Could Hamilton, Created by & Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Head to Broadway This Season?

The Public Theater’s production of Hamilton, created by and starring Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, only began previews off-Broadway on January 20, but it looks as if the founding father may already be eyeing a move uptown. The tuner’s producers, including Jeffrey Seller, aim to put the show on the fast track to open this spring on Broadway, The New York Post reports.

Pre-opening buzz surrounding the musical has led to the assumption of a transfer down the line, though less assured is the timeline of the move. April 23 marks the Tony Awards eligibility deadline, and theater space is dwindling. One available house is the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where If/Then plays its final performance on March 22. The venue holds a great deal of nostalgia for both Miranda and Seller, as the two took home Tonys in 2008 for its previous tenant In the Heights (Miranda for composing, Seller for producing, naturally). Another option could be the Nederlander Theatre (where Seller brought Rent in 1996). The musical Honeymoon in Vegas is struggling to hit the box office jackpot there despite good reviews. However, no shutter date for the tuner has been announced.

If not this season, 2015-16 would surely be on the table. The Public Theater’s 2013 production of Fun Home sat out a season before transferring to Broadway; preview performances will begin at the Circle in the Square Theatre on March 27.

A move this season could affect Hamilton's previously announced extension at the Public through April 5; Seller reportedly has the right to cancel it to secure the show’s move before the cutoff date. Regardless of whether the production will stay at the Public or light up the Great White Way, the show will be short one star. Brian d’Arcy James, who plays King George, will take his final bow on March 1 to headline Something Rotten on Broadway (where he’ll remain British). A replacement for James has not yet been announced.

Bringing Hamilton into the current season would likely put two Public Theater shows up against each other at the Tony Awards and effectively throw in a last minute wrench for the season’s other tuners (including Something Rotten, Doctor Zhivago and Finding Neverland) hoping to take home the big prize. Less certain is the Broadway landscape this time next year, but should Hamilton wait until then, it would be in the mix with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. Miranda and Lloyd Webber have a great deal of respect for each other; surely, the maestros of the two sides of the pond can keep things civil.

You know, unlike the 18th century.