Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton, has revealed that the show will be released on Disney+ in July.
The film features the cast of the original Broadway production of Hamilton performing on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Miranda’s wife Vanessa Nadal shared a behind-the-scenes snapshot of her husband nervously waiting to share the news of the film’s release date:
Footage of a live performance of the musical was seen in the 2016 PBS Great Performances documentary Hamilton’s America. But the full performance has never been released, until now.
Hamilton the film, directed by the play’s stage director Tommy Kail, reportedly uses footage from three live performances, plus some shots without an audience.
“All of the footage was used to create multiple angles, to ensure the cinematic nature of the event, without a bad seat in the house,” Deadline wrote earlier this year.
Miranda, in a statement announcing the film’s release, said the date had been moved up to the July 4 weekend “in light of the world turning upside down.” He said the movie would provide everyone watching “the best seat in the house.”
“I’m so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and I’m so glad that we’re able to make it happen,” he said. “I’m so proud of this show. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
In addition to Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, the film features original Broadway cast members Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
Hamilton comes to Disney+ on July 3.