When you sit in a packed Sydney Lyric Theatre to watch Australia's debut production of Hamilton, the atmosphere is electric.
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The audience's luck isn't lost on them; after all, Sydney is currently the only place in the world where you can see the production live.
Original Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller says Sydney is the theatre industry's bright light and rising sun. He hopes the city represents what will be "the rebirth of theatre, and Hamilton across the entire world".
At the Lyric, it certainly feels like that rebirth has happened.
There's a new energy, a new depth to the silence that falls when certain scenes shatter your heart. People nearly leap from their seats with euphoria, struggling to settle back down before the next song.
Not bad for a quintessentially American story told in far away Australia on a Tuesday night.
Australia's fascination
Australians were always going to be falling over themselves to get tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, but the hype seems to have been intensified with coronavirus starving people of entertainment.
Hamilton's narrative follows "bastard, orphan, son of a whore" Alexander Hamilton on his rise to becoming inaugural US president George Washington's right-hand man, and to defining systems of government in the aftermath of the American war of independence.
But the story's themes - lust, love, ambition, pride, loss - reverberate universally.
Many in the audience at Lyric have seen Hamilton three times, four times, five times, and plan on seeing it live a few more, while many have watched it several times on streaming service Disney+ - maybe something they wouldn't have otherwise done if not stuck inside during the coronavirus pandemic.
There's a few who've wandered into Lyric with little or no idea of what Hamilton is about, but they're pleased to sit in a packed theatre and join in the ride, if only because they can.
The pandemic putting more people into Hamilton's gravitational pull probably means there'll be more Australian superfans of the show by the time it has finished its Sydney run.
The new gleam of big theatre helps with that, too. It's alright to watch Hamilton on Disney+, but to be in a large theatre with people sobbing and laughing next to you is another thing entirely.
The 35-person cast, 33 of whom were drawn from Australia's talent pool, inject the production with a new vigour. They burst from the shadows of the set, which is styled the same as in the original Broadway version, and throw songs down with such commitment, you find yourself entranced.
I had watched Hamilton just the once on Disney+ before I headed to Lyric - I thought I'd gotten the gist of it, and that the production was quite good.
At the end of watching it live, though, I and everyone else in the audience was breathless. It turns out I only vaguely remembered the plot, so seeing it live was like watching it for the first time.
At the end, when we all gave a standing ovation, it felt like we'd been on an emotional rollercoaster.
Will the shine last?
A lot of Australia's response to Hamilton can be put down to the fact it's a wonderful show, and it looks like it has indeed helped to revive Sydney as COVID-19 has settled down in the city.
The set-up for Hamilton at the Lyric Theatre hopefully offers some semblance of what can be the "new normal" in Sydney for a while. Everyone has to wear a mask throughout the production, but it is allowed to run at full theatre capacity.
There are also staggered exit times, but neither COVID-19 measure puts a dampener on the experience.
Tourism officials are banking on Hamilton's Sydney debut further cementing the city as the place to be in a hopefully post-COVID world.
As for whether that will be the case, I think it will.
It's easy to forget that the rest of the world is marvelling right now at the picture of a max-capacity theatre showing Hamilton. Meantime, many theatres around the world remain closed, or are only allowed to have very limited capacity. More pertinent, people are still dying and suffering from COVID-19.
Among the things we've learnt throughout the pandemic are to better care for others, offer our support, and grasp onto the moments in life where we're happy, healthy, and having fun.
When you sit in a packed Sydney Lyric Theatre watching Hamilton with tears in your eyes and under your mask, at times bursting with laughter and at other times overwhelmed with a sense of triumph and euphoria, it's a great collection of moments.
Things seem to shine a little brighter these days but, yes - Hamilton is, regardless, a wonderful show.
Cassandra Morgan saw Hamilton at the Sydney Lyric Theatre as a guest of Destination NSW.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
