Phillipa Soo, the Hamilton star — she plays Alexander’s wife, Eliza, and is nominated for best actress in a musical at Sunday night’s Tony Awards — will be exiting the show in July, insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter.
The 26-year-old, a fan favorite who is engaged to fellow stage standout Steven Pasquale, joins the blockbuster musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, her co-star, and perhaps others, in departing after July 9, when many of the original company members’ contracts expire.
The show’s press agent declined to comment and Soo’s personal representatives could not be reached.
These departures are not altogether surprising: Miranda and Soo have been performing in Hamilton since February 2015, when the show made its off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater before moving uptown last August.
Few shows — coupled with a hit cast recording — have ever boosted the profiles of its performers as much as this one, and not just for its leads. Pretty much all of Hamilton‘s principal castmembers now have personal publicists and are turning up on daytime and late-night talk shows, a rarity for “theater actors.” The last show to have this kind of impact was probably Rent, 20 years ago.
Some were surprised that Soo didn’t opt to do Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway later this year opposite Josh Groban, since she originated the female lead role off-Broadway to huge acclaim pre-Hamilton.
But others say she has her sights set on a career in film and television, starting with her voice role in Disney’s upcoming animated musical Moana — music for which has been composed by none other than Miranda.
