Hamilton at Des Moines Civic Center

Hamilton is the kind of life-changing theatrical experience that has only occured a few times in the history of American musicals. It joins the likes of Show Boat, Oklahoma! and West Side Story as game changers, creatice productions that forever redefined what came after them. Unlike most of its predecessors, however, Hamilton was executed by one man, Lin‑Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music, lyrics, and book about the musical (only Stephen Sondheim can claim as much, and none of his shows were such blockbusters). In less than two years, it has destroyed all box office records – it has sold $1bn worth of tickets – and won every theatrical prize (including the Pulitzer prize for drama), garnering the kind of hyperbolic praise that no production can ever live up to. But Hamilton exceeds its own acclaim.