WhenHamiltonmade its off-Broadway debut in February 2015, it turned the theatre world upside down. On paper, the sung-through musical — with its relatively small cast and practically bare stage, based on an 800-plus-page biography of America’s first Secretary of the Treasury — didn’t exactly sound like a crowdpleaser. But the seemingly dense and dry subject matter turned out to be an ideal vessel for the vision, passion, and life experience of its writer and star,Lin-Manuel Miranda.Hamiltonconnected with audiences. It sold out its first run, then moved to the Richard Rogers Theater and Broadway proper later that year, where it continues to play to packed houses to this day.
The phenomenon that isHamiltoncelebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and those affiliated with the production are marking the occasion in several ways. Miranda’s original co-star,Leslie Odom Jr., will reprise his role as Aaron Burr in the New York live show this fall. Past and current members of the cast participated in a charity performance and block party on August 6.And the recorded version will finally come to movie theaters across North America for a limited engagement starting September 5, with an international rollout to follow. The screen is inherently a more accessible medium than the stage. Millions of fans can experienceHamiltonper night, and the ticket is considerably cheaper.WhetherHamiltonstill has the cultural cachet to make an event of its cinematic release is another story.
‘Hamilton’ Was the Right Show at the Right Time
The life story of Alexander Hamilton might not sound like riveting entertainment from the perspective of the 21st century. However, Miranda made many savvy adaptation choices that allowed audiences to identify with his 18th-century characters and their circumstances. While the show technically covers Hamilton’s life from birth to death, the first act mostly explores his young adulthood, including his marriage to Elizabeth Schuyler and his time spent as George Washington’s aide-de-camp during the American Revolution.
The second act sees Hamilton politicking as a member of the first cabinet while his personal life begins to unravel. Miranda’s interpretation of historian Ron Chernow’s work depicts the Founding Fathers and their compatriots as being appropriately contemporary in their time and flawed but vividly alive.His Hamilton is ambitious, brilliant, hot-headed, lustful, loving, conniving, but in his own way, principled.
He’s also an immigrant. Miranda — a first-generation American of mostly Puerto Rican descent — clearly saw something of himself in the real Hamilton, who was born in Nevis, in the Caribbean. The musical underscores Hamilton’s status as an immigrant and child born out of wedlock, and uses it to create parallels to marginalized groups in modern society.The casting of actors was also political. Many of the characters inHamiltonowned slaves, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. In the original Broadway cast, these characters are played by people of color. The style of music inHamiltonis yet another way the play comments on topics like identity and power. Younger and more idealistic characters communicate their ideas through hip-hop and R&B, while older and more cynical characters express their opinions through traditional showtunes.
Hamilton’ssociopolitical themes, sound,and inventive choreographyweren’t cutting-edge in the culture at large, but they were revolutionary for Broadway. The show went on to receive a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations and won 11, and its few losses were only because multiple actors were nominated in the same categories.Perhaps more importantly,Hamiltonwas cool. The rapper/actor Common and then-President and First Lady of the United States, Barack and Michelle Obama, introduced the cast on the Tony Awards broadcast. Common called it one of the best pieces of art ever made, and President Obama lauded it for being “a civics lesson our kids can’t get enough of.” Michelle Obama saidHamiltonwas, “a musical about the miracle that is America, a place of citizenship where we debate ideas with passion and conviction.”
That may have been true then, and had the Disney+ film come to movie theaters in 2016, it may well have been theAvatarof movie musicals, doing all-time numbers at the box office.But the last decade in American life and art has affectedHamilton’sreputation in a way that could render the September release little more than an afterthought.
‘Hamilton’ Has Become the Establishment, But Core Fans Still Have Its Back
Make no mistake;Hamiltonis still popular. At present, productions can be seen in New York, London, and on North American and U.K. tours. But it’s no longer cool or forward-thinking the way it was in 2016.Part of the slight diminishment, if not decline, ofHamilton’splace in the culture was inevitable. Nothing can remain trendy forever. Shows likeHadestownandA Strange Loop,as well as recent revivals ofCabaretandJesus Christ Superstar, have continued to push the boundaries of color and gender-blind or conscious casting, subject matter, staging, and sound. Meanwhile, the behemoth that was and isHamiltonhas become the establishment, much the way other progressive, long-running Broadway hits likeRent,Wicked,orThe Book of Mormondid before it.
Hamiltonalso had to contend with the political divisions of the Trump Era and the COVID-19 pandemic. While some of the public (admittedly, never its target audience anyway) regarded it as too woke, more left-leaning fans began to complain that the portraits it painted of the Founding Fathers were still too favorable. In particular, they believed the show whitewashed Hamilton’s attitudes about and involvement with the slave trade. More generally,Hamiltoncame to be seen as intellectually lazy, patriotic, and pro-capitalist.
Meanwhile, bringing Hamilton to the masses became just as complicated and fraught with challenges. Miranda anddirector Thomas Kailopted for a filmed live production rather than a film adaptation (thoughit could still happen) and sold the rights to Disney for $75 million. Disney planned to releaseHamiltonin movie theaters in 2021, but instead used the hit musical to promote its new streaming service, Disney+, in the summer of 2020, when captive audiences were all home during quarantine. It had the desired effect. Disney saw an uptick in subscriptions. But it also madeHamiltonreadily available to everyone, at all times, for the low price of a Disney+ account.
Will all those fans who shelled out big bucks for Broadway tickets, or who logged into Disney+, show up forHamiltonat the multiplex? Probably. The show still has a devoted following. Just this week,a TikTok trend emergedin which women, crudely dressed as Alexander Hamilton, climb out of windows to a few lines from the soundtrack.Miranda even got in on the action. What’ll be different in 2025 than it might’ve been in 2016 or even 2021 is thatHamiltonprobably won’t pull in many new people outside its core fanbase.
Movie musicals still have the potential to dominate the box office. Look no further than last year’sWicked. But enthusiasts of that show had been waiting for a film adaptation for almost 20 years.Hamilton— which can already be experienced the same way on stage or streaming — will be a harder sell.Hamiltonis coming to theaters on September 5.
