I'm not a big musical or theater person either, but I had some recent experiences (listening to the Hamilton soundtrack and realizing how much of the character-building happens in the actors' singing choices, watching a production of Wicked in London where it's been running for more than a decade, seeing In the Heights around the same time and then listening to the original cast album) that have brought home to me how much mimicking plays a part in these kinds of performances. When I watched Wicked, I was actually a little taken out of the story by how obviously the lead actress was trying to "do" Idina Menzel. And the lead actor in In the Heights was so obviously mimicking Lin-Manuel Miranda's performance style that I didn't even need to check to know that this was the part Miranda had played in the original production. (On the other hand, there were also several songs in that show that the London performers gave slower, more soulful versions of, compared to the original cast, and which I think I prefer.) It's given me a greater appreciation of what's meant when people say that so-and-so "created" a role, but at the same time I wonder if the ubiquity of cast recordings doesn't take some of the individuality out of the process of doing theater.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that you had the chance to see so many of the original performers. I've made my peace with the fact that I probably won't get to do that (it's looking like I'll be in New York in October, and I'll try the lottery then, but obviously that's not something to pin your hopes on), and that I'll have to wait for the London production in 2017. But I'm also a bit concerned that by that point I'll have the original cast recording so embedded in my memory that I won't be able to enjoy another cast's interpretation of the material.