Hamilton Nominated for 16 Tony Awards: Everything You Need to Know About This History-Making Broadway Show

Much like the founding father it was written about, Hamilton is a show taking America by social storm. 

Since it's debut more than a year ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda's unique rap-rooted masterpiece has captivated audiences all while making Broadway the hottest ticket in town again.

President Barack Obama has called it "phenomenal," theatergoers have spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for a coveted ticket and this year, it joined the legions of iconic musicals as the 2016 Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Theater Album.

Today, it earned a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations, including Miranda's second nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. It has officially beaten The Producers and Billy Elliot, which previously shared the title with 15 total nominations. As they say in the business, it's a hit. 

The show's success is a result, in part, to its multitalented creator and lead star, Miranda. At 36 years old, he's the mastermind behind both Hamilton and the Tony-winning 2008 hit, In The Heights. With the book, music and lyrics in his name, the triple threat has garnered a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the MacArthur "Genius" Award. He's free-styled with the president, made the rounds on late-night TV and even has a Time 100 cover dedicated to him this year. His resumé is one to be seriously envied.  

None of the accolades would have been possible had Miranda not come across a summer read, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, while on vacation. It would ultimately become the driving force behind the show, which is structured like a chronology of Hamilton's American life set to R&B and portrayed by an ethnically diverse cast. 

"In Hamilton, we're telling the stories of old, dead white men but we're using actors of color, and that makes the story more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience," he told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2015. "You don't distance the audience by putting an actor of color in a role that you would think of as default Caucasian. No, you excite people and you draw them in."

It's safe to say the people are more than excited—they're crazy about this show. With 16 newly acquired Tony Award nominations, it seems Miranda is one step closer to making this historical show one history can never forget. 

"We love Fiddler. We love West Side Story. I want to be in that club," he told Smithsonian. "I want to be in the club that writes the musical that every high school does. We're this close."