Phillipa Soo talks 'One True Loves' movie, living her Broadway 'dream' in 'Camelot'

NEW YORK – Seven years ago, Phillipa Soo made her Broadway debut as Eliza in the original cast of "Hamilton." Now, the Tony-nominated star is practically theater royalty.

In the last 10 months alone, she's played a headstrong queen ("Camelot"), a clumsy princess ("Into the Woods") and a starchy street preacher ("Guys and Dolls") on stage. And with her top-billed turn in the romance movie "One True Loves" (in theaters Friday, on digital April 14), Soo is having the kind of year most actors could only wish for.

"Oh my God, I feel so lucky," she says on a recent afternoon. "If I was making a dream board about what I wanted this year to look like, in no way, shape, or form would I feel like it would be even possible to do three revivals within a year. What a dream."

Aaron Sorkin's 'Camelot' reimagines Guenevere's role in the legend

In "Camelot," which officially opens April 13 at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, Soo plays the vivacious Guenevere, who rules alongside husband King Arthur (Andrew Burnap) and falls for strapping knight Lancelot (Jordan Donica). The show is a revival of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's 1960 musical, with a newly revised book by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin.

Soo, 32, was raised outside Chicago and moved to New York in 2008 to study acting at Juilliard. Although she saw a lot of theater growing up, she had no previous connection to "Camelot" and was "completely floored" by Sorkin's script.

"This idea of trying to establish democracy coming out of chaos and the Middle Ages was really intriguing," Soo says. "It really paralleled where we are now as a nation and at the end of the day, there is an element of hope to it."

In this version, it was important to make Guenevere "Arthur's equal," Sorkin says. She offers ideas on how to build his Round Table and opens up the court's celebrations to different classes of people.

"She's a harbinger of agency for women," director Bartlett Sher says. "What Phillipa brings is an exquisite intelligence when it comes to parsing out texts and making complex choices. She's also got enormous warmth and this gorgeous, perfect voice, which really doesn't hurt."

She was drawn to the nuanced love triangle of 'One True Loves'

Soo brings a similar savvy to "One True Loves," portraying a young woman named Emma who tries to move on with her childhood best friend (Simu Liu) after her husband (Luke Bracey) goes missing and is presumed dead. The movie is adapted from Taylor Jenkins Reid's 2016 book and is directed by Andy Fickman, who met Soo over Zoom at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and instantly knew she was Emma.

"She's electrifying," Fickman says. "You can't take your eyes off her."

With this film, "what I'm hoping people take away is that the idea of a one true love is not necessarily as important as asking yourself the question, 'Who am I today? And who am I ready to choose to love right now?' " Soo says. "Love is not some magical thing. It takes work, it takes commitment and it takes a choice."

Off screen, Soo has her own real-life love story with husband Steven Pasquale, a fellow Broadway actor whom she married in 2017. Last fall, the couple played sweethearts Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown in "Guys and Dolls" at Washington's Kennedy Center – roles they hope to revisit in the future.

"We'd read scenes out loud together in our living room – it made it very easy and fun," Soo says. "I love working with my husband. It was quite a treat to get to sing with all of your body and spirit with someone you not only love but respect and adore as an artist."

A theater career is 'a beautiful life to have'

Pasquale also reassured her about doing "Into the Woods," a revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1987 musical, which transferred to Broadway last summer after a hit two-week run at New York City Center. Soo had just 10 days of rehearsal to play Cinderella, which required her to not only master Sondheim's lyrically dexterous score but also tumble down a set of stairs multiple times each performance. ("Thank goodness for my chiropractor," she jokes.)

"I had a couple moments where I said to my husband, 'It's not going to happen. There's so many words,' " Soo recalls. "But he was like, 'You'll get there. It'll be terrifying for three previews and then it'll be fine.' And he was right."

Like "Hamilton," in which actors of color portray America's founding fathers, this new production of "Woods" took a more inclusive approach to its fairy tale-inspired story.

"I wasn't the only one playing a character that has traditionally been cast with white people," says Soo, who is half-Chinese. "We had an Asian Red Riding Hood, a Latinx Rapunzel. It was so diverse and so wonderful. And especially with a fable like 'Into the Woods' that's made for its audiences, we should see ourselves in it."

Soo remains close with her "Woods" castmates, and still has various text threads going with her co-stars from "Hamilton." (The show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has already seen "Camelot.") As a self-proclaimed over-thinker, one of the most important lessons she's learned in her career is to just be present and enjoy the moment.

"I've come to know myself very well," Soo says. "I have all these tools I've collected over the past 10 years of working in this wonderful town, and I feel very proud of where I'm at. There's still a lot of growing to do, but I'm so glad I chose this long journey as an actor. A life in the theater – that's a beautiful life to have."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillipa Soo on life after 'Hamilton,' romantic drama 'One True Loves'