The lyrical density and storytelling ingenuity I heard on my headphones seemed closer to the verbal energy of the great plays of the past than almost anything I saw onstage. This enthusiasm wasn’t widely shared. ‘Don’t hang back among the brutes,’ one of my senior colleagues advised me …
-- Jeremy McCarter (Introduction )

Importance: In this quote, essayist / commentator Jeremy McCarter describes the intensity of his initial attraction to Lin-Manuel Miranda's style of writing and storytelling. The comment foreshadows later (and favorable) comparisons between the intent and style of Miranda's work and those of William Shakespeare.

The account of what happened in the intervening six years is based on what I saw in script meetings, set meetings, presentations, workshops, dressing-room hangouts and at some excellent parties. It also draws on interviews with more than 40 people close to the show and on timely glimpses into their notebooks, inboxes, and Twitter feeds – Lin’s in particular...
-- Jeremy McCarter (Introduction)