As George Washington sings, “The elephant is in the room,” so let’s get this out of the way: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rainbow history lesson is the only real-world megahit that has felt like genuine theatrical art since A Chorus Line and, before that, the last golden age. Partly, that’s owed to the music, which bridges Broadway tradition and hip-hop; the cast album outsold most pop this year. Its defiantly unorthodox casting also makes it politically potent, creating a new generation of theater fans (many of whom could never have been dragged to a Broadway show before) and the stars to go with them. Has it remade the musical? It didn’t have to. It merely — merely! — exploited the full power that was already built in. [source]