I'm Brian Lerer. This is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Wednesday, September 15th.

It's the Brian Lerr Show on WNYC, And it was reopening night last night on Broadway.

The crowds and the creators were emotional and euphoric.

Here is Kristen Chenoweth breaking the fourth wall

and addressing the vaxed and masked and standing o audience at Wicked.

Okay, so I have to say it as I hold onto the ladder.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home, said Kristen Chenner, if that Wicked.

In all four top shows raised their curtains last night for the first time in 551 days, Wicked, Hamilton, the Lion King, and Chicago.

Now, the reopening night audience at Hamilton was in for a surprise before the show.

Welcome Back Speech by Lynn Manuel Miranda himself.

I don't ever want to take live theater for granted ever again.

Do you?

It's so sacred.

And this incredible company has been rehearsing.

They've been rehearsing in their apartments.

They've been rehearsing and keeping their bodies limber for a year and a half.

And they had their first rehearsal for an audience on Sunday night and they were missing

something.

They were missing

the most important collaborator that happened. That's you. And there it was Lynn Manuel Miranda

before the opening curtain of Hamilton last night. With us now, WNYC's Jennifer Vanasko, we usually

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