TDF Stages

Disney+ will be screening the filmed performance

Last week, when Lin-Manuel Miranda said on Live with Kelly and Ryan that the Hamilton movie would be released "sooner rather than later," he wasn't kidding! Disney+ is fast-tracking the premiere (by 15 months!) of the "live capture" of the original Broadway production of Hamilton. Considering the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning musical is about the birth of our nation, it's fitting that it's being released just in time for Independence Day. Starting July 3, subscribers to Disney's streaming service will be able to watch the film, which was shot in June 2016 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre when creator Miranda was starring in the title role alongside Tony winners Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Leslie Odom, Jr. According to the press release, this version of Hamilton will combine "the best elements of live theatre, film and streaming." Finally, something to look forward to this summer! It's a genius move on Disney's part to offset some of the losses from the closures of its theme parks and shows. If you're not already a subscriber, you can sign up on the Disney+ website. Musical fans will find a lot of other content to enjoy on the service, including all the classic Disney animated movies and the reality series Encore!, which reunites the casts of high school productions years after graduation for one last performance.

Miranda, Broadway's most enthusiastic cheerleader, is a producer of the film, so he definitely helped make this happen. Perhaps he was inspired by the original cast's reunion on John Krasinski's web series Some Good News in April, which went viral. We post that heartwarming video below to get you psyched for July 3! The whole episode is fun but the Hamilton cast appears around the 11-minute mark.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: The original Broadway cast of Hamilton. Photo by Joan Marcus.