Backstage with Stephanie Umoh of 'Hamilton'

Audiences across the country have been dying for a chance to be in the room where it happens with Lin Manuel Miranda’s mesmerizing musical about our 10-dollar founding father without a father. As Bass Concert Hall prepares to host its first Broadway production in nearly two years, Hamilton is set to take the stage from December 7 – 19 with a highly talented cast that includes the likes of Stephanie Umoh, a Texas native that’s thrilled to bring her talents back to the Lone Star State.

Coming back to the stage means a lot to Umoh, following more than a year of closed curtains for this production of Hamilton, due to the global pandemic.

“Before the shutdown, I was on tour for a little over a year, and now returning again, we started about a few months ago. So I'm not new to the show, but it does have a new feeling this time around, after being shut down,” Umoh explained. “It was definitely an emotional experience to come back to the show after something like our livelihoods being ripped away from us for so long. So it definitely feels cathartic. There's a lot of joy, and I definitely have a different appreciation and gratefulness to be back with the show.”

Like any Hamilton fan, Umoh is in love with practically every song from the show, but it may come as a surprise to many to find out that her personal favorite doesn’t have her leading the charge. For her, the best song is one that sets the stage for everything around it.

"I think my favorite part of this show is the opening number,” she explained. “I think the reason for that is because it just so brilliantly sets up the tone of the entire show. We're starting to introduce characters and it almost acts as the prologue of a book and it just gets you ready and draws you into the stage to listen and closer to what we're about to tell you. And I love that vibe. I love the way it's crafted and it's good — it's solid."

Reflecting on her time in the role, Umoh recalls her initial intimidation with taking her place with such a new and different opportunity. Despite the musical’s recent beginnings at the time, it had already begun to captivate a massive and steadily growing audience. 

“So when I joined the company, I guess that was back in October, 2018, I was a little terrified, I'm not going to lie,” she admitted. “It was a different time, you know? The show was only two or three years old, and on this particular tour, it's called the Angelica tour, I'm only the third person to have played the role in our company. So I was definitely scared and a little intimidated because I don't think I've ever been with a show at this caliber — you know? It was a little scary at first, but I'm just me. I don't try to replicate anybody else's performances because many women have played the role. I can only do my thing, and that's what I do. I think I've found, over the last year and a half or two years, I have found the way I play Angelica and the way I connect with her. It's awesome.”

While many people may look at the role and see some serious shoes to fill, competing with the performance of Alysha Deslorieux, Umoh saw the opportunity as a chance to bring her own interpretation to the role, breathing new life into the eldest daughter of a Continental Army General.

"I think that [character development] sort of just happens naturally because I am different from [Deslorieux] who originated the role,” she said. “I am my own individual person and I have my own experiences that are completely different from hers, and so that alone makes my take on Angelica completely different, simply because of who I am and I'm a completely different person. But on top of that, I think that the show Hamilton — they're really great about allowing you to sort of have your own spin on the roles. They don't want a carbon copy of the original, because there is no right way necessarily to play it."

"When I approached this role, I learned historically about Angelica Schuyler, but then also I combed through the script several times and figured out what exactly she wants in each scene,” Umoh elaborated. “What Angelica's desires are, what the ultimate outcome she wants for herself is, and just all of these sort of questions I asked myself, for Angelica, and I just investigate it that way. And then the character comes out. I think everybody has their own process and everybody does things differently. It can't help but be different. Even if I tried to imitate the woman who did it originally, it would still be different."

Umoh is bringing her home-grown talents back to the Lone Star State, having grown up in the DFW area before making her way to Broadway. Despite having a different path in mind, Umoh found the spark that illuminated the start of her amazing journey where many young people often do — at school.

“It's funny because I grew up in a town called Lewisville, Texas, which is between Denton and Carrollton, and I didn't really see myself performing professionally,” she exclaimed. “I was always sort of an artistic, creative type for sure, but I just saw myself going into the sciences — maybe a doctor, maybe a surgeon. I just thought that was going to be my journey. I remember — I think it was about sophomore or junior year of high school — I was in my theater program and my theater teacher, we were rehearsing some show and she pulled me aside and, with tears in her eyes, she was like, 'you've got to do this. You have to pursue this,' and at that point in my life, that was the first time anybody had really told me I was good at something. So it really inspired me. I went with my gut because I would realize my grades had began to suffer in school because I was learning monologues and songs and not studying, you know? So I said, yes. Okay. And I pursued it, and got into a really good school, went to the Boston conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts with the four year conservatory program and studied. I was a little bit behind all the other students because they had been learning music their whole lives and dancing their whole lives. I sort of just jumped into it in high school. So I was playing a lot of catch-up and I always thought that maybe I wouldn't — I wouldn't be good enough — but you know what, I think that having been a little bit behind everybody else made me work harder."

With her sights set on a future featuring bright marquees and plenty of playbills, she knew the journey would be difficult. Umoh took the challenge and gave it her best shot, despite coming from a starting line further back than her contemporaries, in her opinion.

“I think being from my humble background made me work harder,” he admitted. “I didn't grow up with a lot of money. We got by, so that always made me hungry. I just needed to work harder and harder and harder because if I was going to pursue a life in the arts I want to be able to support myself. So right out of college, I worked a restaurant job, but then a year later I was making my Broadway debut, and it was kind of surreal because I think that statistically, that is unlikely."

Although she’s achieved lots of success in her career thus far, Umoh has never forgotten about where she came from and the people she holds close to her heart.

“My mom is still in Texas. My family is still in Texas. So I go back and visit often,” she said. “I’m actually going to go back when we're in Dallas to go to the high school, to speak to the high school students from the program I graduated from. Yeah. Just trying to go back and give back and maybe I can inspire someone from that program the way I was inspired.”

Beyond inspiring the youth, Umoh hopes that Hamilton, and shows creating space for Black people can encourage Black audiences to come see the show for themselves.

“I would love to encourage Black people to come see our show,” she lamented. “From what I can tell when I'm on stage, looking out into the audience, there aren't enough Black folks coming to our show. I hope that Black folks are inspired or intrigued enough to come see our production because it's really good. I think they'll find something about it to love.”

Tickets for Hamilton are available now at BroadwayinAustin.com or texasperformingarts.org. Ticket prices range from $49 to $179 with a select number of premium seats available from $249 for all performances. Hamilton will also be in Houston at the Hobby Center on February 22 – March 20, 2022. Tickets on sale now.