A timeline of 'Hamilton' on Broadway, in the West End, and beyond

Lin-Manuel Miranda's megahit was first seen in 2015, and continues to thrill the world.

Summary

• Hamilton is the brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda inspired by the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton
• The show was first performed on Broadway in 2015 and in the West End in 2017
• The show has also been seen internationally
• Hamilton celebrates its 10th anniversary in the West End in 2027

Ever since it burst on to the scene in 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton has been a sensation. Blending hip hop, R&B, pop, and soul influences and showcasing a multicultural cast, this was American history as had never been seen before. The show hasn’t thrown away its shot in captivating fans from all around the world.

The show celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway last year and will reach the same milestone in London in 2027. In the meantime, read our timeline to learn about this ground-breaking show’s timeline, and maybe catch a visit while Leslie Odom Jr reprises his Tony-winning role as Aaron Burr at the Victoria Palace this summer.

Book Hamilton tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

2008: Lin-Manuel Miranda reads Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton biography

For most Americans, Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, is one of the Founding Fathers that they learn about in school, and the fellow on the $10 bill. In 2004, financial journalist Ron Chernow penned a new biography of Hamilton, which spent three months on the New York Times Best Seller list.

A few years later, In the Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda took a copy of the 800-page tome on holiday and instantly recognised the potential of Hamilton’s extraordinary life story as a musical. Chernow became the musical’s historical consultant.

2009: Miranda at the White House

In May 2009, Miranda was invited by Barack Obama to perform at a White House Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word. While the event mostly showcased songs from In the Heights, Miranda also performed an early version of the opening number “Alexander Hamilton” from his new project, then titled The Hamilton Mixtape.

2013: The Hamilton Mixtape workshop at Vassar College

A workshop production of the show’s first act and three songs from the second act was held at Vassar College in New York State. Three cast members – Miranda (Hamilton), Daveed Diggs (Lafayette/Jefferson), and Christopher Jackson (George Washington) – continued in their roles in the full production. Another workshop production took place in 2014 at 52nd Street Project in New York City, in which Leslie Odom Jr first played Hamilton’s nemesis Aaron Burr.

2015: Off-Broadway premiere

Now titled simply Hamilton, the show was first performed in its entirety at The Public Theater in early 2015 and was an instant hit, extending twice. A Broadway transfer was an inevitability. The cast was led by Miranda and Odom Jr, with Phillipa Soo as Eliza, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica, and Brian d’Arcy James as King George III (d’Arcy James was succeeded by Jonathan Groff for the Broadway transfer).

New York Theatre Guide’s reviewer gave the scintillating new show a five-star rave: “This is a musical that stands on the shoulders of the artists past, stretches out its arms and pulls us all up into a new territory.”

2015: Broadway phenomenon

The show opened on Broadway in August of the same year, to further audience delight and more rave reviews. New York Theatre Guide’s critic was just as ecstatic following the transfer: “The end result is something much more than the story of one man. It is the story of how we each create our destiny and our mark on the world. You leave the theater thinking about what you would like to do that you have not done. You leave the theatre filled with possibility.”

2016: Awards galore

The show’s cast recording was released in September 2015 and in February 2016, it won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. And, on 18 April, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (the ninth of the 10 musicals that have won this accolade to date – A Strange Loop was the most recent recipient in 2020).

The 2016 Tonys were nicknamed the “Hamiltonys” due to the show’s dominance. It was nominated for a record 16 Tonys and won 11 (second only to The Producers, which won 12), including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Actor in a Musical (for Leslie Odom Jr’s Aaron Burr).

And, in December 2016, the album The Hamilton Mixtape, featuring cover versions by artists including Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend was released. A production in Chicago opened, where it played until 2020, and a US tour followed shortly afterwards. Hamilton fever was everywhere!

2017: London calling

The show opened in London at Cameron Mackintosh’s fully refurbished Victoria Palace Theatre, marking the biggest and buzziest opening in some years. The fact that this slice of American history isn’t widely taught in British schools didn’t lessen its appeal a jot. The cast was led by Jamael Westman as Hamilton, Giles Terera as Burr, and Michael Jibson as King George III.

In a five-star review, LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer praised the “dynamic, propulsive staging of director Thomas Kail and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and the extraordinarily talented British cast… Both the show and the theatre are here to stay.”

At the Olivier Awards the following year, the show was nominated for 13 Olivier Awards and won seven, including Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Terera) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Jibson).

2020 onwards: International success

Hamilton received its Canadian premiere in 2020 (which unfortunately was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic) and its Australian premiere in 2021. The first non-English-language production opened in Hamburg in 2022 and ran for a year. The German translation was penned by librettist Kevin Schroeder and rapper Sera Finale. The show has also been performed in the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and Singapore.

2020: Hamilton film capture on Disney+

In July 2020, in the midst of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, a film of the Broadway production performed by the original cast, was released on Disney+. It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and raised the spirits of innumerable viewers during this difficult time.

2023: UK and Ireland tour

The show’s first UK tour kicked off at Manchester Palace Theatre. The cast was led by Shaq Taylor as Hamilton and Sam Oladeinde as Burr, who were succeeded by Marley Fenton and Billy Nevers. The tour took in Scotland, the birthplace of the real Hamilton’s father.

2025: Celebrating a decade on Broadway

The show marked its ten-year anniversary on Broadway with a special performance at the Tonys, in which the original cast reunited with a medley of the show’s greatest hits. On 6 August, the tenth anniversary of opening night, the performance served as a charity fundraiser, and the original cast and 85 other alumni took to the stage for a special curtain call. And, a month later, Leslie Odom Jr returned for a limited engagement.

2027: A decade in London

Next year, the show will hit in the same landmark in the West End, no doubt in considerable style! In the meantime, the Tony-winning original Aaron Burr (and Oscar nominee) Leslie Odom Jr reprises his role at the Victoria Palace from 3 July to 5 September 2026. You’ll want to be in the room where it happens!

Book Hamilton tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Hamilton. (Courtesy of production)