Saying you've seen Hamilton - for which tickets can set you back $1440 a pop - confers status in the New York social scene.
Saying you've seen Hamilton - for which tickets can set you back $1440 a pop - confers status in the New York social scene.
Dating is rarely easy, but it was a lot easier for me before 2015. Not because I was younger, thinner or less cynical. Rather it's because, before 2015, Hamilton had not yet opened on Broadway.
What does Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical have to do with my love life? A lot more than I would like it to, as much as I love the show.
According to Carrie Bradshaw, when you live in New York, you're always looking for a job, a significant other or an apartment - the three elusive keys to success and happiness. Now that list has grown to include tickets to Hamilton.
Yes, Hamilton, the groundbreaking musical that's sold out months in advance. When a single ticket can cost over US$1000 ($1440), revealing just how much money you spent on the show has become a status symbol.
I have seen Hamilton. Three times, in fact, thanks to my job as a journalist, which frequently involves writing about theatre. And when I'm dating, somehow that one aspect of my existence is all anyone wants to talk about.
I can see why, if people read my work, they might think I somehow have easy access to the show.
I've interviewed most of the original cast. I wrote about Javier Munoz's triumph over cancer and, in what is by far the most unexpected moment of my career, I have beat-boxed while the show's creator, Miranda, free-style.
When New Yorkers meet someone for the first time, they usually ask "What do you do?".
When meeting potential gentlemen callers, I've come to dread that question, because about 95 per cent of the time, the conversation immediately turns to Hamilton.
The exchange usually goes something like this:
Him: "What do you do?"
Me: "I'm a journalist."
Him: "What do you write about?"
Me: "Culture and politics. I focus on feminism and healthcare."
Him: "What kind of culture?"
Me: "I write a lot about theatre. And film and TV as well."
To save time, I've begun answering the "What do you do?" question with: "I write about theatre. Yes, I've seen Hamilton. No, I can't get you tickets."
To people outside the industry, my work may appear to be extremely glamorous.
Barack Obama greets the cast and crew of Hamilton after seeing the play with his daughters in 2015. Photo / AP
I know I'm incredibly fortunate to have a career I love that involves seeing plays and musicals, and interviewing the artists who work on them.
What these potential suitors don't realise is that theatre criticism is a fast-diminishing field in which many people are not even paid for their writing.
We don't do the work for the money; we do it because we love it and we can't imagine not doing it.
Sometimes seeing these shows is the only compensation we get, so having them immediately viewed by someone else as an opportunity to get tickets is hardly a path to romance.
I would love to meet a man who enjoys seeing theatre and would appreciate all of the dates we'd go on together - not just Hamilton.
One of the musical's most famous lyrics states: "I am not throwing away my shot."
I wish these men would realise that when they ask if I can get them tickets, they have already thrown away theirs.
