history, the modern music, modern storytelling, the way he’s weaved diversity and different perspective into this title,” she said. “He made history fresh and exciting and new.”

Although it’s not on the scale of “Hamilton,” Hamm and Whitney are also pumped about another blockbuster for the 2022-23 season, “Dear Evan Hansen.”

“With ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ those will be two of the biggest titles out there,” Hamm said.

“Dear Evan Hansen,” which won six Tony Awards including best musical, book and score in 2017, tells of an isolated high school student who is yearning for understanding and belonging in the age of social media.

“I think this will really open the doors for newer audiences,” Whitney said.

“Dear Evan Hansen” will have eight performances April 11-16, 2023.

Other musicals on the schedule are “9 to 5,” based on the 1980 movie, Jan. 28-29; and “Anastasia,” set in 1920s Russia and Paris, March 17-19.

A big change in the Broadway in Wichita schedule, Hamm said, is that rather than previous years’ customs of three shows on weeknights, there will be four performances over a weekend.

“When we were able to present the shows during the week, I feel like it presented us with a smaller halo,” Hamm said. “I feel it’s within our mission and our vision to serve the larger, broader community around Wichita with these weekend performances.”

Other titles may be added for the 2022-23 season, Hamm said.

In addition to the musicals, a season-package add-on, “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” an Aretha Franklin tribute, will be March 1. It comes weeks after the Wichita Symphony has its own Aretha tribute on Feb. 18.

More information is available at broadwaywichita.com.

This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 1:00 PM.