My daughter, Max, is thirsty to see Hamilton.
I am as well, but with a college tuition to pay one has to wonder if it’s worth shelling out hundreds of dead presidents to see a show about dead founding fathers and costs almost as much as her education.
But now, the theater gods are smiling, or singing, because there is now a new app to purchase cheaper Hamilton tickets.
According to The Chicago Tribune and Variety, The HamApp is sure to please fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda phenomenon and is now available now for iOS and Android devices in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, Miranda and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller announced Friday.
The app allows users enter a lottery to win two tickets for just $10, creating a simpler ticket buying experience for people looking to score a seat to the coveted show, the company said in a news release.
The app also features fun Hamilton stickers, camera filters, merchandise, music, news, and will eventually incorporate augmented reality and interactive karaoke tracks, according to the release.
“We are constantly exploring ways to allow more people to experience Hamilton in its many forms,” producer Jeffrey Seller said in a statement. “This mobile app is designed to do just that — provide exciting new ways for fans to interact with and gain access to the musical they love.”
The app also happens to be one of the first applications built with Flutter, which is also used as the UI layer for Google’s in-progress Fuchsia OS.
Flutter is a new mobile SDK that can be used to build and design apps for Android and iOS. It has a focus on fast development, as well as expressive UI components that leverage Material Design principles, like motion.
In a report from Google, the Hamilton’s app development team discussed their thinking and choices. Flutter was primarily chosen due to the small-time frame that the app had to be developed in for both Android and iOS:
“That’s why we decided to use Flutter, a new modern, reactive UI toolkit that is portable across iOS and Android. Flutter allows us to have a less complicated codebase, which means we can be more efficient and keep parity between platforms.”
Perhaps, yes perhaps, I will keep this app handy and be able to afford Hamilton without my daughter’s education suffering. The app launches for Chicago, August 29. Hamilton in Chicago continues to play to sold-out crowds at the PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.
Follow Colin Costello on Twitter @colincostello10.
