Hamilton: An American Musical officially hits Disney+ on Friday, July 3, which means millions of people who did not manage to get a ticket to a live production of the show will get to see the Broadway hit for the first time. The HamFam is about expand by exponential levels and it’s such an exciting thing to happen. Welcome, new Hamilton Trash!
This post is for those people who are excited to see the musical but have avoided listening to any of the songs from the soundtrack. Congratulations if you’ve made it five years without any spoilers, but we might need to burst your bubble just a little bit: we at TV Guide strongly advise you to fully dive into the songs of Hamilton before watching.
What Time Does Hamilton: An American Musical Release on Disney+?
While we understand the desire to go into the musical without any expectations, that approach may actually hinder the viewing experience. Hamilton is a sung-through musical, which means that the soundtrack is the entire show and all of the plot is moved through the musical numbers. You don’t have to see what’s on stage or hear any spoken dialogue to fully understand what’s happening or get any extra context (Note: There are two scripted moments Lin-Manuel Miranda saved for the live performance and will be in the Disney+ presentation, but they do not shift the plot in any way). Even if you only listened to the soundtrack, you’d be getting the whole plot of the show.
It’s a good idea to have an understanding of exactly what this musical is about before you see the show because most of the songs are filled with quick-paced raps. Unless you have an incredible memory of your high school U.S. History class, it’s kind of difficult to process rap verses in real-time about why Alexander Hamilton was needed at the Battle of Yorktown or how he sold the U.S. capital to Thomas Jefferson in order to keep control of Wall Street. Knowing the music ahead of time allows you to watch the show without getting lost or confused about the politics of what’s going on.
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It’s not just about the historical facts either. You can more greatly appreciate the intricate depiction of “rewind, rewind” in “Satisfied” as watch Angelica Schuyler (Renee Elise Goldsberry) relive the greatest regret of her life when you’re not trying to comprehend why she introduced Alexander to her sister Eliza (Phillippa Soo) in the first place. The emotional density of “Burn” can fully hit you when you are clear exactly what Alexander did when he wrote the Reynolds Pamphlet.
By listening to the soundtrack ahead of time, you can fully immerse yourself in the experience of the stage musical and we promise you’ll have more fun! The full cast recording is available to stream on Spotify and YouTube, and available to purchase where you usually purchase music.
Hamilton: An American Musical premieres Friday, June 3 on Disney+.