“Tonight’s show will not be all about Hamilton. There will also be some commercial breaks,” Host James Corden announced at the beginning of Sunday’s Tony Festivities. He was right. Although there were moments of triumph, heartbreaking dedications to the tragic events in Orlando and enough references to delight any musical fan, Lin Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical dominated the stage of the 70th Annual Tony Awards, featuring three songs, “History Has Its Eye On You,” “Yorktown” and “The Schuyler Sisters,” and claiming a total of 11 of their record breaking 16 nominations, including Best Book, Best Featured Actor in a Musical and Best Original Score, among others. Here’s a link to the full list.
Although the musical fell two awards short of setting a new record for total Tony wins, Manuel’s masterpiece has already left its mark on history.
"Hamilton" has already claimed a number of prestigious accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy and a MacArthur Genius Grant. But perhaps nowhere is the musicals success more apparent than its popularity. Since its opening the show has been one of the hottest tickets on Broadway, drawing the likes of Beyoncé, the Obamas, Amy Schumer, Bernie Sanders, Kanye and even Dick Cheney. The musical’s cast album has ranked among iTunes’ top albums consecutively since its debut, last year, and is currently listed as the top selling album on iTunes. The soundtrack peaked as Billboard’s number one rap album in 2015 and has been cheered for appealing to both theater goers, history geeks and hip-hop aficionado alike.
The overall viewership for the Tony Awards also reached its largest audience in more than a decade. With the highest viewership since 2001, ratings among adults ages 18 to 49 grew 60 percent from last year according to CBS. This massive turnout may be attributed to a number of different factors, including solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community following the devastating events that took place over the weekend and Tony Host, James Corden, however, it’s unlikely the Broadway juggernaut, Hamilton, negatively impacted turnout.
Hamilton’s triumph at the Tony’s serves as the final indication of the musical’s true versatility, appealing to both young and old alike. The show has been cheered by nearly every conceivable demographic, has sparked public interest in US history and has even impacted the future of US currency. The question remains: What comes next for Hamilton, and Broadway in general?
On a base level, the musical is expected to reach a broader audience over the coming months. The massive success of the initial Broadway run, has ensured that the musical will run for years, if not decades. And with upcoming productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London and a national tour in the works, the show will become accessible to those outside of New York area.
The feverish public obsession with the musical will undoubtedly lead to an eventual film adaptation, however, writer, composer and star Lin Manuel Miranda has stated that it may take 20-years for Hamilton to make its big screen debut.
Even more uncertain are the questions that remain in regards to the show’s impact on Broadway and society as a whole.
A spirit of rebellion pulses throughout all aspects of the show, its story, staging, costuming, soundtrack and even its marketing tactics. Hamilton is not a musical that will abide by Broadway’s preexisting rules or standards, instead writing its own. The choice to step away from the status quo separates the musical from its more traditional counterparts, helping to broaden the show’s audience base. Before each performance, 46 premium seats are distributed in a lottery for a mere 10-dollars in order to accommodate those unable to obtain the sold out tickets, which regularly retail at over $1000 in secondary markets. Long term subscribers to the Hamilton Newsletter have been granted access to presale tickets, allowing them to purchase tickets at face value prices, a luxury typically only afforded to Platinum American Express members. New York public high schoolers are given steeply discounted admissions to special matinees of the show, specifically as part of a curriculum provided by The Rockefeller Foundation.
Hamilton is all about redefining the outside world, a message that has allowed it to gain popularity among the young people who typically eschew musical theater. In the 2013- 2014 season, the average age of a Broadway audience member rose to 44, a 2.5 year increase from the year before, where the average age was 42.5. Although Broadway had made several attempts to recapture the youth demographic, from the disastrous, Spiderman: Turn of the Dark to the Tupac Shakur centered flop, Holler If Ya Hear Me, few shows were able to capture the imagination of America’s youth, quite like Hamilton.
Yet, through sheer innovation, creativity and clever marketing, the show has earned applause across the board, both in the theater, and in the box office. Hamilton has raked in $74 million in ticket sales since the show opened, allowing overall ticket sales in Broadway to reach an unprecedented $1.37 billion. Without the revenue brought in by Hamilton, Broadway profits would have fallen 3%.
One of Hamilton’s most distinctive attributes is the show’s tremendous diversity. Throughout the musical, historical roles are portrayed by people of color, with the sole exception of traditionalists, including King George III and Loyalist Samuel Seabury. This casting choice posed an initial risk to the show, by alienating the traditionally white, 30+ demographic that has become synonymous with theater. Yet, the decision has paid off allowing a musical about a forgotten founding father to garner unprecedented new heights.
“This is a story about America then, told by America now,” Manuel explains.
Hamilton is hardly the first musical to feature a largely diverse cast, nor was it the only show to reflect tremendous diversity at the Tony Awards. The musical does, however, provide irrefutable, obvious proof that diverse casts can bring massive box-office success.
The undeniable success Hamilton has celebrated may open the door to increased risks, and higher levels of creativity on Broadway. If the creativity that accompanies Hamilton can provide such visible results, who’s to say what will come next?
The show has created a legacy of acceptance, innovation and diversity, a stark contrast to the overwhelmingly whitewashed, franchise driven world of entertainment. Although the future impact of the musical remains unknown, one thing is clear, the world that may never be the same.
