I finally got to see the sensation that is Broadway and it is really that good. One thing that struck me was how fast it is. I feel like the tempo is faster than in the cast recording. Keep in mind these are songs that have very complex lyrics and rhythmic patterns that are already very fast. It is literally non-stop, the songs flow into each other, and there are no dialogue parts between songs. The talking is in the song. You have to concentrate really hard to appreciate the genius of the writing. The songs are brilliant (I don't need to tell you how brilliant the show overall is). There are so many double meanings in the lyrics, some of which are not obvious the first time around. The internal rhymes and repeated words (Aaron Burr, sir) are so well done. The themes, musical and otherwise, recur to great effect. And the counterpoint is amazing. I was pretty familiar with the soundtrack but there were some songs that have a different meaning when seeing it staged. I think Satisfied is the best example. The song has totally different meaning in the show than just listening to the music. The set is simple so as not to distract. The lighting is excellent. The cast was obviously not the original, but James Monroe Iglehart is playing Lafayette/Jefferson. He is great, he looks like he's having so much fun. We got an understudy Hamilton and the whole cast seemed really happy for him. He's the only one that his own bow. But he's not the sole lead. If you really think about it, he's a co-lead with Burr, and even with Eliza. These are all meaty roles. Their story lines are all complete. They each have something profound to say about history. That's what you get from an excellent historian like Ron Chernow. He really understood these characters and it shows in how richly developed they are.
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