PJ: Your character is an actual, historical character, not just a fictional character, so did you have to do a lot of research into her as a real person? REG: I had the benefit of the work that had already been done in the biography, and some of the most dramatic parts of her life were there and manipulated by Lin. But really when you’re playing a character, it’s more of a soul searching of who you are than who that person is. Really you read about the character and see the decisions they’ve made, but you’re looking within yourself and the world around you to fulfill those moments in the richest way possible. PJ: Is it different when you’re originating a role— you’re the first actor to play Angelica and breathing life into this character? REG: I was the last to play Mimi in Rent, and that show was another important and landscape-changing gift to the world, and it was a great bookend experience for me. That character in many ways was the exact opposite of Angelica, but both extremely strong women who are living powerfully with the burden of their time. So I had the many, many women who played Mimi before me, whose shoulders I stood on, but I’m Renée Goldsberry, not them, and I’m not going to just copy them—although you do have the advantage of seeing things other people do and saying ‘Oh, that’s fabulous,’ but the most you can give any role is whatever is most unique to you. So in that way, there isn’t much of a difference, originating a role or not. I’ll do what I’m going to do whether I’m the first or the hundredth playing the character. PJ: You’ve done big screen, small screen, lots of theater and Broadway—do you have a favorite? Is Broadway the epitome? REG: Theater, I’d say, not just Broadway. Broadway is what the world says it is; it’s the profile and the hope that the better a show does somewhere, it will make it to Broadway. A show is a success not because it is on Broadway, but because every high school, every regional theater wants to then do it. That’s the value of Broadway, it’s the force that sends it out into the world so it can be as
far-reaching as possible.
that while performing?
Everything has its pluses and minuses; the minus in theater—and the plus—is that it exists in that moment and then it’s gone. It doesn’t matter how brilliant I was every single night before you come to the show, if it doesn’t work on the night you come, it didn’t matter. So what’s challenging about getting a lot of praise and acclaim [in theater] is you have to live up to that again every night and believe that the gift will come again to make it real in that moment.
REG: I typically don’t want to know that a particular person is there, because I feel, in theory, I’m more free if I’m not wondering what they’re thinking. I want to know at the end, when I’m walking offstage—then I can be like ‘yay,’ or ‘oh well!’ [laughs].
It’s nice in film and television to have an honest, beautiful moment that’s captured and can live forever. When I leave the show [Hamilton], it’s over; I’ll have my stories and memories, but I do love that TV and film keeps giving. But, what’s beautiful and amazing and wonderful about theater is probably it is the most satisfying, in terms of how much of yourself is demanded. The bar is so high, and you can’t compartmentalize what you’re doing, especially in a musical that’s this resonant and deep; there’s no part of who you are that isn’t called for and useful, and that’s very satisfying when you can pull it off. The other thing is the role the audience plays in creating a beautiful moment in theater; that’s at least 40% of what we’re experiencing onstage. PJ: The show is so relevant today, socially, and politically. Are there certain themes that resonate especially with you? REG: There are things that come to mind, politically, but really it’s the universal truths that are relevant now and always, that move me the most. Forgiveness, love, the choices that a woman has to make—these are always relevant and interesting. Whether it’s battling over immigration laws, the lines drawn between personal and political lives, controversies, conflicts—all these things that existed then are relevant and poignant now. PJ: You’ve had quite a few distinguished people in the audience; you performed in front of the Obamas, for instance. Are you thinking about
In this case, of course we had to know he was going to be there because we had to make sure it was safe for him to be there. It had been a dream of mine—the idea of performing for a president, in particular that president. I remember when he first became president and went to see Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, I thought, ‘Oh my God, can you imagine what it’s like to be those actors?’ I thought it was the biggest thing that could happen to any performer doing any show ever, so the fact that it happened to me is an example of what God can do in your life in terms of dreams coming true. As a company we were so excited about telling him this story, that honor and responsibility trumped nerves and anxiety. Everything else was insignificant to showing this particular story to a sitting president—and this sitting president. We had the honor of performing it for Michelle Obama first, which was also a dream come true. She came backstage after and she was as lovely and gracious and beautiful as I hope Angelica Schuyler could be—the perfect example of what this woman I’m playing would aspire to be. We’ve had Joe Biden, Dick Cheney, de Blasio, Bloomberg. Oh, and the Clintons—they were like our first royalty. Chelsea came and then came back a few weeks later with her parents. But whether you’re the leader of the free world or a high school kid from the Bronx, there’s no difference in terms of how important we feel it is to share this story with you. Not only does it need to be told because of the things that Hamilton made that we inherited, the seeds he planted, but also we tell stories because it helps us lead better lives, and we need to hear about what other people suffered and overcame, how they failed, sacrificed, struggled, and won, and
Hamilton Cast Photo by Joan Marcus
60 • Resident September 2015