Filming “Hamilton” and distributing it on Disney+ didn’t diminish demand for the Broadway musical, it amplified it, said creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Over the decades, Broadway showrunners have shied away from creating filmed copies of popular shows, fearing that making the production too accessible would mean fewer ticket sales.
“It forever demolishes the idea that a beautifully shot version of your show diminishes the demand to see it live,” Miranda told CNBC’s Sara Eisen in a taped interview that aired Wednesday. “In all of our estimations, it’s only amplified the demand to see ‘Hamilton’ live.”
The “Hamilton” film, which was shot in 2016 with the original cast, was initially slated to arrive in theaters in 2021, but when the pandemic hit, Disney released the film on July 4, 2020, on its streaming service.
Miranda portrayed Alexander Hamilton as part of the original cast alongside Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton), Christopher Jackson (George Washington) and Jonathan Groff (King George).
The film was directed by Tommy Kail (“Fosse/Verdon” and “Grease: Live”).
Miranda conceded that it can be expensive for Broadway shows to film their performances, noting that his team paid to capture the musical so that they could preserve the original cast performances on tape.
“That’s a win for theater,” Miranda said. “To have more pro shots, to have those out in the world, I think is a win. I would love to see more of that going forward.”
