To say that Broadway musical Hamilton has people's attention would be putting it mildly, and the ratings for last night's Tony Awards broadcast are evidence of that. Arriving at the event with a whopping 16 nominations, the cast of Hamilton took the stage to perform a medley from the hit musical. Check it out in its entirety below.
Given the hype surrounding Hamilton, expectations were high for the musical's showing at the 70th Annual Tony Awards, and between its eleven wins and the above performance, Hamilton did not disappoint. Prefaced with an introduction by President Obama and the First Lady, Hamilton's performance featured Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Lesli Odom Jr, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson and David Diggs, among others. The number showcased the modern and energetic soundtrack of the musical, which centers on American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
As mentioned, of its sixteen nominations, Hamilton took home eleven wins at Sunday night's Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail), Lead Actor in a musical (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Best Original Score (Lin-Manuel Miranda). Naturally, the anticipation was high for the musical's performance during the Tony Awards broadcast. If you watched the video above, you'll likely agree, it was worth the wait.
Ratings for this year's broadcast of the Tony Awards were up from previous years. Per Variety, the CBS telecast averaged 6.8/11 in the overnight metered markets, making it the event's highest overnight rating in 15 years, up 33% from last year. The awards ceremony showcases some of the best Broadway talent from the past season. This year, in addition to Hamilton, The Color Purple, The Humans, and the revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge also took home awards. Viewers were also treated to musical performances from the casts of School of Rock, Waitress, Spring Awakening and others. But if we're speculating on the major draw of the awards show this year, given all of the buzz (and nominations) surrounding it, Hamilton likely deserves a big chunk of the credit.
Created by Lin-Manuel Miranda (music, lyrics and book), Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton. The musical made its debut in January 2015, workings it way from Off-Broadway to Broadway last year. While it may be difficult (and pricy) to score tickets to the show, Hamilton is already working on putting a tour together. That's scheduled to get started in 2017, and based on the schedule, it looks like the musical will be spending a good portion of its tour in Washington, DC. After all, what better place -- besides Broadway, of course -- to see Hamilton, than in our nation's capitol?
In related news, host James Corden opened the Tony Awards with a touching introduction addressing the tragic nightclub shooting in Orlando this past weekend. Watch Corden's introduction here.
