By JESSICA NEU
I had the pleasure of recently interviewing Marja Harmon and Lauren Mariasoosay, who will perform on stage at the Benedum Center from September 11th to 29th as part of the touring cast of the hit musical Hamilton.
Mariasoosay is making her Hamilton debut as Eliza Schuyler, while Harmon is proudly reviving her role as Angelica, the eldest Schuyler sister.
Harmon began as a standby for all three sisters as a part of the & Peggy company but quickly transitioned into the role of Angelica. She first portrayed Angelica opposite Hamilton creator and original cast member Lin-Manuel Miranda, an experience she likened to being a part of a rock concert. The two performed the show together in Puerto Rico, where they were able to raise money for Hurricane Maria’s relief effort. Harmon continued her time as Angelica in the San Francisco production before joining the current touring company.
Regarding the current touring production, Harmon expressed her gratitude for being able to build the show from what she described as “the ground up,” as the cast joined together for a 6-week rehearsal period. “I couldn’t imagine going into a show like Hamilton midstream.” She has enjoyed “getting to build [the show] with a new cast,” specifically to finesse the technically complicated aspects of the show, such as the turn tables altogether as a new cast.
Both ladies were extremely familiar with the score before joining the company, which proved to be both a blessing and a curse because this Hamilton score differed from the original book and lyrics in some places.
Mariasoosay first heard the score in 2015 and was determined to one day have a part in one of the productions. She did not see the show in its entirety until this current touring production was entirely blocked. However, she rehearsed the score all throughout college in various coaching settings, with her sights set on landing the role of Eliza.
This rehearsal time is precious as both Harmon and Mariasoosay echo the difficulties of learning the intricacies of Hamilton. “The show is a beast to learn,” Harmon stated. “Once you learn the map of the show, things get easier, but downloading the information to your brain initially is insane. We spend an entire day working on one or two numbers and then come back the next day and work on another number. Once that process is complete, then we as actors can begin to add character development and nuance.” However, all of the various Hamilton companies are set by the same resident team of original creators to ensure consistency between multiple productions and casts. “The attention and care the original creators still put into the show is really cool,” Harmon noted.
Both women echoed the beauty beneath the cast members’ bond with one another. They developed a special camaraderie as they built the show from the ground up during the rehearsal process. They hope that the love they feel for one another transcends to audience members and, specifically, the Schuyler sisters, can represent the importance of having loyal and devoted women supporting one another.
Every time you see Hamilton, you can take something new from the show or focus on a different person’s journey. This show represents a combination of human beings coming together to tell this story in this moment, which is thrilling. People from various previous companies are coming together with new cast members because they are not done telling this story.
Harmon worked diligently to ensure that she emotionally connected with Angelica’s fast-paced thought process articulated through rapping or syncopated speech. She noted watching documentaries such as Hip-Hop Evolution and delving into the catalogs of renowned female Hip-Hop artists from the 80s and 90s, such as Queen Latifa, to ensure a palpable authenticity to Angelica.
For Eliza, Mariasoosay pushed herself to a place where she felt she could accurately emote the middle Schuyler sister’s heart-wrenching story. “Eliza is a very vulnerable character, so I knew I was going to have to bring her vulnerability to life using the life I’ve lived so far as inspiration. I want Eliza to be genuine and earnest and also represent the bravery that comes with sitting in the discomfort of vulnerability,” Mariasoosay explained. Before joining Hamilton’s cast, Mariasoosay starred as Catherine Parr in the Canadian production of Six the Musical. Mariasoosay noted how both Parr and Eliza Schuyler were revolutionary women. Parr became an author in a time that did not recognize women as capable academics. Her work, The Lamentation of a Sinner, explores her personal spirituality. Similarly, Eliza Schuyler opened one of the first orphanages as a tribute to her late husband’s legacy and as a way to continue to tell other’s stories.
Harmon and Mariasoosay are deeply passionate about the strong ladies that they portray. Harmon noted how “life informs what you’re doing and how you have an understanding of different themes.” This perspective has allowed her to broaden her approach to Angelica over the years and recognize the complexity of humanity and relationships. Mariasoosay recognizes that Eliza can be portrayed and perceived in myriad ways as a mother and a wife, but she also has a great deal of anger. “I want to let Eliza be angry,” Mariasoosay explained. “So often, women are not granted permission to be angry and I want to make it clear that Eliza was not one to take all the pain inflicted upon her and just let it slide. I want to humanize her in a way that shows it is alright and also natural to be angry.”
Harmon also spoke to the uniqueness of being a part of a show that discusses political and American history during three different presidential administrations. “I saw Hamilton for the first time as it was conceived during the Obama era. I joined the cast during the Trump era, and now it feels crazy to be doing the show again in an election season. So much happened with this show during the Obama administration. It was his [Obama’s] musical. The show personified his campaign and his presidency. After he left office, it felt as though we were performing the show in a space where that hope deflated. It was almost as if something was missing from the show.” Harmon continued that Hamilton productions between 2016 and 2020 felt like a way to proclaim, “We’re here and making noise because the show portrays a group of people who wanted liberation and could debate about how to achieve their ideals. We discussed how these types of concerns are happening again in the present historical moment, but unlike in Hamilton, there is no longer a sense of true debate or deliberative democracy happening.”
Both Harmon and Mariasoosay strive to bring a sense of hope to each city they perform in. They believe that Hamiltonholds the power of amazing storytelling and is the personification of why they do what they do. “The representation of strong women who turn pain into change is such a powerful message that can really prompt audience members to shift their perception of forgiveness,” Mariasoosay added.
Harmon explained, “I think that different parts of the show resonate with what’s happening politically and culturally.” She noted specific scenes such as the “Cabinet Battles” and “The Election of 1800” can help to remind audiences “that we [as Americans] used to all want the same thing for our country even though we had different ideas of how to achieve that goal.” She notes that Hamilton staff often reminds the cast that Hamilton reflects what we want to be and represents the best version of the ideal.
Regardless of which side of the political aisle we are situated on, Hamilton reminds us to remember our similarities as humans and not our differences.
Harmon notes the difficulty in changing someone’s ideological beliefs within the span of a three-hour production but stresses the importance of audiences observing a different approach to partisan politics. Hamilton shows us “a cabinet battle without othering, which is so important to see right now. The characters are discussing back and forth and making a point without dehumanizing one another. The show attempts to get people to recognize the many facets that are within a human being without dehumanizing one another. This is perhaps the most important time to tell this story.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
THe Pittsburgh Cultural Trusts PNC Broadway in Pittsburg presentation on the Tony Award winning Hamilton is at the Benedum Center from September 11th to 29th, 2024.Tickets are available at: https://trustarts.org/production/94984/hamilton
There is also a ticket lottery for $10 tickets to Hamilton, details at: https://www.luckyseat.com/shows/hamilton-pittsburgh-2024Aug
Categories: Arts and Ideas
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