Broadway Musical "Hamilton" Will Stream over Disney Plus; Fans Are Worried

The Broadway smash-hit "Hamilton" created by Lin-Manuel Miranda can now be seen over the screens in the comfort of everyone's home - thanks to Disney Plus. It's all happening a day before the fireworks on the 4th of July.

On July 3, hip-hop musical "Hamilton," which revolves around the life and story America's unlikely founding father, Alexander Hamilton, will finally be streamed by families staying at home as announced on May 12. The new development comes way much ahead of the original theatrical public release. Initial plans for was set on October 15, 2021, for North American audiences. It comes in perfect timing for people staying at home to stay and healthy.

Miranda, who wrote the book, penned the lyrics and composed the music, thanked Disney and Disney Plus in a statement "for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4 weekend of this year" while the world "turning upside down" about the coronavirus pandemic. He acknowledged the director of the show, Thomas Kail, and said he was proud of how Kail brought the acclaimed musical to the screen. It will be giving the viewers of the film version the "best seat in the house," he continued.

Kail had filmed three live performances with the original Broadway cast of the game-changer "Hamilton," which had been edited and meshed to produce the movie. The "live capture" of the stage performance was shot at the Richard Rodgers Theater in Manhattan in June 2016.

Miranda, who played the original leading role of Alexander Hamilton also expressed his gratefulness to the "Hamilton" fans who requested for the show to be released earlier and further said, "I'm so glad that we're able to make it happen." Being the father of the phenomenal musical, he exclaimed: "I'm proud of this show."

Disney brought the exclusive rights to stage the movie version with the staggering amount of $75 million after sealing the deal with broker Endeavor Content, who represents Miranda. Endeavor offered the project to different film studios, including Warner Bros., before Disney got its hold.

Bob Iger, Disney CEO and chairman in a statement issued in early February, conveyed that people will now have the chance to watch the original cast. He said that the studio is "thrilled to have the opportunity to share this Broadway experience" with the worldwide target reach.

Disney Plus is a subscription video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform launched by Disney Studios in November 2019. It is an alternative to Netflix with a more family-friendly line up of shows. The monthly fee to avail the VOD service is $6.99 and, to date, has signed in more than 54 million subscribers.

However, with the early release in Disney Plus, fans expressed their fears through social media that Disney might censor portions of the sensational musical. "Hamilton" has a content of explicit language, gun violence, and sexual undertones. With the PG-13 rating of Disney Plus, they are worried that swear words spoken several times on the show might be bleeped out, and other content will not be shown.

Disney Plus had previously censored contents on shows like the 1984 film "Splash" with a partially bare butt scene and post-credit clips in "Toy Story 2." Recently, "Love, Simon," a spinoff series, was moved to Hulu, another streaming VOD owned by Disney catering to more mature audiences.

Revolutionary "Hamilton"

"Hamilton is the story of American then, told by America now," as described in its official webpage. The curtains rose for the musical play in Broadway in 2015. The revolutionary story, presented in a score with the mix of R&B, hip-hop, jazz, and Broadway, caused a profound impact in the theater world. The phenomenal "Hamilton" easily garnered numerous recognitions that include 11 Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Grammy, and seven Olivier Awards.