Hamilton On Broadway 10th Anniversary

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 5:00pm

With the Aladdin 10th Anniversary news lately and Wicked's recent 20th, I was curious if anyone had theories on what Hamilton might do for their 10th Anniversary, which will be next February. One of my initial thoughts was maybe a reunion concert/fundraiser, limited edition merchandise, or if it might just be a series of special performances or a Gala.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 5:10pm

I'm sure the Public will do some type of fundraiser connected to Hamilton.

Lin's foundation and the Broadway show's producers will likely also want to capitalize on the show's anniversary in Summer 2025, as will the 2026 Tony Awards.

All these anniversary celebrations are well and good but we have to remember that it's not 10 years worth of performances due to that pesky little 18-month hiatus.

I'd love the NYT or someone to do a deep-dive of financial reporting...I bet the projections in Spring 2016 of where the numbers could be in 2024 are quite a bit lower than anticipated, due to the pandemic + the softening of interest in the show's national companies + the decrease in Broadway ticket costs. Not that it's doing BADLY by any means!

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 5:14pm

The ability to stream the OBC production on Disney+ sort of negates the need for any sort or cast reunion.  

Plus I doubt many of the cast are longing to "reunite" with (you know who).

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 5:52pm

The idea of a cast reunion also isn't a rarity for this show: We've seen Lin & Leslie hug it out on opening nights and at Q&A's, a bunch of them went to Puerto Rico multiple times, they've done political fundraisers, and some of these folks have worked together in the intervening years. It's publicly speaking, a fairly tight knit group.

The financial performance may also be such that Jeffrey Seller doesn't want to drop half a million on a lavish party. A show hitting 10 years is impressive, but not nearly as impressive as 15 or 20 years. At that point it'll be the 16th or 17th longest running Broadway show (hovering around Grease and 42nd Street, and behind Aladdin)

Seller's RENT 10th anniversary was a nonprofit benefit with a bunch of politicos in attendance. But it also happened mere months after the film was released. https://playbill.com/article/playbill-at-rents-tenth-anniversary-high-rollers-get-rent-high-com-132228

Updated On: 3/26/24 at 05:52 PM

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 5:57pm

Wouldn't any 10th anniversary of Hamilton be in reference to the August 2015 Broadway opening, not the February off-Broadway opening? 

[Springtime]

Posted: 3/26/24 at 6:07pm

Lin posted an Instagram story this week saying the Hamilton cast recording has now spent 400 weeks at number 1 of the Billboard cast album list (not consecutive). 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 1/18/25 at 7:46pm

On Its 10th Anniversary, ‘Hamilton’ Looks Heartbreakingly Different

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/opinion/hamilton-musical-history.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU4.wmqw.XklM00wuwyHt

[bear88]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 4:51am

Hamilton felt like a thunderbolt to me when I first saw it. A brilliantly crafted piece of work, Lin-Manuel Miranda had an audacious premise that he was uniquely suited to write and ran with it. The show helped revive my interest in musical theater. I saw it five times between 2016 and 2019, as well as the filmed stage production. I recently watched the footage of a young Miranda spit out the opening song, and it’s still a marvel.

But the show now feels like a museum piece, a musical with a political point of view that was already dying out even as it took Broadway by storm. It’s a bit ironic that the big Broadway musical that feels most relevant to our times isn’t Hamilton ​but Wicked. 

In fairness to Miranda, he anticipated the ebbs and flows of American political opinion too. Hamilton ends the show politically and actually dead, a spent force with his adversaries in power as well as the ability to shape his historical reputation. When I hear a song from the show, I still stop to appreciate the craftsmanship of the work. It’s just a little hard, in the moment, to think of the United States of America the way Hamilton wants me to feel.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 11:00am

bear88 said: "Hamiltonfelt like a thunderbolt to me when I first saw it. A brilliantly crafted piece of work, Lin-Manuel Miranda had an audacious premise that he was uniquely suited to write and ran with it. The show helped revive my interest in musical theater. I saw itfive times between 2016 and 2019, as well as the filmed stage production. I recently watched the footage of a young Miranda spit out the opening song, and it’s still a marvel.

But the show now feels like a museum piece, a musical witha political point of view that was already dying out even as it took Broadway by storm. It’s a bit ironic that the big Broadway musicalthat feels most relevant to our times isn’tHamilton​butWicked.

