It took exactly the right mix of circumstances for Hamilton to become the smash hit it did. Join Great Courses favorite, Professor John McWhorter, to look at a history of Broadway musicals and examine why Hamilton has received so much hype—and if it lives up to it.

1: Broadway Musicals: Why Hamilton has Captivated the Public's Eye

• Hamilton revolutionized the Broadway musical like no other show in the history of musicals. The way it was cast, the music choices, the focus on a character who is historically considered a sidekick among the more famous Founding Fathers …these elements were groundbreaking for the genre. Dive into the radical approach Hamilton creators took in developing this modern musical and understand why the timing and circumstances were ideal, making Hamilton a game-changing experiment that paid off in a way that will go down in history.