Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Theater

Hamilton

When a filmed version of the stage show debuted on Disney+, it quickly became the most-streamed program of any month this year.

Stephanie Slade | From the November 2020 issue

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
miniHamilton | Joan Marcus
(Joan Marcus)

In its first year on Broadway, the smash musical Hamilton raked in 11 Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize. When a filmed version of the stage show debuted on Disney+ just in time for Independence Day 2020, it quickly became the most-streamed program not just of July but of any month this year. But perhaps the strongest evidence of Hamilton's overwhelming popularity is that it was enough to stave off a progressive mob at a moment when little else has survived being scrutinized through contemporary moral lenses.

Amid demonstrations against police killings of black Americans this summer, some protesters turned their ire to the Founding Fathers, many of whom owned slaves. When a crowd in Portland, Oregon, tore down and set aflame a statue of George Washington in June, it was hard not to wonder whether public opinion might be coming for Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop story next. Sure enough, the hashtag #CancelHamilton began trending on Twitter shortly after the musical's streaming release.

Alexander Hamilton was indeed an elitist with authoritarian tendencies and supposed ties to the slave trade. But in the end, the small number of would-be cancelers were no match for the musical's devoted fans, many of whom are delighted to see America's founding stories presented in a way that captures the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country that founding begat.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Prison by Any Other Name

Stephanie Slade is a senior editor at Reason.

TheaterMusic
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (20)

Latest

Brickbat: Cooking the Books

Charles Oliver | 5.9.2025 4:00 AM

The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 4:57 PM

Is Shiloh Hendrix Really the End of Cancel Culture?

Robby Soave | 5.8.2025 4:10 PM

Good Riddance to Ed Martin, Trump's Failed Pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.8.2025 3:55 PM

Trump's Tariffs Are Already Raising Car Prices and Hurting Automakers

Joe Lancaster | 5.8.2025 2:35 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!