In his 2016 book "Hamilton: The Revolution," Lin-Manuel Miranda says that the inspiration for the "Hamilton" song "You'll Be Back" came from his friendship with Hugh Laurie, which in turn came from his time as an actor on "House": "I was having a drink with Hugh Laurie, with whom I'd worked on his series House, and I told him I wanted to write a big breakup letter from King George to the colonies. Without blinking, he improvised at me, 'Awwww, you'll be back,' wagging his finger. I laughed and filed it away. Thanks, Hugh Laurie. "
Filmed over the course of three days in June 2016. It started by filming a live Sunday matinee performance with cameras in the audience, after which the cast and crew spent the rest of the day and evening filming close-ups, dolly shots and crane shots. Filming continued all day Monday (normally the cast's day off) with more close-ups and Steadicam footage. More filming took place on Tuesday morning, before shooting another live performance on Tuesday evening, with cameras again in the audience but in different positions. Lin-Manuel Miranda said, "it was basically a three-day film shoot with the best-rehearsed cast in the history of the movies, 'cause we'd all been doing the show for a year at this point."
Eliza sings, "Oh--can I show you what I'm proudest of? / I establish the first private orphanage in New York City. / I help to raise hundreds of children; I get to see them growing up. / In their eyes I see you, Alexander / I see you every time." In 1806, a group of prominent female philanthropists who were members of New York City's Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children (including Isabella Graham, Graham's daughter Joanna Bethune, and their friend Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler Hamilton) founded The Orphan Asylum Society in the City of New York--the first private orphanage in New York City. The society housed its first six orphans in a rented frame house on what is now Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, but the orphanage quickly expanded to accommodate many more children in a building on Bank Street. In 1821, Eliza was named "First Directress" (president) of the orphanage, a position she held until 1848. The orphanage survives into the present day as Graham Windham, a social service agency for New York-area children and families.
Ron Chernow, who wrote the Hamilton biography that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda in the first place, was initially skeptical about making a musical from Hamilton's life, but changed his mind after his first meeting with Miranda, who stressed that he wanted Hamilton to be taken seriously by historians and asked Chernow to help him develop the script. Chernow said his skepticism melted the moment he heard Miranda's first song, and was completely on board afterwards. He's supposedly seen the show dozens of times, always as a paying customer.
At the time the show was filmed, Jonathan Groff had already left the role of King George, replaced by Rory O'Malley. He returned especially for this filming. He also provides, in character, the voice of the pre-show announcer at the beginning of the film, welcoming the audience to the show. O'Malley and Brian d'Arcy James, who had played King George in the original off-Broadway cast and was the only cast member not to join the rest of the cast on Broadway, are given special thanks in the credits.