Broadway's Musical Hit HAMILTON Is Heading to the Big Screen Next Year With the Original Cast
Good news for all of us who are fans of the mega-hit Broadway musical, Hamilton. We had heard stirrings in the past about the musical coming to the big screen, but we now have official word that the film is set in stone with Disney, and it will be starring the original Broadway cast!
It’s explained that this movie version isn’t an adaptation of the play like Miranda’s upcoming film In the Heights, but rather “a ‘live capture’ of a stage performance.” The version of the play we’ll see was shot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in Manhattan before the original cast members started to leave the production.
I think this is fantastic news, as this was the cast whose voices we all memorized in the soundtrack and who made the musical the success it was.
Variety reports that Disney CEO Robert Iger had this to say about the project:
“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. 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.”
It really is so exciting, because so few fans were able to see the original cast. It was an instant hit, and tickets were hard to come by. Now we can all enjoy it! The returning cast includes Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Jonathan Groff as King George III, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.
Miranda said in a statement:
“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.' I’m so proud of what 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.
“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. We’re just trying to find the right time to do it.”
I am so stoked for this, and I can’t wait to see it on the big screen! Check out the official Disney tweet below, and see Hamilton in theaters on October 15, 2021.