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Under the marquee of Broadway鈥檚 runaway sensation 鈥淗amilton,鈥� the rap and hip-hop musical that retells the story of the American Revolution and the life of the nation鈥檚 first Treasury secretary, Janice Reese was beaming.

It was her fourth time standing in line to enter the lottery for the handful of $10 tickets offered before each showing of the smash hit musical. Using a cast of mostly black and Latino actors to portray the country鈥檚 Founding Fathers, 鈥淗amilton鈥� has sold out nearly every single performance well into 2016. Since she was waiting with more than 500 people at the Richard Rogers Theater, Ms. Reese, a black postal worker from Queens, was especially excited when she snagged two of the coveted 21 day-of tickets offered Friday night.

鈥淚 see a lot of plays, but this is the new show that everybody is talking about 鈥� a brand new take on American history!鈥� she said, reflecting on the many shows she goes to see on Broadway every year. 鈥淓ach year goes by, it seems to get more diverse. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here!鈥� she says, laughing. 鈥淒iversity!鈥�

Though diversity is not normally a word that many would associate with the glitz of Broadway, this season, something new is simmering, observers and critics have noted. In addition to 鈥淗amilton,鈥� New York鈥檚 famous theater district is featuring a number of brand new takes on American history, exploring the experiences of non-white Americans, as well as a wider array of casting choices for traditional roles.

Next month, George Takei鈥檚 musical 鈥淎llegiance,鈥� based on the famous 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� actor鈥檚 experiences as a child in the Japanese internment camps during World War II, will begin its run on Broadway. 鈥淥n Your Feet!鈥� a musical about the immigrant journeys of pop music power couple Gloria and Emilio Estefan, is also set for a Broadway run. These will join 鈥淎mazing Grace,鈥� a faith-based musical about the penitent former slave trader who penned the famous hymn, which is nearing its final performance.

鈥淭his Broadway season is definitely unique 鈥� it is unusual,鈥� says James Lovensheimer, professor of musicology at Vanderbilt University鈥檚 Blair School of Music in Nashville, Tenn., and an expert on postwar American musical theater. 鈥淎nd the fact that all of this is coming to a head in one season right now is very, very interesting, and I don鈥檛 think anybody in New York theater sat down and said, all right we need a diverse season. I think it just sort of happened.鈥�

But with the cultural backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement and with immigration once again becoming a front-line political issue, the current Broadway season is significant, Professor Lovensheimer says, 鈥渞eflecting a sort of zeitgeist, if you will, in the country right now. And if people can see that there are new representations in what has been a traditionally monochromatic genre, I think that reflects well on a lot of things.鈥�

Broadway鈥檚 diverse season, too, corresponds with moves by other famous New York arts institutions. In June, Misty Copeland became . And the Metropolitan Opera for singers playing roles of black characters in operas such as 鈥淥tello.鈥�

It also comes amid a broader discussion of diversity in pop culture on both the big and small screens. On Sunday night, Viola Davis addressed the topic head-on with her acceptance speech, after she became the first black woman to ever win an Emmy for lead actress in a drama for ABC鈥檚 鈥淗ow to Get Away With Murder.鈥� 鈥淭he only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,鈥� said Ms. Davis. 鈥淵ou cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.鈥�

Despite such classics as 鈥淧orgy and Bess鈥� or 鈥淎 Raisin in the Sun,鈥� the mecca of musical theater has hardly been on the cutting edge of culture, tending to feature revivals of the tried-and-true, or entertaining audiences 鈥� 70 percent of which are visiting tourists 鈥� with familiar Disney-themed extravaganzas, such as 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� and 鈥淢ary Poppins.鈥� (The most critically acclaimed of the Disney franchises, the Tony-winning 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� was notable both for its groundbreaking use of puppetry and its diverse cast.)

Even as Broadway is booming, with more than 13 million people paying $1.4 billion to see its song and dance and dramatic stage performances, nearly 8 of 10 theatergoers skew wealthy and white. And with sky-high production costs and corresponding ticket prices that average $100 a pop, theaters and producers have to put on shows that draw audiences and make money 鈥� an economic reality that can hamper innovation, observers note.

鈥淭heater is such a collaborative art form,鈥� says Catherine Rodgers, professor of theater at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. 鈥淪o it takes a while for theater to process ideas, issues, cultural diversity, what have you, and then come up with some creative format for what is happening in the world, whether they be political or human rights issues or such.鈥�

Today, however, even in traditional revival shows, directors are making casting decisions bringing a new look to classic plays. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning which premiered in 1976, will star James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in roles usually played by white actors. And Forest Whitaker will take on the lead role in Eugene O鈥橬eil鈥檚 1964 two-character classic early next year.

鈥淎nd Deaf West's 鈥楽pring Awakening鈥� is one of the most exciting productions [this year] because of its inclusivity,鈥� writes Margaret Lally, professor of theater at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., highlighting the now starring Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, and featuring other deaf actors in what critics are hailing as an innovative Broadway show.

But Lin-Manuel Miranda鈥檚 鈥淗amilton鈥� has been thrilling audiences and making critics practically gush with its mostly black and Latino cast rapping the stories of the country鈥檚 white Founding Fathers, many of them owners of slaves. In July, President Obama took his daughters Malia and Sasha to see the musical, and gave it a standing ovation afterward.

In the opening scene, Aaron Burr, played by Leslie Odom, Jr., a black actor, enters and begins to rap about Alexander Hamilton, 鈥渢he ten-dollar Founding Father without a father/Got a lot farther/by workin鈥� a lot harder/ by being a lot smarter/ by bein鈥� a self-starter.鈥� Celebrating traditional themes in the American immigrant experience, the opening number concludes:

鈥淭he ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him,/ Another immigrant comin鈥� up from the bottom,鈥�/ His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him/ And me? I鈥檓 the damn fool who shot him!鈥� 聽

Abby Mercado, an account analyst for a digital marketing agency in New York, didn鈥檛 get lottery tickets on Friday night, but as an avid theatergoer, she had already seen the show during its off-Broadway run at the Public Theater. She raves about Mr. Miranda鈥檚 previous hit musical, 鈥淚n the Heights,鈥� about Dominican immigrants in Manhattan鈥檚 Washington Heights neighborhood.

鈥� 鈥楬amilton鈥� is a musical about our nation, but as our nation looks like now,鈥� Ms. Mercado says. 鈥淪o even though these Founding Fathers were slave owners at one point, and this is how we started, having a multicultural cast makes Broadway accessible to others who never knew that Broadway could be cool 鈥� because Broadway鈥檚 always been, well, not multicultural.鈥�

Yet with tickets well over $100, New York plays and musicals remain well out reach for many, and observers note that theaters must put ultimately put on shows that people with means will pay to see.

鈥淲ith the current cultural conflicts, is this going to be a one season trend, will shows like these continue, or are we going to go back to all-white Disney shows?鈥� says Lovensheimer. 鈥淭hat I think is going to be the telling factor, not so much that this is happening this year. Is this just a unique coincidence, or is this going to be an ongoing concern?鈥�

鈥淏ut it will ultimately come down to, do these shows sell or not?鈥� he continues. 鈥淏ecause in the end, it鈥檚 all show business.鈥