Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit musical Hamilton is coming to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in March 2021. The announcement by the NSW State Government puts an end to long speculation that Melbourne, with its greater variety of music theatre venues, was likely to secure the musical’s Australian premiere.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton. Photo © Joan Marcus

Featuring music, lyrics and book by Miranda, the critical and commercial juggernaut explores the dazzling rise of Alexander Hamilton, first treasurer of the United States and one of the nation’s Founding Fathers. The sung-through, hip-hop musical is notable for casting actors of colour in the roles of the Founding Fathers and other historical figures, as well as its celebration of America’s immigrants.

Hamilton received a record-setting 16 Tony nominations in 2016, winning 11, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score. It also won the 2016 Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The New York Times’ Ben Brantley wrote of the musical’s Broadway premiere in 2015, “I am loath to tell people to mortgage their...