Tony Award nominee Phillipa Soo, of Hamilton fame, has spent the last few months gearing up for her next major theater gig: the musical adaptation of Amélie. Commissioned in June, the Broadway-bound show is now confirmed to open in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theater on Dec. 4 before transferring to New York in March.
The new musical generated positive response out of its 2015 premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Working off of the French film of the same name, which whimsically depicts contemporary Paris, it stays mostly faithful to the characters and plot while also working in more than a dozen songs. (Hem’s Daniel Messé wrote the music and lyrics, and acclaimed playwright Craig Lucas wrote the book.) And although she’s not the first to play Amélie in this particular production—that honor goes to Les Misérables’ Samantha Barks—Soo did originate the stage role in previous workshops. Plus, her proven acting chops and singing ability render her a perfect choice to take on the beloved (and plenty quirky) character for a broader theater audience.
Amélie: A New Musical is shaping up to be a major production for the new Broadway season, with revered theater director Pam MacKinnon (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Clybourne Park) on board and its spring runtime in New York a prime spot for Tonys consideration. The presence of Soo also continues in the tradition of Hamilton, in the sense of smartly casting a person of color for a character who might typically be cast with a white actor. Indeed, if this turns out as good as it sounds, we finally might all be able to move on from that nonstop Hamilton fandom.
