In his first trip to Australia to meet the local company, HAMILTON creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, sat down with ABC journalist Leigh Sales in Brisbane – in front of an audience of what are affectionately known around the world as #Hamilfans; for a special Q&A to recognise his contribution to the cultural zeitgeist and to discuss the impact that HAMILTON is having around the world.
Miranda was honest and candid with Sales about the challenges he faced bringing HAMILTON to the stage, sharing secrets about the show with fans, while paying tribute to the depth of talent in the Australian company.
The interview was conducted on the stage of HAMILTON at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, where the cast have been playing to rapturous audiences in the last leg of their Australian season, which must close on April 23, 2023.
The interview will broadcast exclusively on ABC TV and ABC iview on Saturday, March 18 at 6pm, and will be repeated the following Tuesday, 21 March on ABC TV at 10pm.
The Australian company is led by Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Martha Berhaneas Eliza Hamilton, Callan Purcell as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Sami Afuni as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, Wern Mak as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds and Brent Hill as King George.
They are joined by Claire Abaijah-Griffin, Kirrah Amosa, Kyla Bartholomeusz, Shewit Belay, Justin Bryant, Olivia Carniato, Celine Cleveland, Lachlan Dearing, Simon Fairweather, Alexander Ferguson, Keanu Gonzalez, Winston Hillyer, Indigo Hunt, Julian Kuo, Iosefa Laga’aia, Stefan Lagoulis, Ashton Lash, HaNy Lee, Zelia Rose, Emmy Saheki, Trevor Santos, Tainga Savage, Terrance Spencer, Dayton Tavares, Romina Villafranca and Zachary Webster completing the Australian company.
HAMILTON premiered on Broadway in August 2015 to wide critical and audience acclaim. The show has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre – a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics and education.
With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography.
The HAMILTON creative team previously collaborated on the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In the Heights.
Scenic design is by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe.
A filmed version of the original Broadway cast was released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020.
The Australian production of HAMILTON is produced by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman, The Public Theater and Michael Cassel AM.