#backstage.com

‘Hamilton’ Star Euan Morton’s Royal Advice for Replacing in B’way’s Biggest-Ever Show (Backstage.com):

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What is your process for actually making the role your own? I don’t think good actors make the character their own, because that would require you to mold and shape something that should be molding you. There’s no conscious effort to be different or similar. There’s no conscious effort even to be funny (although there are nights where I’m consciously trying not to be dreadful). I just want to be, for half an hour, or less than that as King George, or a three-hour play, I want to not be me for a while. To do that, you have to let someone else take over. And that sounds completely deranged. It’s wonderful to go out and let George do whatever he wants to do with my emotions and my body so I can sit upstairs and wait for him to come back. They say leave your crap at the door. If I can do it, I leave everything including literally myself at the door.

Is there anything you wish audiences knew about replacements? I will say this: When you see an actor after the show it’s probably not good to say, “Oh my god you’re my third favorite king.” I had one lovely young woman say to me, “I’ve seen ‘Hedwig [and the Angry Inch’] four times, and you are my fourth favorite Hedwig.” That’s last, woman! Comparison is difficult. There isn’t another person out there who would play the king the way Brian did and make it work. You just have to remember that each man, each woman is different, and every time they are given a character, that character becomes different and those differences are hopefully forgiven or loved or accepted by an audience.

Since the king is a solitary role, has it been harder to settle in with the cast? The king has a tiny little dressing room with no door. Jonathan Groff decided to remove the door so he could be more personable because you get to feel a little lonely as the king. Jonathan would have all these guests and the cast would come up and say hi or whatever. I was talking one night with some of the wardrobe ladies backstage and one said, “Oh and then this person used to come up and see Jonathan and oh, remember when Jonathan did this?” That was the moment I felt super lonely. I was like, “No one has come up to see me!” I think everyone was just so tired of having to talk to Jonathan Groff! He has ruined the show for me by stealing all of my possible friends.

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Me: I should be at the club