‘Hamilton’ was her dream and now she’s living it
The Schuyler Sisters at Hamilton’s West End Live performance on June 26 – Roshani, at right in main group. Pic courtesy Bonnie Britain photography
Sri Lankan actor Roshani Abbey has just begun her run as Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds in the West End production of the hit musical Hamilton.
“It’s always been right at the top of my list,” she says of the musical which is among TimeOut magazine’s top current shows, alongside The Book of Mormon and The Lion King. The ground-breaking show won 11 Tony Awards in 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in the same year.
Hamilton is the dream, and Roshani is not afraid to admit that the role wasn’t handed to her on a silver platter. “It was a long time coming.”
The 25-year-old first auditioned for Hamilton in London nearly four years ago – in early 2019. “I went through five rounds of auditions (for three principal female roles) over four months and then I was let go for someone with more experience.”
But the company still didn’t have an actor for the role of Peggy and so they called Roshani back in July of the same year. She was offered another contract by a different company around the same time, and when it came to the crunch to decide between the possibility of a dream-come-true and the reality of contracted work, Roshani chose the latter, joining the ensemble of Arthur Laurents’ “Gypsy” at the Royal Exchange Theatre. She chose it again in 2021 when she accepted an offer to join “&Juliet”. It was only in 2022 when she auditioned directly for Peggy/Maria that her tapes were finally “presented” to the legendary creator of the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Roshani as Peggy Schuyler
“Hamilton: The Musical” which opened on Broadway in 2015, tells the story of America’s liberation from Britain through the personal life of one Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. The narrative highlights the fact that Hamilton himself was an immigrant and the show uses non-white actors to play the roles of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other important figures in the history of the country. Set in New York, the play has received nearly universal acclaim not only for its ability to contextualise the history of one of the most powerful nations in the world as one created by the underdog, but also for its very relatable construction through a musical style that relies heavily on hip-hop and R&B. The West End production opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in December 2017.
Hamilton is without question a bigger deal in the greater theatre world than “&Juliet”, the show Roshani moved out of. Opening week for Hamilton consisted of 11 shows on top of more casual outdoor performances at West End Live at Trafalgar Square. While audience numbers have dropped across the board due to COVID-19, Hamilton is popular enough to enjoy at least a nearly full house all week. And the best part? “I get my own dressing room,” the actor says with a flourish.
Roshani’s love for dance began with a ballet class in the US when she was just two and a half years old. Most of her later childhood and teenage years were spent in Colombo where she was heavily involved in dance, singing and theatre. Theatregoers in Colombo may remember her cameo as Peron’s mistress from Evita (2012) and her parts as Louisa from The Sound of Music (2008) and Talullah from Bugsy Malone (2008) with the Workshop Players and the Junior Workshop Players. She also played Carmen in Fame (2013) and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2012) produced by the British School in Colombo.
A scholar to boot, Roshani moved to London to study mathematics and holds an MSc from Imperial College in addition to a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. She made her West End debut in the award-winning musical “&Juliet” in 2021. Roshani opened as Peggy/Maria for Hamilton at the end of June 2022.
While she is in familiar roles that have been played by many before her, and even while the show is “very prescribed and detailed,” Roshani still finds a refreshing openness to interpretation of character with her new company.
“In this kind of show they encourage us to find our own version of (the character) because there are so many different ways that it can be played well and be made to work,” she says.
Shan Ako as Eliza Hamilton, Allyson Ava Brown as Angelica Schuyler and Roshani Abbey as Peggy Schuyler. Pic by Danny Kaan
One of Roshani’s characters, Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler, is the sister of Alexander Hamilton’s wife Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler, while the other, Maria Reynolds, is his lover. “What’s interesting about (these women) is that not much is really known about any of them as real people,” Roshani says. “It gives you room to play. Different people can interpret (the character) in different ways.”
The Peggy that Roshani plays is “playful and really curious” in her own words, and has “tons of energy”.
Maria, on the other hand, is not so easily pegged down, even in Roshani’s interpretation of the role. “Some days I might look at Maria as if she knew what she was doing, and had planned the whole thing through,” the actor says of the scandal that is aroused when the affair is exposed. “Or I may look at it like she went in with one decision but then found herself (emotionally) caught up.” The room for interpretation and the flexibility the company allows Roshani to bring out the interpretations differently is “quite interesting even as an acting exercise.” “Maybe the main reason for playing Peggy is to play Maria,” she suggests.
With both characters (Peggy appears only during the first half of the show and Maria appears only during the second half of the show), Roshani has only almost one song to herself. “This is quite the challenge,” she says “you don’t have a lot of time to get the audience on your side of it.” Roshani’s strategy is to play the higher stake. This does not mean playing overly emotional, she points out, but simply bringing more emotional genuineness to the character.
Roshani is also the third cover understudy for the role of Hamilton’s wife, Eliza Schuyler, which is the most technically challenging to sing in the whole show. “It sounds really amazing, but it is a workout,” she says. Eliza’s role “has a nice (emotional) arc,” Roshani adds, “and to go through that emotional journey and to play it without giving her more agency than she would have had at the time – that’s hard. That’s what I’m interested in, and that’s what I’m enjoying.”
While being part of a huge show and a big company comes with its perks, there are, inevitably, things Roshani misses about being in “&Juliet.” Dancing is right at the top of that list. “In &Juliet, I was in the ensemble and was dancing eight times a week during the show,” Roshani, whose life onstage began as a dancer, explains. “Now I don’t have much to do so I’m missing not having to think about getting any exercise during the week,” she adds with a grin.
Roshani is contracted to the role until June 2023 and is looking forward to the opportunities that she knows will come her way after Hamilton.
(On our Magazine cover is Roshani Abbey in her role as Maria Reynolds, backstage on the opening night of Hamilton)
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