[Cali Panthers Fan]

Yeah, Miranda was weak, but remember that he's not a performer first, he's a writer.

I had seen a touring production last year before seeing this one with Miranda, and even that guy playing Hamilton was a much better singer. However, I will give credit to Miranda for the rap/spoken pieces because I think he nails the cadence and emotion in those sections. I wonder if he might have been stronger in the other areas years ago when he first began. But whatever, it was his baby, he had every right to play the lead (although it does speak to his ego a little bit to not let a stronger performer have that role).

I think it's just such an excellent use of modern music styles to tell old stories, and it does bounce back and forth between traditional broadway styles and rap or Caribbean music. It helps to make history accessible and gets people interested in understanding their government and civics. It can only help to spark interest in most people who would otherwise never look at the subject twice. This is especially important for groups of minorities or immigrants who might view the founding fathers as stuffy white men and not relatable in any way. This is vitally important in a democracy for people to engage as much as possible in understanding their government and civics in general. I watched it a second time with the subtitles on in order to not miss a word that at times can be missed or misheard due to the rapid fire nature of delivery. After seeing it in that format I found the lyric writing to be absolutely exceptional, some of the best I've ever seen.

I think it's a brilliant piece of writing, but I will also agree that it isn't my favorite musical by any stretch. I find it a bit too jarring to go back and forth between some very emotional numbers and some straightforward history telling pieces, but it's a small grievance. It just interferes with the flow at times.

I'd give it a bit higher rating than a 7.5 of course (probably a 9). Not many shows are able to pull off what this one does, and I still think it's worth a watch for anybody.