Hamilton the musical has been a sensation since it debuted on Broadway in 2015 and won countless awards the next year. When a San Francisco tour was announced late 2016, I was very interested to see it, but was unable to get in on the first batch of American Express pre-sale tickets available December 5, 2016 at 10am. My queue number was 65432! It didn't help that I was waiting at the courthouse for jury duty assignment and only had a laptop and iPhone to open multiple browsers a few minutes past 10am. I heard a lucky juror giddily calling her friends, letting them know she got through and asked what date they were free, etc. The ticket allotment sold out before I could get into the virtual waiting room. Tickets in the section I wanted were being resold on StubHub for 3 to 4 times face value. Fortunately, there was another chance at getting tickets during the public sale a week later.
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| no way I'll get tickets today |
This time, I opened up browsers on both computers, iPad, and iPhone around 9:30am. Queue numbers would be randomly assigned at 10am; luckily, I got number 2000-ish on one of my computers, which allowed me to enter the website around 11:30am. I had Kaleb's birthday weekend in mind but was sold out, so I ended up trying my birthday weekend, which was available!
After completing my ticket purchase, I noticed I still had time left in the virtual waiting room and may have been able to buy another set, but I decided not to risk it. I was already happy to score admission to Hamilton at face value. A few weeks before the performance date, the tickets arrived via first class mail in a tiny window envelope - interesting that heavyweight perforated paper worth thousands of dollars would be sent in this manner, as it was obvious what was inside.
(As of this writing, Hamilton is scheduled to return to San Francisco in February 2019, with tickets going on sale to the public "sometime in 2018". SHN members get first dibs, though you can sign up for advance notice of ticket sales through the SHN website. Keep an eye on American Express pre-sale dates as well, if offered this time around. Get your multiple browsers going and good luck!)
Hamilton was playing at the Orpheum Theatre, near the Civic Center in downtown San Francisco. I booked an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn Civic Center across the street from the venue so that we wouldn't have to worry about parking, waiting for BART, or walking too far at night in the city. I redeemed an anniversary free night certificate from the IHG credit card, with a second room booked on a travel agent reduced rate.
The day of the show arrived and the four of us (me, Dana, Sandy and her daughter Kaitlyn) hit the road to San Francisco. Once we got downtown, it was busier than we expected - it turned out that it was Pride Weekend, with many of the festivities happening around Civic Center. The hotel parking garage was full. I went inside to check in while the car was parked curbside; the front desk clerk suggested that we park in a residential neighborhood several blocks away. It would also enable us to leave freely on Sunday morning as the streets near the hotel would be blocked off for the Pride Parade. This was a great idea, and I also saved on garage parking fees!
Our rooms in the Holiday Inn were clean and comfortable, one with a view of the hills of San Francisco and the other, of the theater.
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The food was mostly delicious (stir-fried alligator was interesting) and the service was efficient and friendly.
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After dinner, it was show time! Patrons courteously lined up at the Orpheum, excited to enter the venue. People were taking pictures in front of the iconic Hamilton poster. The atmosphere was really fun; everyone was looking forward to watching the musical.
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What a spectacular show! I would see this again in a heartbeat. I had prepared for the musical by listening to the soundtrack on YouTube but it wasn't the same as watching it live.
Sunday morning after dropping off Kaitlyn at her uncle's house, the three of us headed over to Lovejoy's Tea Room for brunch, rated #1 in San Francisco on Yelp. Reservations were made easily online at their website. The restaurant was decorated whimsically, with themed hats you could borrow. The Queen's Tea selection was great; it was the first time I've tasted a crumpet, similar to an English muffin but more tender. I had a minor issue with being seated on an un-level bench that was shared with another table. A guy was sitting on the other side and was quite fidgety, so the entire bench was bouncing up and down with his every move. After a particularly violent slam, I turned around to inquire "What was that?" as if I didn't know. The tea room was booked solid so there was no other table to which we could move. It could have been a potential spill-hot-tea-on-self hazard, but fortunately, one of the ladies in their party understood what was happening and swapped seats with him. All was well after that! So if you plan to dine at Lovejoy's and are a party of three, request not to be seated at the shared bench to ensure a lovely time. (or bring some paper to jam under the wobbly bit)
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And that was the end of a nice birthday weekend!
What's next? Kaleb and I are headed to Marquis Los Cabos, an all-inclusive resort in Mexico and member of the Leading Hotels of the World...stay tuned!
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Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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