Hail Hamilton, revolutionary rapper with world at his feet

ONLY an elite few Broadway shows become a phenomenon, yet Hamilton, the hip-hop tale of a founding father, has smashed box office records over there.

And if reaction in the West End is anything to go by, it’ll be over here a long, long time as well.

Alexander Hamilton, the face on the $10 bill, was an arrogant, charismatic Caribbean immigrant who went from illegitimate orphan to first US Treasury Secretary before the age of 35.

He was a Revolutionary War hero, founded the country’s national bank and featured in the US’s first political sex scandal. And all the while, arch-rival Aaron Burr conspires in his downfall.

If that all sounds like history, think again. Author Lin-Manuel Miranda brings it all bang up to date by telling the story through hip-hop, R&B and dancehall.

Jamael Westman, in his West End debut, nails Hamilton’s cocksure genius. Rachelle Ann Go, his long-suffering wife Eliza, has the audience in floods of tears with showstopper Burn. Giles Terera’s Burr is – dare I say it – even better than Leslie Odom Jr’s acclaimed Broadway turn.

The audience is so involved they may as well be on stage – cabinet played out as rap battles invite us to whoop and holler.

Hamilton is already a US mega-hit. It’s about to become a global phenomenon.

Christine Baranski and Julie Walters under hats & shades Young versions Jessica Keenan Wynn & Alexa Davies THE ‘DADS’ Firth, Skarsgard and Brosnan. Insets show Lily with their young selves, Skinner, Dylan and Irvine Lily James plays a young version of Meryl Streep’s Donna MAMMA THE PALS