How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore sell out theaters after being on streaming for five years? Why did former President Barack Obama record a remix of George Washington’s song “One Last Time?” Can we actually enjoy “Hamilton” without inadvertently revising history and glorifying the founding fathers?
My answer is yes, under some conditions. Art is inherently political, and Lin-Manuel Miranda embraces that with this show. However, there should be a separation between Miranda’s radical version of Alexander Hamilton, and Alexander Hamilton, the real-life, flawed political figure of the 1700s who owned enslaved people. I don’t believe most fans of “Hamilton” consciously idealize the founding fathers, but they might not fully understand the nuances Miranda wrote into the production and characters. Famously, every line of the musical was carefully constructed, with the writing process taking Miranda seven years.
I found myself in a theater last Sunday where I sat for three hours to watch the 10th anniversary theatrical release of “Hamilton.” While the 9 p.m. showing at AMC Boston Common 19 was not packed, it did surprise me that 20 or so Bostonians paid $18 to see a musical that debuted on Broadway a decade earlier and had been accessible via a Disney+ subscription for half the cost.
The release comes as part of a celebration of 10 years of the show—sometimes referred to as “HamilTEN.” Earlier in 2025, the original cast of “Hamilton” reunited for a Tony Awards Performance, which was either super political or not-at-all political, depending on who you ask. The majority of the cast wore all black, which was seen by some as “mourning the loss of the ideal democracy” felt during the Obama administration at the time of the musical’s debut. Conversely, Jonathan Groff, who plays King George III, wore a red blazer, which many equated to President Donald Trump’s signature “MAGA red.” I believe the entire performance was political and purposefully juxtaposed the current political climate with that of the 1700’s, and yet Hamilton is more than just its political roots. It’s also a testament to musical theater’s inherent ability to foster audience connection and preserve it, no matter how much time passes.
For example, in recent months, “Hamilton” has once again found traction on TikTok, with a trend emerging featuring the song “Best of Wives and Best of Women.” If you haven’t seen it—I suggest watching it for some laughs—the trend included dressing up in DIY Hamilton cosplay and making videos sneaking out a window as Hamilton in the song is sneaking out to his infamous duel with Aaron Burr. For whatever reason—the internet’s algorithms are bizarre— it blew up and led to Miranda himself participating in the trend.
As someone who became obsessed with “Hamilton” back in middle school and never grew out of the phase, this resurgence is my dream come true. My closest friends will attest that I make everyone in my life listen to “Hamilton,” especially the song “Satisfied,” so I was ecstatic at the thought of singing along for three hours in a theater with equally-as-obsessed fans. My showing of less than 20 people was not the performance I was expecting, but everyone in the theater sang along at some point. Maybe it was the delirium from a night movie after a long day of work, or the beauty of Miranda’s lyricism, but I felt more moved in that theater than during any movie I’ve seen in the past year.
“Hamilton” remains relevant in many spaces today for many different reasons, but I think the most compelling is community. I felt like I was watching the musical with 20 friends, not strangers. Two college girls near the front sang to each other the entire time, barely looking at the screen. A group of friends that sat a few rows in front of me never turned away from the screen, all singing more to themselves than anyone else in the theater. Everyone held their breath when Hamilton cheated with Maria Reynolds. A few people cried when Hamilton died.
A rap musical about American history was definitely not something any of us imagined 20 years ago, and yet Miranda’s audacity brought “Hamilton” to the mainstream, fueling a decade of political discussions in classrooms and online. But “Hamilton” brought people together in a way that feels rare now. The original drop on Disney+ in July 2020 united people through screens during the early days of the pandemic. And the re-release this past weekend brought people together physically to talk about this piece of art again.
