Sarasota audiences have had a long wait to welcome a touring production of Hamilton, which first hit the road in 2017 and has come tantalizingly close to our city a couple of times over the years. That wait is finally over, with the arrival of the current touring production at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and it’s good to be able to say that the megahit Lin-Manuel Miranda musical does not disappoint in its Sarasota debut.

That’s largely due to the power and genius of the show, of course, but in this incarnation it feels safe to say it’s also due to the long-running familiarity many cast members have with it. Some of the actors here are new to their specific roles, but they have played different roles, in different productions, and surely all that experience pays off.

From the moment the show begins, with that spotlight on orphaned immigrant turned American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton (a strong Blaine Alden Krauss), we are once again swept up in the masterfully told story of the part he played in our history, and of his personal struggles and triumphs. No doubt many in the audience could sing word for word some of Hamilton’s most popular songs—“My Shot,” “The Room Where It Happens,” “You’ll Be Back,” etc.—but the heady mix of musical styles, from rap to R&B to traditional Broadway show tunes, is so complex it’s best to leave it to the professionals.

Among those pros: Deon’Te Goodman, smoothly compelling as Aaron Burr, an early acquaintance of Hamilton’s many of us now know chiefly from that famous duel; Lencia Kebede, radiant as Angelica Schuyler, Hamilton’s almost-love before he’s swayed to her sister; Jared Howelton as both the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson (especially entertaining as the latter); Tyler Fauntleroy, engaging our hearts as two doomed characters, patriot John Laurens and Alexander’s son Philip; Carvens Lissaint, believably in authority as George Washington; and the snarkily lofty Paul Louis Lessard as King George, unable to believe he’s losing his American colonies.

It took me, and perhaps other audience members, a few minutes to adjust to Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama as Alexander’s long-suffering wife Eliza, not because of any flaws in her performance, but simply because of an unexpected height difference between her and Krauss. Ultimately, that doesn’t matter because she’s more than up to the role, especially tugging at our hearts in Act II with the dual losses of her son and her belief in her husband, tested by his famous/infamous adultery with a woman named Maria Reynolds (Melika Cheree).

While the stars of Hamilton may seem to get most of the glory, however, you’d be right to be impressed by the hard-working ensemble, which plays a crucial role in most of the musical numbers, originally choreographed with energy and dazzle by Andy Blankenbuehler and led here by music director Emmanuel Schvartzman and his accomplished orchestra. And Thomas Kail’s original direction, which won a Tony, is crucial to delivering an epic, decades-spanning tale laden with politics in a way that keeps us mesmerized. The set, lighting, costumes and sound design are all also up to the show's high standard.

Hamilton continues through April 7 at the Van Wezel, and tickets are selling fast. To snag yours, stop by the box office, call (941) 263-6799, or visit vanwezel.org.