Ever since the ground-breaking musicalHamilton, a hip-hop musical about founding father and Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, was first introduced to the world at the 2009 White House Poetry Jam, it has soared to truly impressive heights. Only 6 months after its debut Off-Broadway performance, Hamilton moved to the Richard Rogers theater on Broadway, where the creator and writer of the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda, had previously starred in his first Tony-award winning musical, In The Heights.

Hamilton has unexpectedly attracted people ranging from the senior members of the community to the youngest children in grade school, with a large portion of the musical's fans being teenagers. With another show that just opened in Chicago at PrivateBank Theater as well as a national tour and London debut, more people than ever are migrating across the U.S. (some even from around the world) to see this incredible musical.

I was hooked from the moment my friends pushed me to listen to the original broadway cast recording- and I haven’t even seen a performance yet. I have done a fair amount of research though, so I comprised a list of my favorite aspects of Hamilton.

***CAUTION: This article contains minor plot spoilers about certain events in history that occurred around 250 years ago.

1. The sheer effect of the musical

This musical is truly impressive and amazing for more reasons than one can count. I was genuinely surprised and pleased by the musical's ability to be described using the words ‘rap’, ‘hip-hop’, and ‘Broadway’ in the same sentence. Many stereotypical musicals as being sing-song plays that lack true depth or meaning, but this musical immensely defies both of those claims. Hamilton is also praised for being one of the most diverse musical theater productions. In the original Broadway cast, there were African-American, Hispanic, and Asian men & woman portraying people who were mostly white and lived in a time when society oppressed those of a different skin color. Instead of casting people who would fit the roles of physical appearance, they chose people for a cast who would reflect the society of America today, not back in the Colonial Age.

2. Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton

This brilliant person had with the idea, oversaw the creation, and composed music not only for the musical Hamilton, but also his for first musical, In The Heights, which was nominated for 13 Tony awards and won 4 Tonys (including Best Musical), and a Grammy. Not only are his lyrics and rhythm so catchy that they’ve topped the charts on iTunes, but he also starred as Alexander Hamilton in the Off-Broadway debut, and stayed with the show on Broadway until July 9, 2016. One doesn’t even need to see the show to know that his role as Hamilton was incredibly moving and has showed millions of people the true nature of Alexander Hamilton, who was a non-stop writer committed to the cause he was fighting for (much like Miranda himself.)

3. Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr

Leslie was the very first Aaron Burr and really set the tone for the character who ended up killing the man who shown as his enemy from the very start: Alexander Hamilton. During the duel that resulted in the death of Hamilton, both men took on the characteristic of the other: Burr resorted to a more drastic move by aiming his gun at Hamilton, and Hamilton (for once in his life) decided to exercise caution and wasted his shot by aiming his gun towards the sky. At the end of the musical, Burr expresses regret that he will forever be known as the villain of the story. During the musical, Leslie portrays Burr as a cautious man, always throwing away opportunities by never expressing his opinions too clearly. Even though he kills the main character of the musical, we have to give him some credit for having an absolutely incredible voice (see Track #13, “Wait For It, or Track #28, “Room Where It Happens”).

4. The Revolutionaries

Contrary to the show, Alexander did not meet Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs), Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan), and John Laurens (Anthony Ramos) all at once in real life, but he was good friends with each of them. All three actors are incredibly talented, and I particularly looked forward to the parts of the musical where they congregated together in a pub and hung out while being kind of rowdy but also endearing. They’re Hamilton’s crew for Act I of the musical before they all disperse in Act II (all three of these actors double as new characters in the second act.)

5. The Schuyler Sisters

These endearing sisters have a whole song to themselves at the beginning of Act I. The three sisters are named Elizabeth or Eliza (Phillipa Soo), Angelica (Renee Elise Goldsberry), and Peggy (Jasmine Cephas Jones) Schuyler. They spend a good part of the first act wandering around town, supposedly “looking for a mind at work.” Later in the musical, Eliza marries Hamilton, although he also has feelings for the older sister, Angelica. This kind of creates a sort of love triangle (as Hamilton is known for having interests in many women), but the relationship between these two sisters is one of the most heartwarming things in the whole play. It stays intact despite the many things they encounter together. These ladies are perfect examples of how woman have the potential find as much success as men.

6. Christopher Jackson as George Washington

Christoper Jackson previously starred in Lin’s first musical, In The Heights, and returned to the Richard Rodgers theater as George Washington, the father and leader of the American Revolution. In my opinion, he was the best choice to play Washington because there is something absolutely majestic about the way he leads people. In the music, you can hear it in the vibrato in his voice, and on stage, you can see it in his stance. He is the guy who keeps Hamilton in check, but he’s also the guy who can’t run everything by himself (during the war he appoints Alexander to be his secretary and to manage his papers/letters.) Overall, he’s just a totally awesome human being.

7. Jonathan Groff as King George III

Jonathan Groff, former Glee cast member has starred in other Broadway musicals before, but he has never had a role quite like this one. Groff starred as King George III, the king of England at the time of the Revolutionary War. The King only has about 22 minutes of stage time, appearing in three different songs throughout the show. I would go so far as to say that he is portrayed as a psychotic monarch who is obsessed with the affairs of the colonists. However, I find it hilarious; it certainly helps that he sings in a crisp British accent whenever he’s on stage.

8. #Ham4Ham Show

Every Wednesday, an online lottery is held where the Ham4Ham show sells 21 tickets for only $10. And they’re sold the day of the show, so if you win, you get a front-row seat for probably the cheapest price on Broadway. They used to have presentations in front of the Richard Rodgers, where people would come to watch Lin and his guests perform. You can check them out right here.

9. Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson

Daveed Digs is a Tony-award winning actor who can rap at incredible speeds in French, and he also plays a sassy man known as Alexander’s archenemy, becomes the Secretary of State, Vice President, and President ALL during his lifetime (I’m talking about Thomas Jefferson.) It’s unbelievable that Digs can perform all these roles while having the best hair in the whole show. It has been stated that he is probably the fastest rapper on Broadway, and I can confirm that. No one can compare with Digs.

10. Lackety-Lac (Alex Lacamoire)

Although Lin wrote the original music, Lac wrote the orchestrations for the entire musical (along with the help of a few others) which makes listening to the musical wholly worth it. No offense Lin, but without the overlays of the song, the musical would be a lot less entertaining. Lac ended up winning the 2016 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations. Go listen to the music. Go listen. Now.

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In case you didn’t know, Hamilton was nominated for a record of 16 Tony awards in 2016, and it won 11 of them. This should be more than enough proof that you should listen to the soundtrack, or at the very least, watch their performance at the Tony’s: