Phillipa Soo on playing a Broadway Asian American Cinderella who rejects the prince
Early in her career, actor Phillipa Soo was advised to change her name.
Early in her career, actor Phillipa Soo was advised to change her name. Soo’s father is Chinese, her mother is white, and Soo was told her name “sound[ed] too Asian,” she recalled. At the same time, industry professionals also said, “You don’t really look Chinese.”
Soo didn't change her name, and she’s gone on to play a variety of roles where her background was an asset, from Eliza Hamilton in the Broadway musical “Hamilton” (which was filmed and released on Disney+) to the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e in the Netflix film “Over the Moon.”
Now Soo is playing Cinderella in the classic musical “Into the Woods,” whose new Broadway revival has a more diverse spin and is running at the St. James Theatre until Aug. 21.
Cinderella has historically been played by white actors, and getting to be the rare Asian American actor to play that role “has been incredibly affirming,” Soo told NBC Asian America from her dressing room at the St. James two hours before she had to be onstage. “And it feels very right.”
“Into the Woods” has a rich history. Written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, it was first staged on Broadway in 1987, where it won three Tony Awards and was then filmed live onstage for PBS. The musical tells the story of a baker and his wife, who have been cursed by a witch with barrenness. To break the curse, they have to go into a mysterious forest, where the duo meet familiar fairy-tale characters who are on their own personal quest: Jack with his beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella.
Rating: 5