From the moment Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-driven musical Hamilton premiered at the Off-Broadway Public Theater in 2015 before transferring to Broadway, it became the most sought-after theatre ticket in New York. Audiences flocked, houses sold out months ahead, and a lottery was introduced.

Critics shared the love, with universally rapturous reviews from publications including Limelight. Umpteen awards followed including 11 Tonys and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In no time, the show’s fame had gone global with the original cast recording selling like wildfire. Other productions opened in Chicago, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London’s West End – and wherever the show went it more than lived up to the phenomenal hype that preceded it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Philippa Soo in the Disney film of the original Broadway cast

In February this year, Disney announced that it would be releasing a film of the stage production in cinemas in October 2021. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and with theatres forced to close, a decision was made to stream it on the Disney+ channel on July 3 this year instead, 15 months ahead of schedule.

Musical theatre fans around the world rejoiced. Not...