Summary

Chapter 23, Introduction: McCarter here describes the transition from the smaller public theatre to the larger Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, a transition that included intense rehearsals to sharpen choreography, staging, and interpretation; integrate some additional members of the ensemble; and developing and integrating some rewrites, including major rewrites of Washington’s song of resignation, “One Last Time.” McCarter then refers to an event that took place during that transition: a violent and deadly assault on a black church by a white supremacist, an event that led to considerations of Washington’s historical failure to end slavery, a failure that, McCarter suggests, has social and cultural repercussions even today. This, he concludes, is yet another reason why the various elements of “Hamilton” remain relevant.

Chapter 24, Introduction: McCarter describes the process by which teen idol (and popular Broadway actor) Jonathan Groff joined the company to play...