Jisel Soleil Ayon Serves Strength and Sass as Angelica in Hamilton on Broadway
After almost three years on Hamilton’s national tour, the actor steps into the role of Angelica Schuyler full time on Broadway.
(Photo by Sergio Villarini for Broadway.com)
What to Know
- Jisel Soleil Ayon makes her Broadway debut as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton after previously playing the role on the musical’s second national tour
- She spent over two years as a standby for all three Schuyler sisters before stepping into Angelica full time
- Ayon says she connects deeply to Angelica’s strength and sass as an older sister in both the show and real life
Age: 27
Hometown: Long Beach, California
Current role: Jisel Soleil Ayon plays Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton on Broadway. (Work!) This marks her Broadway debut.
Previous roles: Ayon played Angelica Schuyler on Hamilton's 2nd national tour (Philip Company) and Jenna in the 2nd national tour of Waitress.
Got It From My Mama
Raised in a musical family, Ayon was introduced to the genre by her mother, in the form of VHS versions of the classics. She names Hello, Dolly!, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as films that were "paramount" in providing her with an early musical theater education. "The bug bit me right there," she says. "The performers really caught my eye and made me admire and obsess over this art form. Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand in Hello, Dolly! is otherworldly. It made me fall in love with musical theater all over again, rewatching her." While not a performer herself, Ayon's mom has pipes, and she works with music and kids. Ayon's uncles played in a band, and her younger brother is "a beautiful singer. I'm going to regret that I said that," she laughs, "but he's in med school."
Setting The Stage
Growing up singing and dancing, Ayon has a clear memory of her debut role in a first grade production of Jack and the Beanstalk. "I really, really, really wanted the golden goose, but I didn't get it. I was Jack's mother instead. But to this day, I remember that golden goose song. I swear to you." When she was around four years old, she saw a production of The Lion King, which opened her eyes to the spectacle of live theater. "The wonder and magic of all of these animals bouncing around the theater is crazy. I think that was the first time that I was like, 'Whoa, What is this? I have to know more. I have to see more and experience more.'" Still, she didn't make the decision to perform professionally until two years into college, where she was studying to be a speech therapist.
It Won't Be Long Now
"I came out of an advisor meeting and he made me realize that I wasn't in it because I loved it. I was in it because it felt practical and rational," Ayon says of her original career path. "I came out crying and was like, 'I don't think I want to do this, but I also don't know what I want to do.'" It was then that she ran into a mentor, the director of her school's production of In the Heights, who told her: "As an educator, I'm very careful who I encourage to do this, because this is hard to do. I can count on one hand the amount of people, and you're one of them," Ayon recalls. "It was her belief in me that instilled confidence in my abilities. She really believed in me, and made me believe in myself. So I was like, 'Alright, I'm taking the leap.'" She transferred schools, and the rest is history. "I realized that performing was a passion I had that I couldn't live without. With each job that I do now, it confirms that this is what I'm supposed to be doing."
My Shot
Ayon started on Hamilton's 2nd national tour, known as the Philip Company, in 2022. She was a standby for the roles of all three Schuyler sisters for two-and-a-half years before being called back to play Angelica full time. She performed as Angelica for five months until the tour came to a close, and less than two months later the ask came for her to join the Broadway cast in the role. "If you had told me in 2022 when I first started that I was going to end up here, I would not have believed you." For Ayon, the Hamilton journey "is definitely something that I look at with a little bit of awe, because it has truly been a roller coaster. I've had some high highs and I've had some low lows, but overall, it has brought me so many different things that I could not have ever expected."
Eldest Daughter
It's exciting to find new aspects of the character now that she's playing her full time on Broadway. "I do Angelica very differently than when I first started. I've learned more about the show, I've learned more about myself, and I would say my favorite part of playing Angelica is the response that she gets from people," Ayon shares. "When people talk to me about liking her character, they talk about the strength, the loyalty. As the older sister, she gets to throw some sass at Hamilton. I'm that type of person, so I enjoy getting to play with Hamilton in a way that the other women don't necessarily get to." As an older sister in real life, she feels a special connection. "That aspect is super universal for a lot of people. I love getting to show that aspect of myself and getting to witness others seeing themselves in the character." Ayon spent two years on tour with Lencia Kebede in the role of Angelica, and cites her interpretation as having the biggest influence. "She was my first role model. There are definitely Lencia-isms to my Angelica." Outside of this part, Sutton Foster and Patina Miller are two other performers who inspire her. "Patina became someone that I really looked up to because of Leading Player [her Tony-winning role in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin]. I was like, 'Oh wow, this role that she gets to turn on its head [by] being a woman and a woman of color is so cool.'"
Take A Break
As a cover, Ayon's favorite moment was performing "That Would Be Enough" as Eliza. Now, her top song in the show has become "Take a Break," in part because of "the beautiful actors" she shares the stage with. "All of them bring so much of themselves and so much fun to that scene. That's the most playful time that we all get, or at least that I get to have with other people," she says. "We as actors and storytellers in that scene, whoever it is—all of the covers and all of the principals that I've been with throughout my time—have such fun being able to play with that moment." Touching on the influence of Hamilton, which marked its 10th anniversary on Broadway last August, Ayon says: "It's almost impossible to put into words what this show has meant to others, and the impact that this show has left on the entire world. So it's hard for me to comprehend the fact that I'm a part of this legacy, this huge thing that has altered history forever, but I'm endlessly grateful. There are so many things that it's brought into my life, so many lessons I've learned, so many friends I've met, so many ways that it's changed my life."
Gotta Have Faith
"I think about my past a lot and how much we cannot know when it's happening what's ahead of us, or how that will affect us or change us or lead us to exactly where we should be. I'm not a religious person per se, but I do believe that the things that happen, happen for a reason, and that we have a path," Ayon muses. "If I were to talk to younger Jisel, I would just tell her to trust that whatever decision you're going to make is going to be okay. I think when we're young, we all don't trust ourselves. We're all worried about where we are going to go, and if we jump, whether we'll land." Ayon recalls one of the pies she made for herself when closing out the Waitress tour: "You thought you'd fall, but you flew" pie. "That was a beautiful moment for me of, you just have to take the leap and trust that you will go where you need to go. You are enough, and what you have in you is enough." Her advice to her past self and to aspiring young performers is this: "It's all about the journey. It's not about the destination." As for her own journey, she's just getting started. "While I'm here on Broadway, I'm not going to be here forever. Who knows when the next time I'll be on Broadway is, but I'm so excited for all of the possibilities to come."
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