Will London Theater Audiences Join the ‘Hamilton’ Revolution?

The countdown has begun: “Hamilton” will touch down at the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End in November 2017. The question is, will Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash succeed in Britain — its first international outing — as well as it has on Broadway?

With 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize to its name, “Hamilton” has proved a phenomenon in New York since opening last year. Sales have passed $1 billion, and top-price tickets sell for $849. A U.S. tour is in the works for this fundamentally American story told in what has become a fundamentally American style: a rapped history of the Founding Fathers.

But in the land against which the colonists rebelled, Alexander Hamilton is largely unknown. British classrooms barely touch on American independence.

What’s more, Miranda will not reprise his starring role at the start of the run, though producers have said he will appear at some point in 2018. Casting is underway: Open auditions for homegrown talent will be held next month.

The London production will serve as a test run for how “Hamilton” fares outside the U.S. An Australian production is already in the works, with a worldwide rollout proposed.

But there are no guarantees of success. For example, “Rent,” a smash in New York that won four Tonys, struggled in the West End, while “Shrek: The Musical,” a flop on Broadway, ran for almost two years in London and toured for two more.

Cameron Mackintosh, who is producing the London “Hamilton,” admits that success isn’t a certainty.

“No one can know how any show can work out,” he told the Daily Telegraph recently. “All I can say is this is one of the most brilliant and original shows I’ve seen in a long, long time. How big a success it will be, only time will tell.”

The Victoria Palace is used to long-runners. For the last decade, it has played host to “Billy Elliot: The Musical.” Mackintosh, who owns the theater, has taken a rare year-long break to refurbish the 105-year-old venue — a mark of confidence, perhaps, in its coming attraction. With 1,500 seats, the London home of “Hamilton” will be bigger than its Broadway base, the Richard Rodgers Theatre, which has 200 fewer seats.

Tickets go on general sale Jan. 30, priced at £35 to £85 ($42.78 to $103.89), and two weeks early for those who signed up for priority booking. More than 55,000 people have subscribed to an online system for advance booking privileges.

Additionally, the original cast recording of “Hamilton” spent seven weeks on the U.K. Top 100 albums chart this summer (neither “The Book of Mormon” nor “Matilda,” both West End hits, charted at all).

Miranda has already had a taste of London glory. “In the Heights,” his first musical, celebrated its one-year anniversary at the King’s Cross Theatre last month, winning three Olivier Awards en route. Its success is partly due to an innovative production model: It’s running in a 400-seat temporary theater, rather than an established West End venue.

It also saw a 5% to 10% boost in ticket sales after the “Hamilton” Tony haul, according to producer Tristan Baker. Advertising posters for “In the Heights” on the London Underground now include a reference to “the creator of ‘Hamilton.’”

“People said it would never work in the U.K.,” Baker says. “The feeling was that ‘In the Heights’ was a wonderful show, but because it was very specific to New York, it wouldn’t translate.”

He predicts an enthusiastic reception for Miranda’s second U.S.-specific musical.

“There has been an immense amount of interest in ‘Hamilton,’” he says. “It’ll be huge. You’ve got to remember that it’s absolutely game-changing, and if you put on a really good show, it will find an audience.”

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