There are a lot of factors that have contributed to Hamilton’s success, but the one I’m talking about today is the one we probably talk about the least. While I don’t want to downplay those other factors, this one is what I think in particular puts it over the top in terms of its unprecedented success. I’m referring to how the internet and technology has influenced the reach of the musical and the ways in which fans have been able to interact with it and its stars from the comfort of their own homes.
The internet has changed fandom. There can be no doubt about that. The way I enjoyed Harry Potter, for instance—before I was engaging with the fan community online—is very different from how I enjoy it now. In some ways, these changes have been for the better; in other ways, not so much. There’s power in numbers. There is power in knowing that other people share your passion enough to discuss the tiniest details and most obscure, far-reaching fan theories. I remember watching the internet analyze the trailer for Catching Fire frame by frame when it first came out, talking about Effie’s character development and the moment Katniss first enters the arena. Fans on the internet uncover hidden details and develop theories together. Whatever obscure fandom you may be a part of, there are others out there. Rather than enjoying things in isolation, we’re enjoying them together. Well, sort of together. Cyber-together. In that, we’re finding community. We’re in a vacuum of obsession, and everything is wonderful.
With social media, now more than ever before, we also have a unique new insight into the lives of celebrities. We can interact with them like never before. Again, there are pros and cons to this. Maybe the reason J.K. Rowling is still confirming fan theories and creating new content is because we’re not letting the Boy Who Lived go either; we still have questions we want answered, and she’s forced to face them every day.
In the Broadway world, this newfound connection gives us insight into the process of creating a new musical and gives us new ways of being in the room where it happens. I feel like I’ve watched Hamilton develop into the smash hit it is now through Lin’s eyes. We got to see the cast’s perspective on opening night. We got to see Lin’s, Leslie’s and Philippa’s final bows. Through Broadway.com Vlogs and Facebook livestreams, we’ve gotten to see what happens in the dressing rooms before and during a show. There was time and a place to create hype, and that place was the internet.
Likewise, we’ve also gotten to interact with other fans. We’ve had Facebook comment thread sing-alongs. We’ve seen art inspired by the show created by people vastly more talented than ourselves. We’ve uncovered all of the references and hidden gems of the soundtrack. We’ve commiserated over how many of us never got to see the original cast. I know I’ve been up in the middle of the night laughing to tears over Hamilton-related Tumblr posts that probably weren’t actually all that funny.
The internet, for better or worse, is allowing us to enjoy Broadway musicals like never before, and Hamilton is the pioneering force leading us into this new era. For all the success musicals like Rent saw, if the internet we have today had been around then, imagine how much more it would have blown up. I’m not saying Hamilton doesn’t deserve the success it has gotten, but it has certainly been catalyzed by being in the right place at the right time in history.
