Robert Samuel’s business has put him at the forefront of cultural events – and shines a light on the state of capitalism in 2022
At 5am, it’s as dark as it ever gets in Times Square, where massive digital billboards never stop blasting light into the sky, illuminating city blocks across midtown.City, but at this time it’s deserted, save for five people standing outside the Winter Garden Theatre.
The show is the hottest ticket in town, largely because Hugh Jackman is playing the lead role of Professor Harold Hill, and to get a seat fans have to get down here early. Or they pay Samuel, who has been doing this full-time for nine years.The weather is 46F but it’s nothing compared to what Samuel refers to, with a mix of dread and reverence, as “the Hamilton line”.
At the beginning of Hamilton’s run, Samuel would buy two tickets, the maximum allowed, and hand them over to clients. As the iPhone became the hottest consumer item on the planet, Samuel was there, waiting in line outside the company’s flagship New York store.Photograph: Peter Foley/EPA Pre-pandemic, the job was enough for Samuel to earn up to $80,000 a year. But the job has exposed some of the uglier sides of society. Samuel says the worst part of the job is the racism that he and his team, many of whom are Black and Latino, have experienced.
“A lot of tourists come from red states. And they bring those attitudes with them. And it’s like: ‘OK. This is a blue state. This is a blue city. You need to just shut up.’”
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