‘Amelie’ Musical Moves Forward with ‘Hamilton’ Star Philippa Soo in the Lead

Noted stone-skipper, crème-brûlée-cracker, grain-fondler, and charming low-key voyeur Amélie Poulain is headed to Broadway, Deadline reports. The namesake of what may be the most widely-known export of French cinema will soon receive the same honor recently afforded to Matilda and School of Rock with a major musical production on the Great White Way, with none other than Hamilton star Philippa Soo in the title role. The originator of the Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton role will bring some Tony-nominated star power (not to mention her stainless-steel pipes) to the new stage performance when it opens in L.A. for previews on December 4 before moving to Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre on March 9.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s original Amélie charmed audiences in 2001 with its story of a mischievous, curious young woman (played then by Audrey Tatou, with unrestrained quirkiness that makes Zooey Deschanel look like your average tax attorney) searching for the owner of some lost possessions she’s found in her home. It’s easy to fall in love with her finely detailed world, filled with missed connections and sweetly unrequited loves. Judging by the poster showing Soo happily munching raspberries off the tips of her fingers, the American stage adaptation will ratchet up the adorable eccentricities in the hopes of winning over a new generation of people who imagine they’d be expatriates if they only knew how to speak French.

The various high-profile alumni of Hamilton have been doing quite well as they’ve gradually departed the production that made them stars. Creator/star Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed a song to the upcoming Disney feature Moana and has signed on for the Dick Van Dyke role in the gestating Mary Poppins remake, while Tony winner Daveed Diggs continues to expand his influence in the world of hip-hop through his group CLPPNG. Turns out that all a stage actor needs to do in order to cross over is star in the most successful, decorated musical ever written!