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 The show, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is an unconventional
take on the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding
fathers of the United States, featuring a racially diverse cast
and a hip-hop-inflected score.
Though the show is rooted firmly in the 18th and 19th centuries,
Miranda feels that its themes of legacy and how one spends time
on earth still resonate with contemporary audiences.
"That's what Hamilton and (antagonist Vice President Aaron) Burr
are wrestling with the whole time, and I think that's what
people are responding to," Miranda told Reuters.
Miranda, who played the title role on Broadway, took to the
stage after the performance to thank the cast and crew.
Addressing media coverage of the show's runaway success, he
said: "I never want to see the words 'overnight success'
associated with this show," saying that his relationships with
collaborators on the project dated to 2002.
Thursday's show was attended by many notable public figures,
including musical impresario Andrew-Lloyd Webber, Queen
guitarist Brian May and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
"Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston, who also attended the
performance, described the show as "a masterpiece," adding that
it was "striking a chord with the younger generations and that's
what we need in the theater."
The play is notable for casting black, Asian and Latin actors to
play the roles of white historical figures.
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The title role, which was originally played by Miranda, who is of
Puerto Rican descent, was filled by Londoner Jamael Westman, who has
Irish and Jamaican heritage.
The London production, housed in the newly refurbished Victoria
Palace theater, is the show's first foray outside of the United
States after successful runs in Chicago, San Francisco and Los
Angeles, as well as New York.
The Broadway production won 11 Tony awards and netted Miranda a
Pulitzer Prize in 2016.
Any uncertainty about whether British audiences would share their
American counterparts' enthusiasm for the show was quickly assuaged
by a remarkable demand for tickets, which London's Guardian
newspaper reported were being offered by re-sellers for up to 6,000
pounds ($8,000).
The show's depiction of an effete King George III, Britain's ruler
during the U.S. revolutionary war, also drew some of the biggest
laughs of the night from the British crowd.
(Reporting by Mark Hanrahan and Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
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