CMU School of Drama


Thursday, September 19, 2024

Broadway’s ‘Hamilton’ partners with When We All Vote to release nonpartisan voting anthem

www.broadwaynews.com: In a partnership with When We All Vote, “Hamilton” has released the new song “The Election of 2024.” The anthem, performed by current company members of “Hamilton,” urges citizens to register to vote. The song’s release coincides with National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 17, and aims to increase voter turnout at the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5.

6 comments:

Rachel L said...

This is so cool! I love that the cast of Hamilton made this song to promote voting, and the song is so good! The lyrics are very well adapted to the upcoming election and the modern times, and fans of Hamilton will definitely recognise the tune of the Election of 1800 song and other Hamilton favorites in this medley. I find it interesting how the song also manages to bring forth connotations of parallels between the current election and the tumultuous election of 1800. The merchandise they have put out in support of voting efforts is also very well done, and I love how they are giving portions of those proceeds right back to efforts to increase voter turnout. In this time, so much of the theatre community has come together to help make sure that people vote in the upcoming election. History does indeed have its eyes on us.

Ava Basso said...

Hamilton was a *revolutionary* musical (no pun intended) on Broadway. It changed the style of many Broadway musicals as well as opened the Great White Way to more and more performers, designers, and other creatives of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Hamilton, however, has made a point to go past just the world of the Broadway stage and into communities and American society as a whole, as evident in their Ham4Progress association. Instead of simply releasing a statement saying, “go vote!” they are appealing to their (very vast) audience by using a medium they all know and love– song. By presenting their objective and mission as an art piece, adapted from the already beloved song from the show, they are appealing to a wider audience. Additionally, with this being a studio recording with real actors from the show, it insinuates that the foundation would have had to actually pour a considerable amount of time, money, effort, and creative power into this project– which really shows the dedication of Hamilton to the American people as well as positive social change.

Lydia J said...

I actually saw this video as a reel on Instagram and sent it to my sister. I love that the company took this chance to get back in the studio and record a cover just for National Voter Registration Day. I wasn't going to watch the whole thing, but it was really catchy so I actually did. I also saw that they created the "Hamilton Vote Collection", which I think could be very effective and is a great form of promotion. I think it's really great that they're using this platform they've built because they can reach such a large audience. Through their long run and recording on Disney+, Hamilton has built up a good reputation and a large fan base, so I'm sure this video reached and influenced a lot of people to register.

Sara said...

I saw this performance on YouTube a few days ago. I thought their lyrics were very clever and engaging. Hamilton has paved the way for musicals in terms of inclusion and diversity, which I think is what America should be all about. It makes me happy to see a musical about the government and politics and war and American patriotism that features such a wide array of people, especially ones which you wouldn't usually associate with the word patriot. It reminds me of how the Democratic movement right now is reclaiming the word 'freedom' as part of their movement, as freedom and liberty and patriotism and other 'yay America' phrases are usually used by the right. I think it's strange that one political party should embrace patriotism and the other shouldn't. I love that Hamilton made this video because it shows that we can ALL support the stereotypical 'liberty and justice' no matter our background.

Jasper Gitlitz said...

With the election coming up, campaigns like this are so important and it’s amazing to see that the cast and crew of Hamilton, a show that is so prominent in both theater culture and American popular culture in general, are using their voices to make a change. In my opinion, getting people to vote is one of the most important things we can do right now and the more ways this effort is taken on, the better off we will all be once we get to the election. The Hamilton cast and crew is in such a unique position where they’re able to reach such a wide audience that by doing this campaign, they’re likely to have a major impact on getting people registered to vote. I hope that they continue to push this campaign and more shows follow in their footsteps and work hard to get as many people registered to vote as possible.

Eliza Krigsman said...

This is great! The current voting numbers are dismal, and they have been for quite a long time. Any efforts to get people to go out and vote is a positive in my book. Not to mention, “The Election of 2024” is catchy. Ham4Progress is an organization that I’ve heard of before, alongside When We All Vote. I think this is a pretty genius way to encourage people, but I wonder about its effectiveness in the context of current disincentives to voting: disillusionment with politics, the time it takes (and thus the question of labor), the paperwork needed, lack of polling places, lack of accessibility, etc. I read another article recently detailing that for many members of minority groups, the choice of whether to vote or not isn’t much of a choice, even if it is a necessity politically.