In fairness to Miranda, he anticipated the ebbs and flows of American political opinion too. Hamilton ends the show politically and actually dead, a spent force with his adversaries in power as well as the ability to shape his historical reputation. When I hear a song from the show, I still stop to appreciate the craftsmanship of the work. It’s just a little hard, in the moment, to think of the United States of America the wayHamiltonwants me to feel."

Those are good observations. I think even at the peak of its power, most of us assumed it was more of a "flash in the pan" massive hit than an enduring forever show like Phantom, Wicked and Lion King. I feel like it's ultimately settled somewhere in between. It obviously has been enduring and is still a big hit but for some reason, it feels less timeless than those other, more popular but IMO inferior shows. It's still an artistic triumph but also feels like a relic of the Obama era. Wicked felt tired on Broadway too the most recent time I saw it but not in a "feels like the Bush era" way and more in a "the show has been running 20 years and is now a machine" way. I think the movie proved it can still feel very fresh. Hamilton feels tired in a different, and somewhat more sad, way.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 12:26pm

Hamilton is an optimistic musical written by an optimistic man during an optimistic time.

I do wonder if, when the inevitable film version happens, Lin would want to revisit it and sharpen some elements (in particular its handling of slavery) or if he prefers not to touch his past work.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 12:27pm

For me Suffs, with the message progress is rarely a straight line and attempting it almost always ends in failure is more relevant to today than the more idealistic Hamilton.

On the other hand, Suffs just closed and Hamilton is going to run forever. Commercially, there's no question Hamilton remains relevant.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 2:51pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "For me Suffs, with themessage progress is rarely a straight line and attempting it almost always ends in failure is more relevant to today than the more idealistic Hamilton. On the other hand, Suffs just closed and Hamilton is going to run forever. Commercially, there's no question Hamilton remains relevant."

That has always been the problem with SUFFS: she could have told a sanitized story about the suffragists, with 10% more commerciality to the music and lyrics, and it might have been a bigger hit. But that's not who Shaina is and that's not what she set out to write.

It being the first historical musical of its type to open on Broadway since Hamilton (and at the Public, and with book/music/lyrics by one person who is also the star, and produced by Jill Furman, and involving Hillary Clinton), it was always going to be plagued with comparisons.

The response to the upcoming Abe Lincoln musical at La Jolla might be helped by the fact that Suffs came between it and Hamilton (whether it's good or bad).

Updated On: 1/19/25 at 02:51 PM

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 4:18pm

JSquared2 said: "The ability to stream the OBC production on Disney+ sort of negates the need for any sort or cast reunion.

Plus I doubt many of the castare longing to "reunite" with (you know who)."

I admit that I don’t follow the gossip as much as others.  I’m not sure who this last line is referring to?    I assume it’s regarding the cast wanting financial credit for helping create the show, but is there more that I am missing?

[Kad]

Posted: 1/19/25 at 5:05pm

Even after the ridiculous hype and cultural saturation, excessive praise (that special Kennedy Centers honors was a bit much) and the inevitable backlash and criticism, when I think of Hamilton, I think back to walking out of the Public on a snowy day in early 2015 while it was still in previews and thinking I had just seen one of the greatest new works of musical theatre in a generation, a true game changer and bar-raising work of art. 

Updated On: 1/19/25 at 05:05 PM

[theatrekid3302]

Posted: 1/20/25 at 9:36am

I’m more concerned about whether or not there will be any cast changes for the 10th anniversary 

[raddersons]

Posted: 1/20/25 at 10:22am

These things come in waves. Rent had a phase in the late 00s/early 10s where every millennial alive was like “How crazy, they just thought they couldn’t pay their rent?” It seemed a little insane this show was ever so popular. Now people see Rent as a period piece — a slice of a very specific 90s counterculture movement happening in the wake of AIDS and rapid gentrification after New York hit financial hardships in the 70s and 80s.

I think the recent City Center Ragtime showed this too. In the 90s the show was an idealistic model for the future, to a point where the ending of a blended white, black, and immigrant family comes across unrealistically sweet, especially considering the turmoil that comes before it. This time, seeing the characters fight for their convictions, I saw it as a call to arms and an inspiration to fight for a world we want to live in. 

Maybe Hamilton seems idealistic in a world where conservatives look at wildfires and scream “DEI did this!”, but who knows how it’ll look in another 10? 

 

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 1/20/25 at 10:40am

I don't think it helps that the show itself feels incredibly tired and low energy this many years later.