Public radio’s longest-running daily global news program.
©2025 The World from PRX
PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402.

Does “Hamilton” have a back door? Sean Rameswaram and his mom wait 13 hours in a cancellation line to see if they can score day-of tickets to the hottest show on Broadway.
“Hamilton,”the unprecedented smash issold outuntil 2017. Tickets go for more than a month’s rent onStubHub. Thedigital lotteryis Broadway’s version of Powerball. But there might be a back door for true fanatics — but be ready to cancel all your plans for up to 24 hours.
Roughly one year ago, Sean Rameswarammade a promise to his mother:he would get her into”Hamilton”the next time she visited New York. Not havingpresidential-levelaccess to the Richard Rogers Theatre, this meant hitting the cancellation line where house seats are typically offered to the public once declined by members of the cast and crew.
“Hamilton”isn’t your typical show and its cancellation line is no less extraordinary. People sleep in it, people bribe their way to the front of it, and people havesevere disagreementsover its very existence. Undeterred, Sean and Chitra Rameswaram showed upbefore dawn onespring daywith provisions (burritos, reading material, and lots of water) — and high hopes of not throwing away their shot.