Hamilton’s Original Cast Stuns Radio City With 10-Year Reunion Medley at the 2025 Tony Awards
A once-in-a-decade homecoming
Broadway history repeated—and amplified—on Sunday night when the entire original company of HAMILTON stormed the stage at the 78th Tony Awards. The surprise reunion, timed to the blockbuster musical’s 10th anniversary, opened the three-hour ceremony at New York’s Radio City Music Hall with thunderous energy and drew the first standing ovation of the evening.
A rapid-fire masterclass in musical storytelling
Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. kicked things off with “Non-Stop,” before handing the mic to fellow originals Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, and recent Tony host Ariana DeBose. Over the next six minutes the ensemble stitched together a whirlwind medley—“My Shot,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “Guns and Ships,” “You’ll Be Back,” “Yorktown,” “The Room Where It Happens,” and the elegiac “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”—culminating in the show’s eponymous opening number. More than 25 alumni filled the stage, many revisiting choreography and riffs committed to muscle memory a decade ago.
Elegant black-tie meets battlefield swagger
Costume designer Paul Tazewell reimagined the show’s colonial palette for the red-carpet era, dressing the company in sleek black tuxedos and gowns accented with subtle Hamilton gold. The look paid homage to the musical’s silhouette while acknowledging that its stars now command A-list status beyond Broadway.
Burr returns to the room where it happens—again
The reunion doubled as a soft launch for Odom’s much-anticipated comeback: the actor will reprise Aaron Burr for a 12-week engagement at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from 9 September to 23 November, a booking he calls a “deeply meaningful homecoming.”
A decade of records—and ripple effects
Since its 2015 opening, HAMILTON has collected 11 Tonys, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Grammy, an Olivier, and earlier this year became the first Broadway cast recording to earn diamond certification. The show’s influence extends far beyond the stage: it reshaped musical theatre’s sound, accelerated conversations about inclusive casting, and became a cultural touchstone referenced everywhere from classrooms to Super Bowl commercials.
Controversy off-stage, unity on
Sunday’s joyful reunion contrasted sharply with the production’s decision in April to withdraw from a planned 2026 run at Washington’s Kennedy Center, citing concerns over the venue’s new leadership and a desire to keep “sacred institutions” free from partisan politics. Yet at the Tonys, the company’s message was one of collective pride and artistic legacy.
Why it matters
In an awards season dominated by new work, the Hamilton homecoming served as a reminder of how profoundly one show can shift the theatrical landscape—and how enduring that impact remains. Ten years on, the cast proved they can still “rise up,” leaving a fresh crowd of theatre-makers inspired to tell their own revolutionary stories.
