For the last few weeks, if you've managed to catch up with me when I'm not writing something for JoBlo, you've probably found me listening to the Original Broadway Cast Recording for the smash musical HAMILTON non-stop. Seriously… it's a masterpiece of an album, and the closest I'm going to get to at least hearing the show for the forseeable future (unless someone wants to pass along a few grand for me to be to secure seats via resale). And with star Lin-Manuel Miranda recently setting a July 9 date for his departure from the show, it's one of the few lasting remnants we'll have of the original cast coming together to make something truly very special.
However, that doesn't mean the cast won't reunite down the line and possibly catch lightning in a bottle once again, just on a different project. And that's what I've got my fingers crossed for with the news that HAMILTON's Phillipa Soo, who co-stars as Alexander Hamilton's wife Eliza, has joined the cast of Disney's MOANA. Soo is set to play a villager of Motunui, home island of the title character, and while that may not seem like a big deal to some, possibly hearing Soo once again tackle music created by Miranda is a huge happening to so many others. Miranda has been hard at work writing new music for the film, which stars Dwayne Johnson and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho, alongside Opetaia Foaʻi and Mark Mancina, and if it's even half as good as the greatness of HAMILTON I hear on a daily basis, then we're going to be in for another Disney treat later this year.
MOANA opens in theaters on November 23, while HAMILTON continues to dominate Broadway right now.