The cast of “Hamilton” on Sunday returned to the room where it happened, at least metaphorically.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the show’s opening, 28 members of the original cast — the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with the other stars, ensemble members, swings and standbys — gathered onstage at Radio City Music Hall and performed a medley of some of the musical’s biggest songs: “Non-Stop,” “My Shot,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “Guns and Ships,” “You’ll Be Back,” “Yorktown,” “The Room Where It Happens” and “History Has Its Eyes on You.”
They dressed not in the show’s period costumes, but in an array of high-fashion evening wear — all black with a few character-driven accents (Lafayette got a Frenchman’s beret; Burr a dueler’s cape; and King George the one splash of color: royal red).
They didn’t say a word, but Cynthia Erivo, this year’s Tony Awards host and in 2016 the only musical performer to win a Tony for any show other than “Hamilton,” hailed the production.
“Hamilton reinvigorated the American theater and changed not just Broadway, but how Americans views their own history,” Erivo said, before adding wryly, “or so I’m told.”
“Hamilton” opened on Broadway on Aug. 6, 2015. The following spring, it was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards, and then, in a Tonys ceremony at the Beacon Theater, it won 11 prizes, including best musical. (The event was memorable for many reasons — among them, it took place hours after the deadly Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida, which led the “Hamilton” cast to drop the use of muskets in its production number, and prompted Miranda to give his “love is love” acceptance speech.)
The show quickly became the biggest phenomenon Broadway had seen in quite some time, and in the decade since, it has only gotten bigger, spinning off touring companies, streaming a live-capture film on Disney+, grossing about $3 billion in North America, and still going strong.
The production has been celebrating the anniversary for months, calling it “Hamilten.” (Ten is a special number in the “Hamilton” universe, because Alexander Hamilton is featured on the $10 bill.)
The Sunday night reunion performance was designed by the quartet often described as the “Hamilton” cabinet: the director Thomas Kail, the choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, the music director Alex Lacamoire, and Miranda. Given the passage of time, Blankenbuehler relaxed some of the dance steps.
Among those who took part in the performance were the show’s Tony-winning cast members, Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), as well as Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), who won Tony Awards for writing the show’s book and score. Also, the show’s other Tony-nominated performers: Jonathan Groff (King George), Christopher Jackson (George Washington) and Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton).
Even the ensemble was stacked: It included Ariana DeBose, who was a member of the original “Hamilton” company, and who then went on to win an Academy Award for “West Side Story” and to host the Tony Awards three times.
Several of the show’s alumni are back on Broadway this year.
Groff is starring in a Bobby Darin biomusical, “Just in Time,” that opened in April and is selling tickets through January. The actor was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in “Just in Time,” and won a Tony Award last year for “Merrily We Roll Along.”
Jackson last week began a run as the protagonist’s father in “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Alicia Keys musical. And Odom is planning to rejoin “Hamilton” on Broadway later this year, reprising his performance as Burr from Sept. 9 to Nov. 26.
Miranda and Goldsberry both had brief stints on Broadway during the season that just ended, performing staged readings as part of the rotating cast of “All In: Comedy About Love.” And Miranda is now working with Eisa Davis on a musical adaptation of the film “The Warriors”; a concept album (called simply “Warriors”) was released last year.
