Single ticket sales set to begin for Sarasota run of musical hit ‘Hamilton’

Sarasota audiences have their next shot to get seats for the hit musical “Hamilton” in Sarasota, when single tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 for performances at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall beginning March 26.

Those signed up for the hall’s free E-Club can get a jump start and buy tickets beginning Nov. 13.

Tickets for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multi-award-winning musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton have been available so far only through subscriptions for the hall’s 2023-24 Broadway series. The musical, based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, is directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. It won 11 Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

Van Wezel Executive Director Mary Bensel said she is “anticipating a huge number of people calling in the beginning days” of single ticket sales. “We’ve been getting at least 8 or 10 people a day asking us when they were going on sale. We’ve never seen this kind of response at the box office from people wanting tickets.”

But unlike in some cities in past years, Bensel doesn’t expect the Sarasota sales to overwhelm box office systems.

“I expect everybody who wants a ticket will be able to get a ticket in the first week,” she said. “Keep in mind we did not get ‘Hamilton’ in the first round of cities. It has played Tampa more than once. This is not like the first round of tickets where people were so overwhelmed that they crashed the internet and the box offices went down.”

Still, she anticipates strong sales. Even after subscription sales, which were mostly focused in the first week of the two-week run, Bensel said “there will be a good number of seats available.”

But she recommends buying them soon. “We only have two weeks and if people want tickets they should get them now because we don’t anticipate tickets being available by the time the show opens,” Bensel said.

Bensel and producer Jeffrey Seller cautioned ticket buyers to purchase their seats only through the Van Wezel box office.

“It’s tempting to get tickets any way you can,” Seller said in a statement. “There are many sites and people who are selling overpriced and, in some cases, fraudulent tickets. For the best seats, the best prices and to eliminate the risk of counterfeit tickets, all purchases for the Sarasota engagement should be made through VanWezel.org.”

Tickets will be available at the box office, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, by phone at 941-263-6799 or online at vanwezel.org. Ticket prices range from $59 to $159 with a select number of premium seats available from $209 for all performances. There also will be a lottery for 40 $10 seats for all performances, and details will be announced later.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: How to get single tickets for Sarasota run of musical hit ‘Hamilton’