History has its eyes on “Hamilton” as the unique, award-winning production celebrates its 10th anniversary.
The musical focuses on the often overlooked Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, through his childhood in the Caribbean, immigration to the US colonies, involvement in the American Revolution and its many influential figures, his family life, his work for the expanding U.S, and his eventual downfall ending in his death at the hands of his former friend-turned nemesis, Aaron Burr.
“Hamilton” was an instant success when it premiered Off-Broadway in NYC’s Public Theater on February 17th, 2015, where it shortly became the most sought-after (and expensive) tickets in town! These tickets were snatched up almost immediately and some were resold for as much as $828 per ticket. On August 6, 2015, it debuted on Broadway and soon raked in awards from the 2016 Tonys and Grammys, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The “Hamilton” Album was even added, as of this year, to the US Library of Congress National Recording Registry because it was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant”.
Now, a fun fact about me: I’m a HUGE “Hamilton” fan. Like, rapping-all-of-the-songs-from-memory and searching-up-obscure-trivia type of fan. I’ve seen Hamilton twice live; once on Broadway in New York, and once in Chicago. And of course, I had to sing along (quietly of course) to every song. But I first saw “Hamilton” as the film version on Disney+, which came out on July 3, 2020.
I’d imagine that Disney+ was the first place that many people also saw “Hamilton”, too! Downloads of the Disney+ app spiked in the US by 74% over the weekend that “Hamilton” was released, compared to the previous 4 weekends. Out of a Prospect survey of 335 students, 41.5% have seen “Hamilton” in general.
As it gained momentum, it began several national tours, each named after a character in the show (Angelica, Eliza, And Peggy, and Philip), and even several international iterations. One international tour, which began in the Philippines September 2023, toured for 10 weeks before coming to the United Arab Emirates in January 2024. The Angelica Company is the longest-running (9 years) among the national tours and is, in fact, still running! The tour is set to close August 9th of 2026.
The “Hamilton” Album also became popular on Spotify after its 2015 debut. The most popular song from the musical in 2016 was the classic “Alexander Hamilton” with 23 million streams. As of this year, the most popular song has changed to “Wait for It” with 299 million streams—and counting! Among Prospect students, the favorite is a tie between “Wait for it” and “The Room Where It Happens”. I love those ones, but I don’t really think they’re the best. Here’s my take on the Top 3 “Hamilton” songs:
1. “Cabinet Battle #2”
I honestly love the Cabinet Battles because of the intense exchanges between Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. This one is about the debate on whether the US, a newborn country, should assist the French in their revolution against English rule. Especially when Jefferson and Hamilton personally insult each other (“I’ll remind you he is not secretary of state!” And “[He] smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty”)…it’s basically like hearing two 5th graders argue.
2.“Aaron Burr, Sir”
In this song, Hamilton meets Burr, Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, and John Laurens. Not much can top Burr’s “Talk less, smile more” motto or the musical’s repeating variations of the phrase “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?” Speaking from personal experience, this song is great for an off-pitch duet!
3. “Farmer Refuted”
This song is about how Hamilton challenges loyalist views, specifically speaking against Samuel Seabury, a minister for the Anglican Church who published his complaints against the Continental Congress under the pen name “A.W. Farmer”. The part that gets me every time is the part where Hamilton starts talking over Seabury and literally steps in front of him (“My dog speaks more eloquently!”). Pure gold.
Here’s an unappreciated song from the musical that I think could use a little bit of love:
This one might not be as well-known as the others, but it’s still an amazing song! It’s about Hamilton’s oldest son (in real life, Hamilton had 8 children), Philip, who is now 19 and is determined to uphold his father’s legacy. I love how determined Philip is to prove himself in the world (like father, like son), and I can relate to how he has to live up to his family’s name and unspoken expectations. Give this song a listen!
The Hamilton trend on social media has helped the musical reach a new audience. In fact, of the 334 students who responded, 9.4% participated in the trend. If anyone doesn’t know the trend (as I did before I looked it up), here’s the rundown: the Hamilton trend involves a gender-bent lipsync to Hamilton’s “Best of Wives and Best of Women” track while dressed in colonial-style clothes (some even have lanterns or quills), where Hamilton gets caught by Eliza Schuyler, his wife, trying to sneak out of the house for a variety of different reasons (in the musical, he’s sneaking out to duel Aaron Burr, but some TikTok creators interpret it has Hamilton sneaking out to cheat on Eliza or something completely different). The trend is meant to be silly and absurd, with countless people (pretending to be Hamilton) climbing out of windows and out doggy doors! Take a look at #hamiltontrend and #bestofwivesandbestofwomen on TikTok!
To celebrate the musical’s 10th anniversary, a portion of the original cast, including Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton’s original actor who also wrote the musical), Leslie Odom Jr (who plays Aaron Burr), Phillipa Soo (who plays Eliza), and several others reunited at the 2025 Tonys to perform a Hamilton medley.
“Hamilton’s” August 6th show included a curtain call where 85 show alumni and 23 original Broadway cast members joined the night’s cast on stage for the final bows. Lin-Manuel Miranda was among the original cast members and led the audience through a medley of the musical’s songs.
If that wasn’t enough, that same night, there was a surprise block party just a few hundred feet from the Richard Roger’s Theater in Times Square. There was merch, pictures with cast members, vendors selling food, and the Roots drummer Questlove deejaying the musical’s tracks while people danced in the streets.
Don’t “throw away your shot” to see “Hamilton” in theaters or catch the Angelica Company in Chicago on their tour next March and April!
