Emilie Kouatchou inThe Phantom of the Opera.Photo: Matthew Murphy
Emilie Kouatchouis making history as thefirst Black actress to portray Christine DaaéinBroadway’s production ofThe Phantom of the Opera.
Speaking toSheinelle Joneson Thursday’s episode of theTodayshow, Kouatchou saidPhantomwas the first show she ever saw on Broadway, which makes her role even more special.
At the time, it never occurred to herthat she could play Christinein theAndrew Lloyd Webber-composed musical one day.
“I think my mindset was still that this role was not for me, which is just a sad reality. And it look a lot of unlearning just to be able to say, ‘No, I can do this,’ " Kouatchou recalled.
“I knew I couldsing the heck out of Christine,” she added.
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“I grew up seeing people likeAudra McDonaldandHeather Headleyonstage, being excellent,” Kouatchou said. “They were the people that gave me hope that I could have a career in this.”
“If they hadn’t done what they had done, I probably wouldn’t be here,” she added.
Kouatchoustepped into the role of Christinefull time in Broadway’s longest-running musical last month after first performing as an understudy. She realized the role would be hers when she sang “Think of Me” with the orchestra for the first time.
“I just remember getting so choked up I couldn’t finish the song,” she said.
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Kouatchou made her debut on the Great White Way on Oct. 27, first performing as Christine three times a week at the Majestic Theatre.
In December, shetold PEOPLE that she felt immense pressurein the days leading up to her debut: “There were a lot of nights just feeling like maybe I’m not good enough for this, or feeling like I have the weight of all these people who are looking up to me [on my shoulders], and I wanted to do the best that I could.”
“I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be — and it shouldn’t be this way — 10 times better and work 10 times harder,” Kouatchou continued. “It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.”
And while McDonald, 51, and Headley, 47, are heroes of hers, “I’ve had a lot of girls reach out, and say, ‘Hey, this is a dream role of mine, and you’re making it possible for me to achieve that goal.’ At times when I’m just so in my head about what I’m doing in the show, it’s a great reminder that this is something,” Kouatchou told PEOPLE.
She added, “No matter what I do on stage,me in that costume and me wearing that wigand me singing those songs and just my face as a face ofPhantom[is] so important.”
source: people.com
