While I loved every minute of the show, — and, yes, Miguel Cervantes and Joshua Henry as Hamilton and Burr, respectively, dazzle — my favorite bits belonged to Alexander Gemignani’s King George III.

I know him.
That can’t be.
That’s that little guy who spoke to me all those years ago…
What was it ’85?
That poor man; they’re going to eat him alive!

Ocean’s rise; empires fall.
Next to Washington, they all look small.

Hamilton is not the only show in this theater-rich town, of course. Earlier this break, we saw Cheek by Jowl’s The Winter’s Tale, which I wrote about here; King Charles III, which features Robert Bathurst (yes, from Downton Abbey) in the title role; and Pygmalion, which reminded all of us that we need to read more Shaw. We heartily recommend King Charles III, which ends its run at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on January 15, and Remy Bumppo’s Pygmalion, which closes tomorrow, so act fast.

Before the semester begins, we will also see the Chicago premiere of A Disappearing Number at the TimeLine Theatre and the Shakespeare Project of Chicago’s staged reading of King John.