Planning to see Hamilton? Make sure you pay attention to the costumes

Only a handful of weeks away from the start of rehearsals for Hamilton in Sydney, a cast of more than 65 tailors, weavers, cobblers and wig makers are busy making sure the show's delicate 18th century gowns and military attire are fit for royalty. Even the socks are purpose-built.

In fact, when the Australian cast of the world's most successful musical takes to the stage in March, the only part of their costumes that won't have been custom handmade is their underpants.

After nearly a year of work through the pandemic, the team is close to finishing the 725 costume pieces that will be worn by the 35 performers when the show about Alexander Hamilton, the US' first treasury secretary, has its premiere at the Lyric Theatre.

A cobbler handmakes a pair of boots that will be worn in Hamilton.Credit:James Brickwood

Thousands of metres of material – from calico to silk – have been cut and hundreds of metres of human hair has been weaved into wigs. The buttons that appear on the waistcoats of the male ensemble (and may not even be visible to many in the audience) weren't picked up from the local shops – some 780 of them were especially made for the show at a New York foundry.

While the costumes for the Australian production will look the same as those used in the original Broadway show, which opened in 2015, there is a local twist. The buffalo hide cobblers used to make the shoes has been substituted with kangaroo leather – to allow performers more room to hop.

More than 65 people have spent almost a year recreating the costumes from the original Broadway production. Credit:AP

"Kangaroo leather is very flexible, so it suits the requirements of the dancers in this show," shoemaker Jodie Morrison says.

Hamilton's original costume designer Paul Tazewell has supervised the costume build from his home in New York, via Zoom. "There's been a lot of late nights," he said.

Tazewell was involved in Hamilton from the earliest workshops at The Public Theatre in New York, and developed his costume design as creator Lin-Manuel Miranda developed the show.

The wig to be worn by Akina Edmonds, who plays Angelica in the show, took more than 60 hours to make.Credit:James Brickwood

"[The design] was informed by both images that we collectively carry as far as who our forefathers and those men who created this country were, and then thinking about how Lin wanted to tell the story of Hamilton," he said.

"The way we are taught history is we get told about these old guys in old wigs. But when you pull it back you realise these were young guys that were full of energy, making a lot of noise in creating their new world. There's a freshness that needs to be retained and reflected in the costumes."

Under the current public health orders in NSW, Hamilton will open to 75 per cent capacity. But producer Michael Cassel said the show must go on. "We're at a tipping point now, so we are going to open," he said.

"Ideally we would be playing to 100 per cent and that's where I want us to get … but first and foremost, is doing the right thing and adhering by the regulations that are imposed and dictated by the government, which are the right things to do.

"I'm hoping that what we might see over the next sort of eight to 12 weeks is the relaxing of those restrictions, particularly for theatre, and I'd like to think that by the time March 17 rolls around – it being our first preview – we are playing to capacity."

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