Do you want to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens, the room where it happens?!

Well then, do NOT throw away your shot, and make sure you listen to my steps on how to score Hamilton tickets when they go on sale Wednesday, August 1st at 8am!!! I’d hate for you to feel helpless, so let me be your right hand (wo)man and give you the information you need to know about (Alexander) Hamilton, the musical! And if you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m burning through as many song titles (in italics) from the soundtrack as possible in this post because I’m a giant nerd like that 🙂

So here’s the deal. Hamilton is coming to Belk Theater October 10th to November 4th! Here’s the exact schedule:

If you’ve been wanting to get tickets, and have been looking online, you’ll notice that they’re all super jacked up in price. DON’T BUY THOSE and let me help you be satisfied!

So what comes next you ask?

There are two ways to purchase tickets…online and at the Belk Theater box office. Let’s start with online tips and tricks!

If you’re buying online, the VERY FIRST THING you want to do is set up your carolina tix account, as no tickets will be sold over the phone. If you don’t have an account, work non-stop and do not take a break until you have completed one, and keep in mind that the name and address on your account MUST match the name on the credit card and billing address you use for payment.

After you’ve made sure that you have an account and you know your password (you could use TheElectionof1800 like me, kidding), you should also decide which performance dates and price zones you want! This way, when it’s time to log in and try to buy them, you know what you’re looking for, as you only have TEN minutes to decide!

Once you’ve decided on dates and times, it’s time to get in the queue on August 1st! Tickets officially go on sale at 8am, but if you want to be as close to the “first in line” as possible, you can head to the ticket site tix.carolinatix.org/Hamilton and get in the virtual waiting room at 5am! However, people who log in at 7:59am can still get ahead of you because they’re going to randomly put yall in line at 8am no matter when you logged in! Anyone who logs in at 8am or later, will be placed after the early birds as they log in!

You can only buy FOUR tickets and Blumenthal will be looking out for bots, duplicate accounts, and will cancel orders if they think that is happening. On that note, if you are purchasing to simply resell the tickets, the Blumenthal has a policy on their website: “Blumenthal Performing Arts reserves the right to void your ticket(s) and refund your purchase if we discover you resell your ticket(s) for more than $10 (plus applicable sales taxes and fees) above the face value on the ticket(s).” So just say no to this, or there will be a cabinet battle 😉

Tickets are anywhere from $74.50-$174.50 and there are a handful of premium seats for $434.50 each…prices are before taxes and fees. You will not be able to pick your seats…the ticketing system will assign you the best available seat(s) in your preferred performance/price zone at the time you purchase. This is also why it’s critical for you to know what section you’d like and which price point you want to stay within. But I’d have a few options if I were you, for dates, sections, and prices, just in case your first option is sold out already and you can stay alive so to speak 😉

I would like to note for my sign language/hearing-impaired friends, there will be an ASL and audio-described performance on Sunday, October 14th at 1:30pm so make sure you select that one if that’s something you need!

Once you are in the virtual waiting room, it’s literally a waiting game for your turn to arrive! You can either keep your browser open, or you can take a break from staring at that screen and sign up for an email notification. Once your turn arrives, you have ten minutes to check out! And you CAN split your tickets between different performances and price levels…just make sure they’re all in your cart!

If you end up purchasing tickets, you will get an email confirmation that day, and your physical tickets will be mailed to the address on your account sometime after Labor Day…you’ll have to wait for it. Digital delivery is NOT available. Once you receive your tickets, share your excitement, but don’t share the bar code or other personal information if you happen to post a pic!

Now, to buying tickets in person!

This will also be happening August 1st, but from 5:30-7am for the early birds! There is no camping allowed, so don’t bring your tent for this one! And like the online sales, whether you show up at 5:30 or 6:59, you’re getting a wristband that will enter you into a random drawing to determine your placement for getting tickets. No wristbands will be handed out after 7am, and they’ll start calling random groups in at 7:30am to purchase the tickets. If you arrive after 7, don’t leave necessarily, but know the wristbands will be served first, and even those with wristbands aren’t guaranteed a ticket!

You will need a photo ID, and it will need to match the credit card used to purchase the tickets. If you are paying with cash, this is VERY important to read, and straight from their site: “If purchasing with cash, please alert our staff when you arrive at the Purchase Line. Cash sales require the association of the buyer’s photo with the order. You may provide a photo ID that we can copy or we will photograph you at the cash sales window today prior to purchase. Tickets can only be associated with a single buyer. Orders purchased in cash will not be mailed. They will be available only at Will Call immediately prior to the purchased performance. The person picking up must match the photo on file with the order. No exceptions.”

