In July 2015, “Hamilton” had its Broadway premiere at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Inspired by the life of the founding father, Alexander Hamilton, the musical was the brainchild of award-winning composer and lyricist, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Walt Disney Studios celebrated the musical’s 10th anniversary with a theatrical release in movie theaters across the United States. “Hamilton’s” opening weekend pulled in $10 million of revenue across 1,825 theaters, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The filmed version of the musical was released initially for streaming on Disney+ during the July 4th weekend in 2020, the musical’s fifth anniversary.
The film has a three-hour runtime, according to Fandango, and includes a 10-minute intermission between the first and second acts. The film remains nearly unchanged in comparison to the Disney+ release, aside from the inclusion of an exclusive prologue featurette, “Reuniting the Revolution.”
“Reuniting the Revolution” includes interviews with original cast members and creators of the musical, reflecting upon the musical and its impact on their lives thus far.
Featured were writer and producer Miranda, music supervisor Alex Lacamoire, original cast members Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff and Daveed Diggs, among many other prominent members of the cast and production teams.
“Turn up, that’s it. When you watch this show, turn up. If you feel it, express it,” Diggs said in “Reuniting the Revolution.”
Even a decade later, “Hamilton” is far from dated, as the song “Best of Wives and Best of Women,” from the musical’s second act, recently went viral on TikTok. The trend features primarily young women, dressed in (mostly makeshift) colonial costumes, climbing out windows as they lip-sync to the lyrics.
The song has been used in TikTok videos more than 222.4k times, according to the platform’s analytics.
Many have donned those same costumes for the film’s theatrical release, including several creators of viral “Hamilton” TikToks who were invited to the red carpet premiere.
In an interview with Screen Slam at the red carpet premiere, Miranda reflected on the impact the musical has had, even ten years later.
“The fact that we get to democratize this and put it on big screens all over the country is really exciting,” Miranda said. “And the whole year has been like that. To get to perform on the Tony Awards with our original cast, and to get to celebrate with the current Broadway cast.”
At the 78th Tony Awards, hosted on June 8, many of the original cast members reunited to perform a medley of “Hamilton” songs to honor the musical’s anniversary. Audiences watching at home speculated about potential political symbolism during the performance.
Although that symbolism is based on speculation, the historical accuracy and thematic truths embedded in the musical live on. Embedded into the musical are questions with deep, human impact and relatability.
“It grapples with how we want to spend our time on this earth,” Miranda said in “Reuniting the Revolution.” “Do we wait for the right opportunity? Do we charge ahead like nothing’s ever going to break?”
Even after one decade of running on Broadway and five years of online streaming, “Hamilton” remains relevant in pop culture nationwide as fans flock to theaters to see Broadway on the big screen.
