Rise up Hamilton fans! It seems we’ll be seeing the world-renown musical in the comfort of our home a lot sooner than we were expecting.
Hamilton was originally slated to be released in theaters October of 2021, with Disney having secured the distribution rights. However with the spread of the COVID-19, things have been changing rapidly within the entertainment industry. All theatrical releases have either been pushed back, or new movies have been made available on demand much earlier than they would have been otherwise. Following in the footsteps of the latter, it looks like Hamilton will be bypassing a theatrical release in 2021, to stream on home screens as early as this summer.
Hamilton is Coming Home
Musical theater fans can now expect to see Hamilton stream exclusively on Disney+ starting July 3, 2020, right on time for the Fourth of July holiday!
It was undoubtedly a big decision on Disney’s part to forego a theatrical release for such an anticipated release. While the hit musical first opened on Broadway in 2015, its popularity never waned. The show currently has five different productions in different cities (three are touring productions), with two more productions planned for Hamburg and Sydney. Even though COVID-19 has caused a halt to all current productions, the fervor of Hamilton-mania is still as strong as ever.
The show was originally filmed in June of 2016 with the original principal cast. The taping had been stored away for the past few years, without solid plans on when it would be released to the public. Whenever he was asked about it, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator and original Alexander Hamilton, would mention a vague far-off future and ensure his fans that the recording was safe “at Gringotts.”
While there hasn’t been official word as to why Disney has pushed the release of the show to be a Disney+ exclusive, when they could arguably make more money with a theatrical release. The current pandemic may have had a big part in it.
It’s no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has halted production on many different movies and TV shows, which includes Disney+ exclusive shows that were eagerly anticipated by fans. Some of those shows include Marvel shows like Falcon and the Winter Solider, and WandaVision. If promised Disney+ exclusive shows are being delayed due to the virus, it would make sense that Disney would want to offer up something in the meantime to continue to entice new subscribers and to retain current subscribers. Either way, everyone will soon be able to delight in the cultural phenomenon that is Hamilton.
Official Disney Hamilton Press Release
The Walt Disney Company, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller and Thomas Kail are pleased to announce that Disney+ will fast track the premiere of the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton,” bringing the 11-time-Tony Award®-, GRAMMY Award®-, Olivier Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical to homes around the world on July 3, 2020.
Producers for “Hamilton,” the film of the original Broadway production, include Miranda, Seller, and Kail, who also directs.
The film is a leap forward in the art of “live capture” which transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. Combining the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience “Hamilton.”
“No other artistic work in the last decade has had the cultural impact of ‘Hamilton’—an inspiring and captivating tale told and performed in a powerfully creative way. In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” said Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company. “We are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to Disney+ on the eve of Independence Day, and we have the brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda and the team behind ‘Hamilton’ to thank for allowing us to do so more than a year before planned.”
“I’m so proud of how beautifully Tommy Kail has brought ‘Hamilton’ to the screen. He’s given everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “I’m so grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4th weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down. I’m so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and I’m so glad that we’re able to make it happen. I’m so proud of this show. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, “Hamilton” features Tony Award® winners Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
The cast also includes Carleigh Bettiol, Ariana DeBose, Hope Easterbrook, Sydney James Harcourt, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Elizabeth Judd, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart and Ephraim Sykes.
Are you excited for the Disney Plus release of Hamilton? Do you wish you could have seen it in movie theaters with an audience first? Let’s talk all musical things down in the comment section or on our social media! Bookmark The Illuminerdi for even more daily reasons to sing out loud!
KEEP READING: LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA GIFTS A NEW HAMILTON SONG FREE TO FANS AS BROADWAY GOES DARK
