Hamilton turns 10: Seeing the musical in Hamburg (in German!)
How does a scrappy musical tracing a nation's dawn, take flight and land on streets of the Reeperbahn?
This week marks 10 years since Hamilton first opened to the general public at the Richard Rogers Theater in the US and rewrote the rules of musical theatre. We didn’t catch it in New York, though. We saw it in London, Sydney (many times), Melbourne—and, a couple of years ago, in Hamburg, Germany, entirely in German. Work! Or should we say, ‘Lauft!’
The talented cast of Hamilton performing live on stage in Hamburg, Germany, delivering the hit musical in German.
Hamburg may seem like an odd choice for Hamilton, an American musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a performer and librettist of Puerto Rican descent. Yet the city has a rich musical theatre history, ever since Cats opened there in 1986. In fact, the Operettenhaus (Operetta House), where Hamilton played, first opened in 1841 but has been remodelled and reinvented countless times over the past 180 years.
The city The Beatles once called home wears its influences like a montage. You hear the soul-shaking bells of the St. Nikolai Memorial, then a man yelling something about Himmel! at the train station. Before seeing Hamilton, we wandered the infamous Reeperbahn: part seedy ’80s time capsule, part shrine to the ’60s with Beatles Platz at its heart.
“Und Ich war sein Freund und erschoss ihn.”
In that context, Hamilton somehow feels right. Already a rap remix of history, it’s surreal seeing a show we know so well performed in a language we barely understand. We could quote the lyrics chapter and verse, and from the moment we walked into an unfamiliar theatre the very familiar set design felt like coming home. Yet when the musical starts with that iconic overture, only for us to hear “Wie wird ein Bastard…”, it’s like falling through the looking glass.
The German translation, by musical author Kevin Schroeder and rapper Sera Finale, keeps Miranda’s cadences while shifting some meanings—just as Miranda tweaked lines for the London and Australian productions. One of my favourite details comes from Aaron Burr’s final line in Alexander Hamilton, the opening number. Fans know it well: “And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him.” The German version makes a small but powerful change: “Und ich war sein Freund und erschoss ihn.” My high school German was enough to catch it: “And I was his friend and I shot him.” Shivers.
Despite catching a travel bug somewhere between Copenhagen and Malmö—and loudly coughing my way through Es Ist Ruhiger Uptown (It’s Quiet Uptown), a song that is literally about the quiet—this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences we’ll always treasure.
Hamilton closed in Hamburg in October 2023, just months after we saw it. The original Broadway production, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theater on 6 August 2015, only stopped running when Covid shut down theatres. US tours, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, UAE, the UK and Ireland have all hosted productions. Where will it go next? Just you wait.
“Alexander Hamilton”, performed in German by the original Hamburg cast.
Want more reflections on our Europe travels? Check out Reflections on 2023: Part 1 and Part 2.
Be sure to follow us for more: we have a massive European trip in 2026 that will be filled with more music, beer, food and more.
