00:00 Filipina singer and theatre actress Rachel Ango will once again play the role of Eliza Hamilton
00:05 in the international tour of award-winning play Hamilton.
00:08 It will open in Manila September 17th and I was able to speak with Rachel about reprising the role
00:14 which she earlier played in Hamilton's West End production.
00:17 And she told me how excited and of course at the same time how nervous she was to make the musical
00:23 or make her musical homecoming here in the Philippines. Watch this.
00:27 Mixed emotions, you know. I'm so excited because finally I'll be able to go home and share this
00:32 amazing musical with our kababayans. And also I'm so nervous because I just literally gave birth
00:40 and I'm like can I still do this role? Can I still sing it? No, but it's more of excitement, you know.
00:47 I think looking back in 2017, for some reason I had this feeling that Hamilton will bring me to the Philippines.
00:56 I don't know. I guess I was just claiming it. I said they're gonna bring the show to the Philippines
01:02 and I'm gonna play the role. I feel like I've already named it.
01:07 You know, you've done a lot of that. I mean, it's a task. I mean, for some reason whatever you utter,
01:13 wish for, seems to have happened from your Ariel and awards and what and like this one right now.
01:20 I mean, to have a history in the making, of course, you being there, Asia's Asian premiere,
01:26 for Hamilton, is actually happening. Preparations that have taken place or not yet for you?
01:34 Not yet. I was actually supposed to fly to New York for rehearsals next month, but then it's
01:42 just a lot of paperwork. So we just decided to stay here in London and do the rehearsals here
01:48 and then just fly to Manila in September and do the preparation out there before we open.
01:56 Well, I guess, you know, from 2017 to 2019, I mean, preparations, I mean, you can do this pretty much
02:01 in your sleep. Have you memorized? I feel like because of this mama brain, you know, I feel like
02:07 I forgot everything. But yeah, hopefully when I get on stage, everything will be back to normal.
02:15 But now at the moment, what I'm doing is it's really hard to rehearse at home with two kids.
02:20 It's kind of like such a busy household at the moment. I think the only time for me to rehearse
02:26 at home is when they're taking their naps, but it's hard for me to sing out loud. So
02:32 yeah, I'm just listening to the music at the moment. And what's funny as well,
02:38 nasa phone ko pa din yung aming rehearsal notes from 2017 with the musical supervisor. So yeah,
02:47 that's what I've been listening to over and over. For our viewers, okay, I'm sure there's only a few
02:56 that are not so familiar with Hamilton. I mean, it's been all over pandemic. I mean,
03:01 we actually enjoyed seeing it online for those that haven't been able to go to the West End
03:06 or Broadway or wherever to catch it a little bit about your role, Eliza.
03:11 Eliza. So Eliza Schuyler Hamilton is the wife of Alexander Hamilton, who is the one of the
03:18 founding fathers of America. And she basically continued on the legacy of Alexander when he
03:27 passed away. And for me, it's such an emotional character of the show. And yeah, she went through
03:34 a lot. She kind of witnessed what Hamilton went through from like the war, losing their son. And
03:43 yeah, it's such a heavy character. What I fell in love with, with Eliza, it's just,
03:50 again, her strength, right? And her grace. And what my favorite part of the show is like the
03:58 forgiveness part. To everyone who's not interested in politics or American history, I always say that
04:06 you can always relate to any part of any role in the show because they kind of tackle
04:13 kind of everything. It comes in love, lost, forgiveness. And with Eliza, yeah, I just love
04:22 her strength and the joy that she's bringing. So every time I'm on stage, I just, for some reason,
04:28 I can feel, I can get that vibe, you know, every single night I have that joy.
04:33 I guess for some reason, you must really understand her. I mean, you must already feel her.
04:41 Enough for Lin-Manuel to just like be like, "Whew! Rachel Ando is like amazing!" You know,
04:49 the way she nailed auditions and whatnot. I mean, it must be so thrilling for you. Have you been
04:55 able to work with him? I mean, what's your relationship like with Lin? Well, you know,
04:59 I met him during when we were doing the show here in London. He was part of the audition process.
05:06 He was there during the final audition. That was really nerve-wracking because that day,
05:12 I lost my voice. Because that was December, so wintertime. And you still got it!
