To many, the words “Founding Fathers” seem to conjure up a stale image of powdered wigs and out-of-date speeches that drag on for way too long. So how does a hip-hop historical piece about the founding father best known for his place on the ten dollar bill become the biggest thing on Broadway? By bringing history to life in the most unexpected  of ways.

Over the past year, Broadway’s newest hit musical, Hamilton, has been making waves. It seemed to come out of nowhere–a crazy idea that suddenly materialized on the stage and drew thousands in.

So what’s the big deal? Who could possibly want to subject themselves to some long historical piece?

Considering the show is sold out through September, a whole lot of people.

Because this musical is far beyond some mediocre informative play. It’s more than most things you see on Broadway today. Hamilton dared to challenge the game with something new and brilliant.

The musical was conceived when creator Lin-Manuel Miranda chose to bring a biography of Alexander Hamilton along with him on a vacation. From there, he composed a series of raps based on the historical figures life, named the Hamilton Mixtape. It’s reception was remarkable–crowds loved it, and thus the full musical Hamilton was born.

But what’s so remarkable about Hamilton is that it uses almost exclusively rap and hip-hop numbers. Both genres are extremely rare in musical theater; rap often gets pushed to the side as a single novelty piece rather than employed in major plot-moving numbers. While reflecting on this choice, Miranda explained that the use of fast-paced rap was meant to express Alexander Hamilton’s dense style of writing.

“I read that book [Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow] and it was such a perfect marriage of form and subject, and it was like, this music is the only way you can tell this guy’s story,” said Miranda in an interview with Grantland.com. “You could do a Les Mis–type musical about Hamilton, but it would have to be 12 hours long, because the amount of words on the bars when you’re writing a typical song — that’s maybe got 10 words per line.”

But Hamilton has done more than just bring a new genre of music to the forefront of Broadway — it’s brought a diverse cast composed of mostly African American and Latino actors. This becomes especially noteworthy when put in the context of historical figures. Hamilton is not afraid to cast anyone of any race, regardless of what their character’s actual ethnicity was.

It’s a definite step in the right direction, especially when mainstream media seems to have such a problem with only recognizing white actors and actresses. Not only does Miranda himself star as Alexander Hamilton, but he is also joined by Phillipa Soo as Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette, and many others.

Fans’ reception of the musical has been huge. The show’s tickets are in such huge demand that some can sell for over $2,000. In an attempt to give fans who can’t afford such ridiculous resale prices a chance, Miranda has created a daily lottery for pairs of ten dollar tickets. These drawings normally attract crowds of hundreds of people.

People waiting for the lottery winners announcement might also get a glimpse of what’s become popularized as #Ham4Ham. While crowds of adoring fans wait for a final call, the cast of Hamilton might come outside and perform bits of DIY theater for them. These performances could be anything from a cappella songs to scenes in which actors switch characters and ad lib lines with inside jokes. Even when the lottery was moved to a digital site, the cast continued #Ham4Ham in the form of vlogs.

A huge fan, sophomore Brynn Berg said, “Ten out of ten would recommend listening to Hamilton, even if you aren’t into musical theater. My friend Stephanie Kahle and I are constantly jamming out to Hamilton. The music is the only thing that got me through finals week.”

This interaction and care between audience and cast has only served to make the show even more renowned. But what’s really amazing is how a topic that seemed bland has inspired a phenomenon. The amount of raw emotion in numbers such as “Dear Theodosia” and “The World Was Wide Enough” perfectly pierce the heart.

Hamilton has its hilarious moments, too. The characters are endearing, yet human. Even though it’s a story in which Alexander Hamilton is the star, it doesn’t glaze over his extramarital affair or act as if he could do no wrong.

One of the most amazing things about the story is that it’s all kept true to what actually happened. You get to see how amazing Alexander Hamilton really was, in detail that you might not see in history classes. It’s engaging audiences in something they might have never had interest in — and they’re learning about something important.

“I think Alexander Hamilton is a fascinating figure in U.S. history,” said history teacher Mr. Hayes. “Without seeing what they did with Hamilton’s life and when you look at his upbringing, how he was able to attain being Washington’s right hand man, basically the architect of our financial policy and system, and then capping it off with being shot by a sitting vice president — that’s a pretty fascinating life.  So, how it hasn’t been made into a movie or a play prior to this is kind of amazing.”

The birth of the United States has always been an amazing story, but it’s never been told like this before. Hamilton stands out because it dares to shatter boundaries and deliver a story in a way that’s relevant to people living now. The once-forgotten Alexander Hamilton is finally having his moment in the (literal) spotlight. The volume of traffic the Hamilton monument is now getting is enough to prove that this musical has truly touched and inspired people.

The future looks bright for Miranda and the cast of Hamilton. Not only will they soon be teaching children in Washington D.C., but they’ll also be negotiating plans of a possible movie! In the meantime, audiences will continue to be awestruck at the life of this incredible man.