So what would I do if I were you? Well, in full transparency, I have two tickets already to the October 18th show through a season ticket holder lottery! But we know we want to take the minis again, so I’ll tell you a few paragraphs down how I hope to do that for $10/ticket!

What you could always do, and what I would do if I didn’t have tickets, is to go stand in line at the theater, but also be logged in to my online account while waiting there. This way, I have two shots at it! However, I do know that they won’t let me (or anyone else) buy four tickets both ways…if I get tickets at the box office, it’ll cancel me buying online and visa versa! You get four tickets per account/credit card combo. It’s the only way to ensure as many can see it that want to, and to keep tickets out of scalpers hands! And I am here for that!!!

Phew! That’s A LOT of information, #amiright?! BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! 🙂

If you don’t get ANY tickets August 1st. If every single show that you can attend happens to be “sold out” by the time you get to it. If you think there’s no chance, there still is!!! First, Blumenthal will be monitoring the site like crazy, looking for bots, duplicates, illegal purchases/purchasers etc. and as they find them, they will re-release those tickets to the public. So my #protip is to bookmark their site , and visit it often over the next two months to see if anything has popped up!

Speaking of illegal purchasers, if you’ve already bought tickets from a third party site or are thinking about do it, here’s what Blumenthal says:
“WHAT HAPPENS IF I BUY FROM A RESELLER OR BROKER?
When you purchase from a nonofficial source:
• We cannot be responsible for tickets purchased through unauthorized third parties.
• We cannot guarantee that your tickets are valid and, therefore, cannot guarantee
admittance.
• We cannot replace your tickets if they are lost or stolen.
• You may be paying much more than the ticket’s face value.
• We cannot contact you with information regarding time changes, show cancellations or
other information.
• We cannot issue a refund to you in case of an event cancellation.”
Be extremely careful when online that the site you are buying from is tix.carolinatix.org…there are other sites out there that look similar, but this is the ONLY official site!

But yall know by now if you’ve followed me for any amount of time, that I’m a fan of the day-of lottery! You may remember how I scored The Little Mermaid tickets last year for $25, or how I saw Book of Mormon last week from the front row for $25 too (actually Amber and I both waited in the lottery (after I told her to meet me inside), and her name was called, but she took me)!!!

Well, Hamilton is doing the same, and even better! Because there are going to be FORTY tickets given away in the lottery, for every show, and they’re going to be $10 each!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (so many exclamation points). They will release information closer to the dates, but when I was there for Book of Mormon, I asked a few questions, and I was told that some the seats would be on the front row! I’m hearing that the lottery won’t be in person, simply due to the sheer amount of people that would show up like a hurricane to wait. And that it might instead be done via an app, with a max purchase of two tickets?!

I encourage you one last time, to watch the Blumenthal’s site like a hawk, from the tickets to purchase, to the specials and offers page (my fave)! As always, I’ll keep you posted about whatever it is I find out as soon as I know about it, like The Reynolds Pamphlet. Today is the last date it’s quiet uptown, as the big sale starts August 1st, but I’m ready, and now you are too!!! Blumenthal, I will be your obedient servant if you pick me in the lottery! 😉

Hamilton is soooooooooooooo amazing and although I saw it in Atlanta this summer, I am still jumping out of my skin to see it in Charlotte! October seems so far away, but I know it’ll be here before we know it, and it will blow us all away!

Don’t be one of the peeps who has to say what’d I miss, and get your tickets, friends!

Oh, and I’ve been asked if it’s kid friendly, and it’s hard to answer because everyone parents differently. BUT, I think a few cuss words are fine, as my kids hear me say them, and they know it’s a thing adults get to do (should they choose). I tell them they’re allowed to cuss the second they want to do other adult things, like pay bills 😉 In Say no to this, when Alexander and Mariah are “having sex,” it consists of him (fully clothed) sitting in a chair, and her (fully clothed) sitting away from him on his lap, and him barely touching her upper chest. The lyrics are certainly more “provocative” than the scene itself, and I wasn’t bothered by it one bit. And frankly, your kids should know what they’re insinuating from you telling them about “it” long before they see this musical, IMHO 🙂 Hope this helps!

For any and all information, please go to THIS PAGE, which will answer anything I missed, OR if you have any other questions! And please SHARE this blog post on your feed, with other #hamfans and/or your #hamfam!

Also, if you have a Hamilton fan (or if you are one), this is a necklace I bought that I LOVE and wear almost daily! It reminds me to takes chances and not throw away my shot, and it’s only $17!

A pic of me wearing it…

Love yall so much, like Eliza loved Alexander 😉