As I walked into Central Park at 79th and 5th, headed toward the newly revitalized Delacorte Theater, I felt like I was carrying the best secret in New York City. Every person I passedโtourists, dog walkers, people just enjoying a late summer strollโI wanted to stop them and say, โIโm on my way to watch the Hamilton movieโฆ with the original castโฆ tonight.โ
And not just watch itโsit in the same theater as them, breathe the same air, feel the same energy. For someone who never had the chance to see the original Broadway cast live, this night already felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment. As I found my seat, I saw so many familiar faces in the crowdโfriends from the theater world, longtime fans, people you could tell were feeling the same thing I was: this wasnโt just a screening. This was something sacred. A celebration. A homecoming to the Public Theater.
Disney Studios made this whole night possible, and Iโm so grateful they did. Before the screening began, Lin shared something that stuck with me: this is how director Thomas Kail always intended the film to be seenโwith a group of people. And thatโs exactly what we did. We watched it together. We laughed, we cried, we cheered. We remembered why this show hit so hard the first timeโand why it still does. From the first notes, the room came alive. The cast didnโt sit stillโthey experienced it. They sang along, clapped, laughed, whispered to each other, shouted lines like they were back on stage. Their energy was electric, and it lit the rest of us up. You couldnโt help but get swept into it.
What really moved me was watching them react to themselves. The pride, the emotion, the inside jokes playing out on screen. You could see them reliving moments, catching each otherโs eyes at a familiar beat, a perfectly timed lyric, a scene that once took everything out of them. It felt like we were witnessing something so intimateโlike opening an old scrapbook with someone and watching the memories flood back.
Just after 7 PM, the lights dimmed. The cast arrived from the red carpet and took their seatsโLin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Renรฉe Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones,ย and the list goes on. Somehow, they were right there, sitting among us, watching the filmed version of the show that changed theaterโand their lives.
At intermission, instead of disappearing, many of the cast stayed in the crowd. And for those of us who worked up the nerve to say hello, they were unbelievably generous. I got to chat with Renรฉe Elise Goldsberry about a concert I saw her perform at the United Palace. She remembered. We smiled. It was quick, but deeply personal. Just two people talking about art, music, and the moments that connect us. One of those full-circle memories Iโll carry with me. Ten years ago, Hamilton opened at The Public Theater, and last night, it returnedโthis time under the stars at their newly renovated Central Park Home, in a park that has long been a home for accessible, revolutionary theater. The Publicโs Delacorte Theater has recently been reborn, and Hamilton was the perfect way to honor both its legacy and its future.
The filmed version we saw, captured in 2016 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, is already a gift on Disney+. But now itโs heading to the big screen in an even more meaningful way. The theatrical release includes a brand-new special prologue, Reuniting the Revolution, featuring fresh interviews with the original cast and creative team as they reflect on what the show has meant to themโand to the world. The film will be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on September 5, in Puerto Rico on September 12, in the U.K. and Ireland on September 26, and in Australia and New Zealand on November 13. Tickets are on sale now on Fandangoย and anywhere tickets are sold.
I may never get to see the original cast of Hamilton live on stage. But last night I sat beside them. I celebrated with them. I watched them watch the show that changed everything. And honestly, I think Iโm okay with that.
