The Gasp

Since Hamilton has hit Disney+, it has been debated and analyzed front to back. One of the biggest topics of debate was the final moment, Eliza's gasp. Everyone, including Lin-Manuel Miranda chimed in on the topic, but Soo has finally given her thoughts:

"I would not be able to tell you precisely what I was thinking in that moment, when that shot was taken and what exactly was going on in my brain but I can say that it was definitely night to night different but a mixture of yes, Eliza the character of Eliza, sees Hamilton or sees that legacy or sees the orphanage or sees um her kids telling her story or you know it was an exploration for me every day because you do a show eight times a week for a year and you find new things every single time and sometimes you're right, the wall would break and I think that's kind of how we found that moment because really once we got in front of an audience, it wasn't until then that I sort of realized like I could literally just look out and see all of these beautiful faces and acknowledge the story that we had just all taken a ride to witness and the fact that we've all chosen to sit together in the dark for two and a half hours and put ourselves in his shoes and listen and hear this story so it was definitely like a culmination of all of those things."

Post 'Hamilton'

Going from eight shows a week to a normal, is something Phillipa Soo took a long time to adjust to. During the interview, Soo talked about her life after Hamilton:

"The mind knows that it's [Hamilton] not happening..but the body doesn't know the difference…I was emotionally exhausted [by the end], it was such an amazing year, I met so many amazing people. I think, I didn't have the time to process it all in real time. Once I left the show, there were a couple of days where 7 PM or 8 PM would hit and I would be like "why do I feel anxious right now", and that's because my body was like "It's time to go do Hamilton!"…It's weird but the human body is amazing and I recovered…I knew it wasn't the end when I left the show, we still had the film, there's so many things about that experience that will continue shape me and be with me for the rest of my life."

Upcoming Project

When Phillipa Soo was young, she saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Being Chinese-American, Soo was ecstatic to see herself represented on the big screen. She now has the chance to inspire millions as she is set to star in Over The Moon. While talking about representation and the film, Soo stated:

"It's so rare that I get to play a specifically Chinese character…I can't help but just celebrate this moment, It's not something I saw a lot growing up…there's many younger versions of me that will watch Hamilton and Over The Moon..I will actually be able to say something to my younger self and feel like it's so right, the work we put in to see these diverse stories and these diverse rooms, the pay off is too much to miss, the joy of seeing yourself on screen as a young person can't be beat"

SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, hosted by SiriusXM's Chief Entertainment Anchor Jess Cagle and co-host Julia Cunningham airs Mondays through Fridays at 3:00 pm PT.