Broadway’s ‘Hamilton’ Cast To Appear With Pre-Recorded Performance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
This Thanksgiving looks different for many families and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is no different. This year, the Hamilton cast pre-filmed their performance for this parade, along with a few other Broadway casts.
Here’s what we know about this year’s New York City event.
The ‘Hamilton’ cast will appear at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade for 2020
The “familton” is definitely satisfied with this news. The performers from this Tony Award-winning musician reunite for the 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade — well, sort of. Cast members already performed audience-less, filming outside of the show’s New York City theatre.
This is not the original cast appearing in the parade, but the cast that was currently performing on Broadway before the closure. (All New York City Broadway shows have been canceled through May 30, 2021.)
This year’s Parade is mostly pre-filmed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Most groups appearing in the parade will be without an audience, including musicians Patti LaBelle, Dolly Parton, and Jordin Sparks. There will be performances from Big Apple Circus, the NYPD Police Band, and the West Point Marching Band, as well as the annual visit from Santa Clause.
On Thanksgiving Day, floats and performers will reportedly travel just one city block down 34th Street. The streets surrounding the site will be closed off, even during the planning stages, according to reports by The New York Times.
This is to prevent onlookers from congregating, as is the shorted route. In past years they would travel a two-and-a-half-mile route starting at West 77th Street.
‘Hamilton’ isn’t the only Broadway cast appearing in this year’s Thanksgiving Day parade
They may not be appearing in front of crowds, but there are several casts scheduled for this Thanksgiving. Pre-filmed Broadway productions include Hamilton, as well as Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations, Jagged Little Pill, and Mean Girls. There’s also a performance from the Radio City Rockettes during the Nov. 26 broadcast.
“We still wanted to deliver what people expect on a Thanksgiving morning,” Susan Tercero, the event’s executive producer, during an interview with the New York Times. “But it’s going to look like a parade during Covid times: We’re going to have people in masks and we’re going to be socially distanced.”
One recording of the entire Broadcast production featuring the original cast is available on Disney’s streaming platform, as are movies featuring the voices of Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, including the animated movie, Moana.
The original cast also recently reunited for a YouTube video published by Joe Biden’s campaign ahead of the 2020 Presidental election. The 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be from 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26.
