Photo by Joan Marcus

We thought this Grammy landmark was reason enough to declare the unstoppable juggernaut our #ShowOfTheWeek.

If you've been living under a rock for the past year and you're asking "What'd I miss?", then here's the lowdown. Hamilton became a runaway hit at off-Broadway's Public Theater, where it opened in February 2015, and quicker than a hiccup a Broadway transfer to the Richard Rodgers Theatre was announced for July 2015. Previews began on 13 July and the show opened to excellent reviews on 6 August. Since then, packed houses (including celebrity guests from Jay-Z and Beyoncé to President Obama) have witnessed what many people are referring to as the re-invention of modern day musical theatre.

I was lucky enough to secure a ticket last Autumn - I did have to bump a few people off to do so, but needs must. Being British and knowing very little about the founding forefathers of the United States, the show's synopsis didn't wildly appeal to me, to be honest. I was never a huge fan of History lessons at school. But the hysteria surrounding the production obviously was more than enough to spark my interest. If only History had been taught at my school growing up, the same way it's taught at Miranda High! What an entertaining and simultaneously educational experience it was! There aren't may new adjectives I can use about 'Hamilton' that haven't been said already - inventive, ground-breaking, evolutionary - and since my visit, I too have become somewhat obsessed with the Broadway Cast Recording.

The historical characters, played with modern 'swagger' by one of the most gifted, young casts I have ever seen, conjure up a full range of emotions in the audience member. Whether you feel heartbroken, infuriated or overpowered with a sense of joy or pride, nobody can deny that you feel like you've just sat through an emotional rollercoaster for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The musical number "It's Quiet Uptown" literally left me a tear-stained wreck of a human being. And every good show needs a dash of comic relief too, which comes in the form of Jonathan Groff's delightfully cartoonish King George - my own personal favourite.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether this modern American phenomenon translates as well on the other side of the pond with its highly rumoured West End transfer, but for now, there are no signs of it slowing down on the Great White Way whatsoever. They are even taking bookings through to 29 January 2017. So don't waste your shot, grab a ticket and you too can be inside the room where it happens!

Check out our in-depth interview with one of the show's leading men Leslie Odom, Jr. here.

Click here for tickets to Hamilton, which is booking through to 29 January 2017 at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre.

- by Tom Millward