Hamilton Is Coming to Schools!
Hamilton is a Broadway musical directed by Thomas Kail and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical includes most of the Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, as well as mentions of John Jay and John Adams. This musical also includes some lesser-known people from the American Revolution, such as John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, Aaron Burr, and the Schuyler Sisters. The musical mainly focuses on important events and stories of Alexander Hamilton's life; though not entirely accurate to history, it is still a captivating story. The majority of the musical's cast is African American and Hispanic because creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted non-white actors to portray the Founding Fathers. This choice represents "America then" through the lens of "America now," matching the show's hip-hop and rap style to honor the roots of the music.
Why couldn’t it be played in high schools before, like Hadestown? Well, it all comes down to licensing. Hadestown gave high schools the license to perform the play through Concord Theatricals; Hamilton hasn’t obtained the licensing to give to schools until now! That's right: Lin-Manuel Miranda announced that Concord Theatricals secured the worldwide stage licensing rights to bring the musical to young performers in 2028. “I am thrilled that Hamilton is joining In The Heights and 21 Chump Street as part of the Concord Theatricals family,” says Miranda. This was all announced on November 18th, 2025, after a performance at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre
Why is it important? Hamilton is a monumental musical. According to the Tony Awards, Hamilton has won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score for Lin-Manuel Miranda, Best Actor for Leslie Odom Jr., and Featured Actor and Actress awards for Daveed Diggs and Renée Elise Goldsberry. In 2016, it also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. During its West End run in London, Hamilton won 7 Olivier Awards in 2018, including Best New Musical. In the same year, Hamilton received an unprecedented special citation at the Kennedy Center Honors. This huge and great musical being able to be played by high school students is very important because them being able to play in this musical, and if they do well, they could actually get far in their careers, and if they do it multiple years in a row, there could be a good chance they play in the actual Broadway musical.
All in all, this musical being licensed to younger generations will grow their interest in Hamilton’s core ideas of leadership and bravery. The audience learns about history through song; they learn about the first 4 presidents and events that happened during the American Revolutionary War. Even if the musical isn't 100% accurate, you can still learn a lot, especially about some of our founding fathers, which is optimal for history classes. Save the year 2028, because that's the official release of Hamilton coming to schools.
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