‘Hamilton’ receives $30 million government Covid-relief grant

According to the New York Times, Broadway’s hit musical “Hamilton” could be eligible for up to $50 million in federal aid from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. This $16 billion federal program provides pandemic relief to live event businesses.

The pandemic caused the Broadway production to be shut down, along with four other tour productions. Each production was eligible for $10,000,000 to make up for the loss of revenue through this grant program. (A London show is also eligible, but is not eligible for the grant.

Since its opening in 2015, the Tony Award-winning musical has been seen by a full house. It has been seen millions of times. While some may criticize the federal aid for a highly successful production, Jeffrey Seller, the show’s lead producer, stated to the New York Times that Hamilton’s finances will be restored to pre-pandemic levels.

It is common for shows to separate tour productions. Hamilton, however, has the most tours due to its popularity and is therefore eligible for $50 million. The paper reported that grants have been granted to two tours and the Broadway production. The remaining two are still waiting on hearing back from the paper.

Seller stated to the New York Times, that no grant money will go to investors, producers, or royalty payments. Instead, the money will be used to reopen costs and reimburse pandemic-related expenses that were incurred by the productions. These were all expenses that the productions had with no income.

Reopening expenses may include rehearsals for actors and musicians, stagehands, workshops, repairs and replacements to equipment, transporting people or sets, Covid-19 safety personnel, marketing the shows, and other expenses.

CNBC reached Hamilton via phone but was unable to reach a spokesperson.

The second Covid-19 relief package included a program to provide assistance for cultural events and venues that offer live entertainment. This was intended to sustain the industry, which was hard hit by the pandemic. Many of these venues were shut down for months because of safety measures. Based on their gross revenues from 2019, eligible businesses include music clubs, theaters, and promoters. They can access up to $10,000,000

The program was slow to start after its initial launch was delayed by technology problems, which have since been fixed. It was also criticised for slow processing of applications. According to the Small Business Association (SBA), more than 14,000 small business owners applied for the grants.

Last week, Senator Bill Hagerty (Republican from Tenn.) stated The majority of aid applications for shuttered locations will be processed by the SBA by early July.

Other recipients of $10 million grants include the Nederlander Organization which owns nine theatres located in New York and Jujamcyn Theatres which currently houses “The Book of Mormon”, according to agency records.

The complete story can be found in the New York Times.