Now that ‘Hamilton’ has harvested its Tonys, some big names have announced their departure from the show — July 9 will be the last performance for Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo and Leslie Odom Jr.
Don’t worry, they won’t be out of sight for long.
Miranda, of course, is never short on projects. Most recently The Man Who Never Sleeps authorized the sale of a T-shirt bearing his Tony-acceptance sonnet (“Love cannot be killed or swept aside…Now fill the world with music, love and pride”) to benefit Equality Florida Action.
Looking further ahead, Miranda will be in the news again this fall when the Disney animated movie “Moana,” for which he wrote songs, comes out. He’s also slated to star alongside Emily Blunt in “Mary Poppins Returns,” playing a lamplighter named Jack. That one’s scheduled for Dec. 25, 2018, but it’s not too early to start obsessing about it. Finally Harvey Weinstein’s talking of doing a movie version of Miranda’s first Broadway musical, 2008’s “In the Heights,” so our man will be busy on that front as well — even if he may be a little too old to reprise his role as Usnavi.
And it’s highly unlikely he’ll stay on the sidelines when the presidential campaign heats up — expect op-eds, get-out-the-vote efforts, a blizzard of tweets and, who knows, a theme song for the Democratic Convention.
Also departing the USS Hamilton is Soo. While she was nominated in the leading actress category as Eliza Schuyler, she didn’t carry the show the way she’ll have to in her next gig: the title role in the musical adaptation of the French movie “Amélie.” The show will begin its tryout run in LA in December, with a Broadway opening slated for sometime in 2017. Soo is also slated to contribute voice work for “Moana.”
Last but not least, Odom — who won a Tony for his portrayal of Aaron Burr — just released his jazzy self-titled debut album. Chances are he’ll promote it in the near future, then move on to his next stage, movie or TV project. Can we be the only one to clamor for NBC to reboot “Smash”?
Following them onto the exit ramp might well be Christopher Jackson (Washington), who’s been cast in the new TV series “Bull” — CBS picked up the pilot and the show would shoot in LA, making it impossible for Jackson to remain on Broadway. His role: “a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine tunes clients’ appearances for trial.”
Who do you think will leave “Hamilton” next?