CRITIC'S PICK "Yes, it really is that good...I am loath to tell people to mortgage their houses and lease their children to acquire tickets to a hit Broadway show. But 'Hamilton,' directed by Thomas Kail and starring Mr. Miranda, might just about be worth it — at least to anyone who wants proof that the American musical is not only surviving but also evolving in ways that should allow it to thrive and transmogrify in years to come."
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"What is left to say? After every critic in town (including me) praised the Public Theater world premiere to high heaven; and after seeing this language-drunk, rhyme-crazy dynamo a second time, I can only marvel: They used up all the damn words. Wait, here are three stragglers, straight from the heart: I love 'Hamilton.' I love it like I love New York, or Broadway when it gets it right. And this is so right."
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"A second look suggests that something even more significant is going on. The breakthrough isn’t so much the incorporation of those contemporary genres; after all, Miranda already did that, throwing in Latin music to boot, in the charming 'In the Heights.' But 'Hamilton' not only incorporates newish-to-Broadway song forms; it requires and advances them, in the process opening up new territory for exploitation. It’s the musical theater, not just American history, that gets refurbished. And perhaps popular music, too. Call it Miranda’s manifest destiny, though one dreads the caravans of poor imitators that will surely trail behind."
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"'Hamilton' is the best and most important Broadway musical of the past decade. Why important? Because it sounds as though it had been written last week instead of a half-century ago...So do whatever you have to do short of grand larceny to score a ticket to 'Hamilton.' It’ll make you want to stand on your seat and yell with delight."
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"Every great musical improves on second (and third, and fourth) hearing; 'Hamilton' is no exception. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s magnificent adaptation is not, to use that tired cliché, a game-changer. It is, in truth, the quintessence of a Broadway musical destined for the record books...Like 'Rent' 20 years ago and 'A Chorus Line' 40 years so, 'Hamilton' is accessible without pandering and inspirational in sneaky ways that permeate a skeptic’s shell."
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"With 'Hamilton,' Broadway is officially the coolest place on the planet. And the smartest. And most exhilarating. Yes, composer, lyricist, author and leading man Lin-Manuel Miranda’s magical musical tour of the life of the '10-dollar Founding Father,' Alexander Hamilton, is that great. It’s even richer and more eloquent since its run earlier this year at the Public Theater."
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"This innovative show is shaping up to be just as much of a phenomenon uptown, playing in a Broadway house with four times the seating capacity, and to a more traditional but no less enthusiastic audience. That universal appeal to crossover audiences is one unmistakable sign of a groundbreaking show...Like any true landmark, 'Hamilton' stands up to repeated viewings. After six months, the show’s initial impact hasn’t dulled a bit; in fact, the qualities that made it so extraordinary the first time around are all the more striking."
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"Having already become a cultural phenomenon in its off-Broadway premiere run earlier this year at the Public Theater, 'Hamilton' — written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, who previously made a name for himself on Broadway with 'In the Heights' — seems a shoo-in for smash hit status and a slew of awards attention...The musical is a triumph."
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