Theatre turned to film- “Hamilton” goes to the movies- by Julia W. Rath

Julia’s view

Article on
Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of “Hamilton”

by Julia W. Rath
September 10, 2025

In celebration of the famed musical “Hamilton” taking the Broadway stage on August 6, 2015, Disney Studios has released the filmed version at movie theaters throughout the United States. Shot during two separate Broadway productions taking place on June 26-28, 2016, the film was spliced together to form the bulk of today’s movie which faithfully records this “sung and rapped-through biographical musical.”

A 2025 introduction (of about 18 minutes) has been tacked on at the beginning, which provides the show’s production history. It features its creator and lead artist Lin Manuel Miranda together with actors and crew members who made the original Broadway play a household name. One of the more interesting sequences is watching Miranda when he was invited to the White House in 2009 to sing its signature song—with acclamations for the incipient musical only beginning from there!

For those of you who have never seen “Hamilton” before—and for those of you who have seen it on stage many times—the uniqueness of the film version cannot be overstated. Originally released on Disney streaming services in 2020 during COVID, the movie needs to be seen on a large screen to be thoroughly enjoyable, especially considering all the wonderful choreography and song and dance numbers. Fine camera work allows us to see the closeups of the actors (with their facial expressions) as well as their costumes, the set, and all the props. Plus, the action is right there… in front of you! And for the $10 (senior) matinee price, my experience could not have been any better! This certainly beats the $500-$1,000 that I would’ve had to spend to find a decent seat at the live theatre. (And as a person who used to spend my days downtown in the upper balcony with opera glasses, being upfront and personal makes a huge difference!)

It’s an art in and of itself to create the beautiful filming of a stage play, and this movie is extremely well done! So while it’s still playing in the Chicago area, I’d suggest that you make it a point to see it!

“Hamilton” is long at 2 hours and 59 minutes, plus 25 minutes of trailers even before it starts. But note, the 10-minute intermission two hours into the “movie experience” is very important. That’s when I got up, stretched, and ate my dinner! And then I watched the remaining 75 minutes of the musical!

editor’s note: ( is it really 10 years?- wow!)- I think I would prefer attending a movie theater for the larger picture.