The 2015 Broadway musical, “Hamilton”, is facing mixed reviews after its release for their 10-year anniversary.
“Hamilton”, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is a 2-hour and 40-minute musical, that tells the story of the early years of the United States and the American Revolution. The story is shared through the eyes of the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, with catchy hip-hop music and even some R&B-style lyrics.
The musical was originally opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6, 2015. The original cast, including the author/writer for the book, musical, and lyrics, Lin-Manuel Miranda, shot the film version in 2016, which was later released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020.
The Broadway musical’s 10th anniversary was celebrated at the 78th annual Tony Awards, which consisted of the original cast coming together and performing just under five minutes of the show’s most well-known songs. They also announced that the show would be coming to the big screens worldwide, starting September 5th, 2025, and running for a few months.
Despite the volatile lyrics and differences in political views the show mentions, none of those seemed to be a problem. However, the thing that did cause an uproar on social media and even reached back to the cast members, shocked hundreds.
The most common courtesy when seeing a showing in theatres is being quiet, no phones, and overall respecting other people’s experiences; however, cast members were quick to encourage curious fans about the burning question they all had: “Is it a sing-along?”
Since the Broadway musical has been released for 10 years and even recorded and streamed for the past five years, Hamilton super-fans took it upon themselves to share how they treated the show as a singing opportunity. The difference is that not everyone has seen the show, and some chose this opportunity to watch it for the first time, voicing their annoyance at the disturbance inside theatres.
So, should Hamilton be treated as a sing-along? Or is it the same as other movies, and if you can’t watch quietly, don’t go?
Theaters should take matters into their own hands, offer a singing option that has captions for those who want to sing their favorite songs, but also take into consideration those who want to quietly enjoy the musical. It’s not whose opinion is most popular or who the cast members are agreeing with, but what is going to do better for the very loved musical.
Despite the controversy, the show has been around for many years, and despite the new release in theatres, it is still available to stream on Disney+ +, both for old fans and new fans. The musical will be shown in AMC theatres around you for a couple more weeks, so take the opportunity, go watch, and maybe learn a few new things, maybe you’ll find a new loved musical.
