Digital fandom: Hamilton and the participatory spectator

Abstract

This chapter discusses the unprecedented scale of the Hamilton phenomenon that has “smash[ed] expectations” artistically and at the box office, forcing the show out of the musical theatre bubble and into mainstream culture. But even for a musical about the founding fathers, Hamilton’s digital presence may stand as its most revolutionary element. Although passionate online fans are not unique to Hamilton, several elements of that phenomenon are particularly compelling and perhaps indicative of the future of Broadway fandom. The Internet’s potential for interactivity has not only intensified the kind of personalization process fans have always had with musicals, but has also fundamentally altered that relationship, enabling a new, postmodern presence through interaction and participation in a mediatized community. Hamilton’s digital footprint can help reveal how and why fans love a particular musical, granting musical theatre new life and leading the form fully into the twenty-first century.