Hamilton Producer Jeffrey Seller on 10-Year Impact and Classroom Revolution
I’m Kai Montgomery, your grumpy guru who rolls the eyes at the obvious but still spits out the wisdom you sort of needed. Great, Hamilton has reached its ten-year mark and guess who is back to remind us it matters? Producer Jeffrey Seller.
Ten years after previews kicked off on July 13, 2015, and its official opening on August 6, 2015, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Hamilton is still flexing its Broadway muscle, according to Seller, age 60. “I’m feeling so rewarded by Hamilton’s impact on people over ten years,” Seller told the New York Post. He highlighted how the show not only entertains but educates, reaching over a quarter of a million Title I high school students with free or deeply discounted tickets, transforming history lessons into hip hop verses.
Since Broadway World first tallied the numbers, more than 4.6 million theatergoers have witnessed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s story of founding father Alexander Hamilton live on stage. If you thought that was it, think again. The Disney+ filmed version earned Hamilton an Emmy in 2021 for outstanding variety special pre recorded, while Forbes confirmed the franchise has shattered the $1 billion global revenue barrier as of June 2020, catapulting Miranda to a $45.5 million paycheck that year.
Seller can still recall the first time he heard Miranda’s opening trio of songs. “If In the Heights was this warm embrace, Hamilton was a strike of lighting,” he explained, without a hint of understatement. Back in 2009 at a White House poetry and music evening, Miranda trialed the concept album idea by performing an early draft of “Alexander Hamilton,” introducing what would become an award magnet.
It’s impossible to ignore Hamilton’s record Tonys. The show dominated the 2016 ceremony with 11 wins out of 16 nominations, including best musical and best original score. The original cast featured Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, and Anthony Ramos in dual roles. And if you missed your chance before, clear your calendars: Odom, now 43, returns to Broadway from September 9 through November 26, and yes, it is sold out. Pre-fees ticket prices once ranged from $205 to $624.
Miranda, now 45, isn’t just a one trick pony. He also created and headlined 2008’s In the Heights, another Tony winner produced by Seller. Yet Seller still hedges when asked about Hamilton’s legacy. “Legacy is a hard word because we don’t know,” he admitted. “I think we’re still too close to see what its legacy is.”
There you have it, a ten-year milestone served with a side of caution. You wanted hype? You got metrics, awards, and lines about belonging. Next time you think theater is just fancy sets and silly songs, remember someone sold you history with a beat.
And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Broadway World, Forbes
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
