Some moments in live theater stop you cold. You forget to breathe. You forget where you are. The Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 reunion was exactly that kind of moment.
On June 8, 2025, the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton stepped back onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall for the 78th Annual Tony Awards. They were there to celebrate ten years of a show that did not just win awards — it rewired how the world thinks about Broadway, history, and storytelling.
If you were watching, you already know what happened. If you missed it, you are about to feel every bit of the magic.
This article covers everything: who performed, what songs they sang, how the reunion came together, and why the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 moment matters far beyond a single night of television.
What Happened at the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 Reunion
The Night Broadway Stood Still
The 78th Annual Tony Awards broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on CBS and Paramount+ on June 8, 2025. Hosted by Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo, the ceremony honored Broadway’s best of the season. But before the competitive awards got underway, the show gave the audience something nobody wanted to miss.
The original cast of Hamilton took the stage.
More than 25 actors returned for a breathtaking medley performance that celebrated the musical’s 10th anniversary. The crowd erupted immediately. By the time the medley ended, everyone in Radio City Music Hall was on their feet.
Erivo introduced the cast with words that captured the moment perfectly. She noted that Hamilton had “reinvigorated the American theater and changed not just Broadway, but how Americans view their own history.”
Who Was There
The reunion brought together virtually the entire original company. Here is who stepped back into their roles:
- Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton)
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr)
- Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton)
- Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson)
- Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler)
- Jonathan Groff (King George III)
- Christopher Jackson (George Washington)
- Ariana DeBose (Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds)
- Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds)
- Javier Muñoz (understudy Hamilton)
Also on stage were Carleigh Bettiol, Andrew Chappelle, Alysha Deslorieux, Sydney James Harcourt, Neil Haskell, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Stephanie Klemons, Morgan Marcell, Okieriete Onaodowan, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart, Betsy Struxness, Ephraim Sykes, and Voltaire Wade-Greene.
It was a crowded, electric stage. Every original member who could be there showed up.
The Songs They Performed
The medley moved at an incredible pace. Miranda and Odom opened the performance with “Non-Stop,” setting the energy high from the very first note. Then the medley rolled through:
- “My Shot”
- “That Would Be Enough”
- “The Schuyler Sisters”
- “Guns and Ships”
- “You’ll Be Back”
- “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)”
- “The Room Where It Happens”
- “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”
- “History Has Its Eyes on You”
- A reprise of “Alexander Hamilton” to close
Each performer stepped forward for their signature moment. Phillipa Soo brought tears with “That Would Be Enough.” Daveed Diggs attacked “Guns and Ships” with the same ferocious speed that won him a Tony Award in 2016. Jonathan Groff made a deliberate, playful choice: while everyone else wore elegant black suits and gowns, he wore a red blazer as a winking nod to King George’s royal costume.
The crowd cheered throughout. When it ended, the standing ovation was immediate and thunderous.
How the Reunion Came Together in Just Days
A Last-Minute Masterpiece
Here is something that makes the performance even more impressive. According to Miranda himself, the reunion came together in just a few days. The cast learned the medley over a single weekend before the ceremony.
Think about that for a moment. More than 25 performers. Eight-plus songs. Complex choreography. Rapid-fire transitions. All rehearsed in roughly 48 hours.
Miranda spoke openly about the rushed timeline, marveling at how quickly the cast snapped back into form. When you spend years performing a show together, the muscle memory does not disappear. The chemistry between this group of performers is something that cannot be faked or rebuilt from scratch — it was simply still there.
What the Cast Said Afterward
The cast was visibly moved by the experience. Daveed Diggs reflected on just how singular this group of people is.
“In this business, you keep moving so much that you don’t often take the time to recognize how special something is while you’re in it,” he said. “That group of people is pretty singular. I’ve never been in a room like it.”
Renée Elise Goldsberry described walking into rehearsal and bursting into tears of joy.
“I walked in there and every single person that came into the room — just tears of joy bubbled up from my soul,” she shared. “We group hugged a million times. We just love each other so much.”
These were not polished press quotes. These were people who genuinely love each other, reunited to celebrate something they built together ten years ago.
Hamilton’s Historic Tony Awards Legacy
What Hamilton Won in 2016
To understand why the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 reunion hit so hard, you have to know the history.
At the 70th Annual Tony Awards in 2016, Hamilton walked in with a record-breaking 16 nominations. It left with 11 wins. That haul included:
- Best Musical
- Best Original Score (Miranda)
- Best Book of a Musical (Miranda)
- Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail)
- Best Actor in a Musical (Leslie Odom Jr.)
- Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daveed Diggs)
- Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Renée Elise Goldsberry)
- Best Choreography
- Best Costume Design of a Musical
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical
- Best Orchestrations
The 11 wins fell just one short of the all-time record held by The Producers (12 wins in 2001). But Hamilton’s 16 nominations set a new record that still stands.
For the first time in Broadway history, all four musical performance categories at the Tonys were won by Black actors. Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, and Renée Elise Goldsberry all won for Hamilton. Cynthia Erivo won Best Actress for The Color Purple.
That was not a coincidence. It was a statement about what inclusive, diverse storytelling can do.
Beyond the Tonys
The Tony Awards were just the beginning for Hamilton. The show went on to collect:
- The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2016)
- The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album
- The Olivier Award (West End production)
- A special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors
Lin-Manuel Miranda became a rare EGOT contender, and Hamilton became one of the most studied and discussed works in American cultural history. Schools added it to curricula. Politicians quoted it. The cast album reached No. 1 on the Billboard rap charts — a first for a Broadway show.
Hamilton did not just win awards. It changed what Broadway is allowed to be.
