‘Suffs’ Stars Phillipa Soo and Jenn Colella on Why the New American History Musical Is More Than Just ‘Hermilton’

variety.com:

Gordon Cox Theater EditorOn a superficial level, the new musical “Suffs” looks a lot like “Hamilton” — so much so that “some people are calling it ‘Hermilton,'” said one of the show’s stars, Jenn Colella, on the new episode of Variety‘s theater podcast, Stagecraft, alongside co-star (and “Hamilton” alum) Phillipa Soo.Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:It’s easy to see the overlap.

The new show about the women behind the Suffragist movement is also an American history musical, premiering at the Public Theater in the same auditorium where “Hamilton” debuted.

Its writer-composer-lyricist, Shaina Taub, plays the show’s protagonist, as Lin-Manuel Miranda did in “Hamilton.” And, of course, there’s Soo, who originated the role of Eliza in “Hamilton” and now plays labor lawyer and activist Inez Milholland in “Suffs.” On Stagecraft, Soo agreed that there may be some similarities between the two shows, but also argued that those overlaps are only natural given the creators involved. “Of course you’re going to see similarities between these two writers who are taking everything that they know and love about the art form of musical theater and bringing it to their work,” she said. “Yes, there’s American history there, and yes, I’m there.

But I think it just goes to show you that at the end of the day we’re all really interested in hearing and seeing stories where we see ourselves in them.”Also on the new episode of Stagecraft, Soo and Colella talked acting methodologies, performance mishaps and how it feels to have celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio come see your new musical in its fourth preview.