Lin-Manuel Miranda Opens ‘Hamilton: The Exhibition’ in Chicago

Fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s massive hit Hamilton can now experience Hamilton: The Exhibition, an immersive 360-degree exhibition spanning 35,000-square-feet custom built structure on Northerly Island, Chicago. The exhibition, currently running through September 8, is set to travel throughout the U.S. though no word yet on the next state it’s headed to.

Miranda served as an artistic advisor to the exhibition and said the exhibition provides context and clarifies inaccuracies in the musical.

“Listen, I couldn’t even fit Ben Franklin in my show; I couldn’t get the state of Pennsylvania in. But here, we can do a deeper dive on slavery in the north and the south. We can talk about Native American contributions, we can talk about women in the war effort. And you can go down all of those tributaries during this exhibit,” he told The Daily Beast.

The exhibition features interactive games and displays, lifelike projections, full-scale statues, and art installations, diving into Alexander Hamilton’s life and the American Revolution.

Attendees will get to learn how Hamilton’s work as a trader in St. Croix plays an influential part in the development of America’s financial system, they’ll get to see the New York street where he first landed in 1776, and see the Battle of Yorktown come alive through a reenacted virtual battle.

There are also replicas of artifacts like Hamilton and Aaron Burr’s dueling pistols where guests can start down the barrel of the gun.

Also included are the stories and contributions of women, of slaves and of Native Americans. Their presence is meant to convey the important roles they played in the country’s founding and, according to Miranda, how the history of slavery and its repercussion are something Americans still grapple with.

The exhibition features an audio tour narrated in part by Miranda and at the end of the exhibit, guests can watch the opening number of Hamilton starring Lin-Manuel Miranda in 3D. It also includes a brand-new, 27-piece orchestral recording of the music from Hamilton, the exhibition also features  Phillipa Soo and Christopher Jackson, who played Eliza Schuyler and George Washington in the original Broadway production as part of the audio tour. 

“People want to learn more,” Miranda said to The Chicago Tribune. “It seems that two hours and 45 minutes of a musical were just not enough for them. I know from my Twitter account.”

He went on to add, “In the theater, I had to take a lot of liberties with history to get you out of there before 11 o’clock. Now we can have a theatrical experience with historical rigor.”