Hamilton in 2025: Still Running, Still Relevant
Ten Years and Still Going
Hamilton opened on Broadway on August 6, 2015, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. As of the Tony Awards ceremony on June 8, 2025, the show continues its run at that same theater. Ten years later, it is still selling out.
That kind of longevity is rare at any level of theater. It puts Hamilton in the company of Phantom of the Opera and Chicago as shows that transcend their original buzz and become permanent cultural institutions.
Leslie Odom Jr. Returns to the Stage
One of the most exciting pieces of news tied to the 2025 reunion: Leslie Odom Jr. is returning to the Broadway production of Hamilton in the fall of 2025 for a 12-week limited run as Aaron Burr.
Odom described the return as “a deeply meaningful homecoming.” He added, “I’m so grateful for the chance to step back into the room — especially during this anniversary moment and to revisit this brilliant piece that forever changed my life.”
If you have been waiting for a reason to finally see Hamilton live, this is it.
The Kennedy Center Controversy
The 2025 anniversary has not been without tension. Earlier this year, a planned Hamilton run at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was cancelled. The production was meant to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.
Miranda was direct about why. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center,” he said. Producer Jeffrey Seller added that the cancellation was not a political attack on the administration, but a protest of what he called “the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center.”
The story is still developing, but it adds a layer of meaning to the Tony Awards reunion. Hamilton has always been a show about American ideals, civic participation, and who gets to tell the story of this country. That conversation, it turns out, is still very much alive.
Why the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 Moment Matters
More Than Nostalgia
It would be easy to dismiss a 10th anniversary reunion as pure nostalgia. Fan service. A ratings boost for a broadcast that needed a spark.
But this was something more. The original cast of Hamilton represented a specific moment in American cultural history: a time when a hip-hop musical about a forgotten Founding Father became the most talked-about piece of art in the country. They carried that weight back onto the stage, dressed in black, and they delivered.
The performance reminded everyone in that room — and everyone watching at home — what theater can do that no other medium can. It puts you in a room with other human beings, alive and breathing, singing and moving together. As Renée Elise Goldsberry said backstage that night, “We can literally sit in the theater and nothing else matters but the story and our heartbeats and our listening ears.”
You cannot stream that feeling. You have to be there.
The Standing Ovation Said Everything
Standing ovations are common at the Tony Awards. Award shows are designed to generate applause. But the reaction to the Hamilton reunion was something different. It was spontaneous. It was loud. It did not stop quickly.
People were on their feet because something real had happened in front of them. A group of artists, ten years older and ten years wiser, had stepped back into work that defined them — and they had shown everyone that the work still holds. The songs still hit. The performances still land. The story still matters.
That is the real story of the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 moment. Not the nostalgia. The proof.
Conclusion
The Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 reunion was one of the most genuinely emotional moments in recent Broadway history. More than 25 original cast members came back to Radio City Music Hall, rehearsed a multi-song medley in a weekend, and brought an audience of theater’s most passionate supporters to their feet.
Ten years after Hamilton changed Broadway forever — after 16 Tony nominations, 11 wins, a Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy, and an Olivier Award — the original cast proved that what they built together still stands tall.
If you watched it, you probably cried. If you missed it, find the footage. And if you have never seen Hamilton live, now is the time to get your shot.
What was your favorite moment from the 2025 Tony Awards? Did the reunion make you want to see Hamilton again, or for the first time? Share your thoughts — this conversation is just getting started.
FAQs: Hamilton Tony Awards 2025
1. What was the Hamilton performance at the 2025 Tony Awards? The original Broadway cast of Hamilton reunited at the 78th Annual Tony Awards on June 8, 2025, to perform a medley of songs in celebration of the show’s 10th anniversary. They performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
2. Who performed in the Hamilton reunion at the 2025 Tony Awards? More than 25 original cast members appeared, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, and Ariana DeBose, among others.
3. What songs did Hamilton perform at the Tony Awards 2025? The medley included “Non-Stop,” “My Shot,” “That Would Be Enough,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “Guns and Ships,” “You’ll Be Back,” “Yorktown,” “The Room Where It Happens,” “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” “History Has Its Eyes on You,” and a reprise of “Alexander Hamilton.”
4. How many Tony Awards did Hamilton win? Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards at the 70th Annual Tony Awards in 2016, out of a record-breaking 16 nominations. It won Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction, and more.
5. Is Hamilton still running on Broadway in 2025? Yes. Hamilton continues its run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway. It has been running since it officially opened on August 6, 2015.
6. Who hosted the 2025 Tony Awards? Cynthia Erivo hosted the 78th Annual Tony Awards. She is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner and a three-time Oscar nominee.
7. Where were the 2025 Tony Awards held? The 78th Annual Tony Awards took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 8, 2025. The ceremony broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+.
8. Why did Hamilton cancel its Kennedy Center run? Hamilton cancelled a planned run at the Kennedy Center because of concerns over the current administration’s influence over the institution. Lin-Manuel Miranda and producer Jeffrey Seller both released statements explaining the decision.
9. Is Leslie Odom Jr. returning to Hamilton? Yes. Leslie Odom Jr. is returning to the Broadway production of Hamilton in the fall of 2025 for a limited 12-week run, reprising his original role as Aaron Burr.
10. How quickly did the Hamilton Tony Awards 2025 reunion come together? According to Lin-Manuel Miranda, the reunion performance came together in just a few days. The cast learned the medley over a single weekend before the June 8 ceremony.
About the Author
James Elliot is a theater writer and cultural critic with over eight years of experience covering Broadway, West End productions, and the performing arts. A lifelong fan of musical theater, James has reviewed more than 200 live productions and contributes regularly to entertainment and culture publications. He believes that live performance is one of the last truly irreplaceable art forms, and he writes with the goal of making theater feel accessible and exciting to every kind of reader.
