WHAT’S IT ABOUT

“Hamilton” is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, “Hamilton” has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, the film transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Finally! For those who didn’t get to see this play live or couldn’t afford the $200-plus ticket price, your time has come. Hamilton on Disney+ is the best thing they have, besides The Mandalorian. It’s almost better than seeing it live, but nothing truly compares to a live performance. There’s something about sitting in a dark theater with hundreds of strangers, all holding their breath at the same time, that a screen at home can never fully copy. Still, the streaming version gives you something the cheap seats never could: a front-row view of every expression, every bead of sweat, and every small choice the actors make that most of the audience in a real theater would never catch. For a fraction of the ticket price, and without booking flights or hotels just to sit in a Broadway balcony, anyone with a Disney+ account can finally see what all the noise was about. When Hamilton debuted on Broadway on July 13, 2015, it was all anyone could talk about, and for good reason. It’s a damn good play, unlike anything before it. Other plays have tried to incorporate the vernacular of society during their release, but they all tend to stick with the same outdated formula. Some stories are better than others, and the costumes can overshadow everything you were supposed to learn from the performance. Ultimately, the music, the songs, and the delivery all start to sound the same after a while. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching The King and I or The Lion King; the songs all carry that same near-operatic feel, with very few exceptions. So unless that’s your type of thing, you will probably never consider going to see a play at all. That mindset is exactly why Hamilton broke the mold, and why it managed to pull in a crowd that had never bought a theater ticket in their life. Hamilton tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, starting from the moment he arrived in New York City in 1776, all the way through his rise as one of this country’s founders. Along the way, the play covers his role in the Revolutionary War, his fights with rival politicians, his part in building the American financial system, and the personal choices that eventually led to his downfall. It manages to pack all of that history into a story that never feels like a textbook, which is no small accomplishment when you consider how dry most retellings of early American history can be. Most students spend a semester falling asleep through this exact stretch of history, yet Hamilton turns it into something people want to watch a second and third time. Another critical fact is that Hamilton is not limited by the color or race of its performers. It proves that if a story is written well, the only limitation should be the actors’ ability to convey a believable performance. The color of a character does not change the story, as long as we, as an audience, agree that this is a piece of historical storytelling and not a literal snapshot of what the real people looked like. Nobody walks away from Hamilton confused about the actual skin color of Alexander Hamilton or George Washington. What they walk away with is a cast of diversity, portrayed people whose ancestors weren’t allowed near the building, much less a seat at the table when these events actually happened. Casting the story this way does not erase history; it simply refuses to let history be the only voice allowed to tell it. As for the actors of Hamilton, every single one of them was outstanding. It doesn’t matter if a Black actor played Aaron Burr or if Hamilton’s wife was portrayed by an Asian actress. Even the person portraying Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is Puerto Rican. None of these choices altered the story in any meaningful way, and honestly, most viewers likely forgot to even think about it once the story picked up speed. What those choices did was open the door for performers who rarely get cast in roles this big and this important. Multiple ethnicities’ inclusion when telling America’s story is always a welcome sight. Every kid of color watching at home can now play the founding father, not just the sidekick, slave, or the villain. And in America, that kind of representation matters far beyond one Broadway stage. Racism runs rampant in this country, especially in Hollywood, but true talent should never have a color requirement. Anybody who has never seen someone who looks like them play a hero in a history lesson finally gets that chance here, and that is worth celebrating on its own. The play itself is very informative, landing at around 90 percent historical accuracy by most accounts, which is impressive for something built almost entirely out of songs. Lastly, the decision to deliver most of the lines in a rap-style format was epic. It fits the pace of the story, keeps every scene moving, and gives the actors room to show off their skill in a way that traditional show tunes rarely allow. Rap also happens to be one of the few musical styles built around packing in as many words and ideas as possible, which makes it the perfect tool for telling a story this stuffed with history. At no point during the two-hour-and-forty-minute runtime do you ever feel like Hamilton is dragging or overstaying its welcome. Honestly, I was so captivated by the entire essence of everything that I was disappointed when it ended. Few shows manage to hold your attention that tightly for that long, and even fewer manage to teach you something about your own country while doing it. Hamilton earns every bit of its reputation, and now that it lives on Disney+, there is no excuse left for missing it.

OUR RATING – A FEDERALIST PARTY 9.5

MEDIA

• Genre – Musical

Street date

• Digital – May 12, 2026
• 4K/Blu-Ray/DVD – August 11, 2026
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 1.85:1
• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Audio descriptive
• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Spark Into a Flame: Hamilton & Hip-Hop: A brand-new documentary exploring the musical styles and hip-hop influences in the show.
• Reuniting the Revolution: A special featurette/prologue that was previously shown during the theatrical release.
• Sing-Along Version: A dedicated sing-along cut of the filmed stage production