05:23 Prayers are really powerful, I'm telling you. Before I entered that room, I was like,
05:27 "I don't know how I'm going to sing it." Because literally, I really lost my voice. I was like,
05:31 "Husky!" And I was just like, "Who? Pray?" And for some reason, my voice just came out. And yeah,
05:38 they just offered me the role the next day. And yeah, I'm just really grateful. I actually
05:43 auditioned for the other character then, Peggy Schuyler. So I actually auditioned for two roles.
05:52 Wow! But yeah, I really want to see Eliza. It was quite interesting because when I interviewed
05:58 Jason Arrow, who will play the lead here in the Manila, he also told me, "But of course,
06:04 you were auditioning for Eliza." But he goes, "I was not auditioning for Alexander Hamilton. I was
06:09 auditioning for somebody else." But for some reason, he got the part. Wow! I guess everything
06:16 happens for a reason, right? Exactly. I mean, tell me a little bit also about the Filipino talent
06:22 that's out at your end, at the West End. There are a lot, right? There are a lot of Filipinos.
06:29 Well, when I first moved here, when I did the show, it's Miss Saigon. So there are a lot of
06:37 Asians. There are a lot of Filipinos that I was with. But then after that, the next show I did,
06:44 I was the only Asian. So I was like, "Where are the people of color? Where are my fellow Filipinos?"
06:53 And then when I did Hamilton, I met another Filipino. And then, yeah, my circle of friends
07:01 grew. I met Christina Lealdo as well. She played Peggy during the show. It's amazing. It's so
07:09 proud to know that Filipinos are here in the West End sharing their gifts, their talents to
07:18 the whole world, basically. So it's so proud. It's our flag.
07:24 What else is on your bucket list that you would like to tick off? Say it now, say it now,
07:31 because it's going to happen. I know, right? That's my hobby, I think, to just keep claiming
07:38 things. At the moment, it's really, I just want to enjoy this season, you know? Being a mom of two,
07:51 it's a lot of work, especially living in a country where I don't have family members out here. So
07:59 it's really hard to be away from family. So I think just enjoy the family this season. I love
08:07 being a mom. I love watching the kids. It's just, I don't know, fulfilling. And that's why I'm
08:15 excited to do Philippines as well because it's not for a year because usually the contracts here
08:20 are for a year. So in the Philippines, it's just like, you know, like a two-month show. So it's
08:27 not going to be that much. So I can still do, you know, the show, something that I love, and also
08:34 be a mom at the same time. Who knows? Hopefully I can record an album. You know, how many albums
08:40 do you have? Like five albums or so? I think so. About that much, right? You know, you have to be
08:48 careful of what you wish for, you know, because you are going to be in Manila for two months.
08:53 That's a lot of time for you to do a movie, for you to do another album, for you to do,
08:58 you know, a teleserial thing. Oh my gosh, let's see. But also, I want to do, I was telling my
09:07 husband, it would be nice to go back to Broadway as well to do another show and just bring the
09:13 whole family there because the whole family is coming to the Philippines with me. And yeah,
09:18 I guess it's just nice to experience, you know, different parts of the world and share, again,
09:24 being a Filipino, share it with the world. What are the routines that you need to do
09:31 before you go on stage? It's like, no talking for like how long?
09:36 It's like, what are the things? No eating or something? I don't know. What do you mean?
09:40 Well, yeah, eating talaga. I'm so, matakaw pa naman ako. But when I'm doing a show, I have to
09:49 time it, especially Hamilton because I'm wearing a corset. I can't really eat right before the show.
09:56 No, but it's a lot of preparations. Like if I have a show during the day, I just have to vocalize and
10:03 really hydrate. And physically, mentally, I have to prepare as well. And because I've experienced
10:12 before, you know, I was too comfortable with the role. And, you know, I was like, oh, I don't need
10:18 to, you know, to prepare. I don't need to rehearse or to run through the lyrics in my head. Tapos
10:25 nakalimutan ko yung lyrics on stage. So it's a lesson learned. Like I really have to really focus
10:32 and have that discipline every single day. Well, you are truly an inspiration. We are so happy and
10:41 proud of you. And we look forward to seeing on stage come September as Eliza for the Asian premiere
10:50 of Hamilton. All the best to you, Rach. And you know, Christine, thank you. Look forward to seeing
10:56 you all the best congratulations you
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