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Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical Hamilton has been a streaming giant over the past month, after the filmed sage production was release on Disney+. This resulted in a spike in Disney+ downloads and the soundtrack's placement on the Billboard charts. Hamilton's audience is even more expansive than its ever been, and the cast has had its share of touching fan interaction. And Schuyler Sisters Phillipa Soo and Renee Elise Goldsberry recently shared some of those memories.
Phillipa Soo and Renee Elise Goldsberry play Eliza and Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton respectively, and have been met with universal acclaim for their respective performances. Given the popularity of Hamilton both before and after the Disney+ movie, the actresses have had a ton of sweet interactions with fans at the stage door and beyond. Phillipa Soo recently opened up about the response to Eliza, saying:
Many experiences at the stage door with young women who would come up to me and say ‘Thank you so much. It’s really meaningful and powerful that you're up there.’ Because they were also young asian women. And I think it was important for them to see themselves represented on stage.
The conversation around inclusion and representation has gained a ton of steam over the past few years thanks to movements like #OscarSoWhite. And Phillipa Soo saw the importance of representation on stage thanks to her iconic role as Eliza in Hamilton. A variety of young asian women expressed their joy and thanks for Soo's role, which is now available all over the world thanks to Disney+.
Hamilton is available exclusively on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
This isn't the first time Phillipa Soo has been open about how her role in Hamilton affected asian audience members. Shortly after the film arrived on Disney+, the actress shared a video of a young asian girl pointing to Eliza and saying "that's me." It was an video that spoke volumes to the important work done by Lin-Manuel Miranda and company.
In the same video for Hamilton's social media accounts, Angelica herself Renee Elise Goldsberry also shared interactions with the fandom. But rather than speak to how it was when they were still performing the show on Broadway, Goldsberry specifically referenced how love for Hamilton has brought people together in times of social distancing. As she put it,
I live for encounters with Hamilton fans. I always have, but it's even sweeter now. When we have to put on so much gear to protect ourselves from each other. But our love for that musical breaks through all of it. Even underneath all the armor you can see someone’s eyes light up. You can tell they're smiling underneath their mask. You might even hear a muffled ‘work!’ and a gloved hand snaps in the air. You can be different ages, different races, from two totally different worlds in the middle of a global pandemic. And it doesn’t matter, because what we love always unites us.
The theater has always been a place for a collective audience to share a unique moment with themselves, and the actors on stage. And with Hamilton now recorded for posterity on Disney+, countless people will have a unique connection with the original leaders actors like Renee Elise Goldsberry. And lucky for the fans, the cast has been steadily working since departing the Broadway musical.
Hamilton is currently streaming in its entirety on Disney+. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
