The Broadway sensation Hamilton is getting the feature film treatment. Disney purchased the film rights to Lin-Manuel Miranda's sophomore musical for a whopping $75 million. However, this won't be like other Broadway adaptations. In fact, the upcoming Hamilton movie isn't an adaptation at all. Here's everything you need to know.
Fans of Miranda's musicals probably know about the upcoming film adaptation of his first hit musical In The Heights. The adaptation of In The Heights is taking the book for the Broadway musical and turning into something completely new. This isn not what's happening with Hamilton. Instead of an adaptation, this feature film is a "live capture" of the actual Broadway show. The best part? It was shot at the Richard Rogers Theater in Manhattan with the original stage cast.
“Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgettable theater experience and a true cultural phenomenon, and it was for good reason that Hamilton was hailed as an astonishing work of art,” Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger said in a press release. “All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience. And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”
Miranda shared the big news with his followers on Twitter, as well as releasing a statement of his own. “I fell in love with musical storytelling growing up with the legendary Howard Ashman-Alan Menken Disney collaborations — The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin,” the Tony-award winner said. “I’m so proud of what [director] Tommy Kail has been able to capture in this filmed version of Hamilton — a live theatrical experience that feels just as immediate in your local movie theater. We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of Hamilton to the largest audience possible.”
Kail, who directed the original run of the Broadway show, as well as the live capture, added: “We are thrilled for fans of the show, and new audiences across the world, to experience what it was like on stage — and in the audience — when we shot this at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016. We wanted to give everyone the same seat, which is what this film can provide."
Just last week, Miranda hinted at the possibility of the live capture being distributed to theaters in an interview with Variety. “What I’m most excited about [is] you all have that friend that is like, ‘I saw it with the original cast.’ We’re stealing that brag from everyone because you’re all going to see it with the original cast,” he said said. “We’re just trying to find the right time to do it.”
Hamilton will hit theaters on October 15, 2021. Finally, fans from all over the world will get to be in the room where it happened.
Photo: Getty