Stephanie Park - Eliza in Hamilton - wants a Schuyler Sisters spin-off as much as we do
The Pillip Tour of Hamilton is playing at The Bushnell through July 10th
Not gonna lie, I'm a HUGE fan of Hamilton. The show blew us all away back in 2015 and it's still getting standing O's today along with millions of streams on Disney Plus. You can see the amazing Phillip Tour at The Bushnell now through July 10th, and let me just say — RUN don't walk to get your tickets because this cast is phenomenal.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Eliza herself — Stephanie Park — and she revealed she too wants the fabulous and lightyears ahead of their time Schuyler Sisters to get their own spin-off. "Oh man, I think Peggy needs her OWN show...I think historically speaking Peggy was just as powerful and outspoken as Angelica but we only get to see her as the annoying little sister."
Stephanie Park -- Eliza in @HamiltonMusical playing @TheBushnell through July 10th -- is ready to INCLUDE WOMEN IN THE SEQUEL! She wants a Schuyler Sisters spin-off as much as we do. @Lin_Manuel make it happen????? #PhillipTour pic.twitter.com/0tMygLgD41
— Christine Lee Mihalopoulos (@Christine_OnAir) July 1, 2022
Stephanie is a humble genius. She doesn't brag even though she has all the accolades to do so. She was the understudy for ALL THREE sisters back in 2019 so yep, she learned ALL THOSE DANG LYRICS. Stephanie has a process which includes working with an acting coach out of New York City. And she also revealed that she did her homework too, reading the real letters from Alexander Hamilton, "when I read those letters, I kind of wished the audience could see [them] because...these letters are poetry, they are so beautiful...that's what reminds me of how much he did love her because in the show you can't see that I don't think."
Fans of the musical know that the ending of the show is really just the beginning. It turns out, Hamilton is — yes about Alexander Hamilton — but it's actually really about Eliza. "Eliza was honoring [Alexander's] legacy and it feels very powerful to me that in this moment it ends with a powerful woman — that is the reason we have this musical today."
So, the Burn song. I can't tell you how many times I've wondered if singing while burning paper with actual fire on stage (not smoke and mirrors) has ever ended in a mishap. Stephanie says she was pretty psyched that she gets to burn stuff, "I'm a tiny bit of a pyromaniac, I grew up in Guam where there was a bunch of typhoons...and I grew up playing with candles...that happened to be our heat source pretty often...fire is something that I just have fun with and I got kind of excited that I get to play with fire!"
Hamilton is a show where life and art sometimes come together very, very closely. Back in 2015/2016 the line "immigrants, we get the job done" often got a rousing round of applause. Well in 2022, Stephanie says it was the striking down of Roe v. Wade that led many female cast members to have a gut wrenching performance, "after what happened...it was a pretty impossible show for a lot of women in the cast...even just doing those pregnancy scenes begging Hamilton to stay...it was pretty overwhelming, I definitely started crying at the end of that number."
Check out the full interview below where Stephanie also reveals how she's spending her time here in Connecticut. And, if you're a fan of the Disney Plus version of Hamilton, you will NOT NOT NOT be disappointed in this Phillp Tour cast. Like I said, RUN — don't walk — to get your tickets to see Hamilton at The Bushnell before it leaves town July 10th. WERK!
