Emilie Kouatchou inThe Phantom of the Opera.Photo: Matthew MurphyThe Broadway production ofThe Phantom of the Operais older than Emilie Kouatchou — but when the young actress joined the cast earlier this year, she made history at a musical that’s been running for over three decades.Kouatchou, 25, is the first Black performer to play leading lady Christine Daaé inAndrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway hit. On Oct. 27, the actress — who performs the role three times a week at the Majestic Theatre — made her debut on the Great White Way and tells PEOPLE that the moment was incredibly “special.“Still, she says that she felt immense pressure in the days leading up to her first performance.“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,” she says. “I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be — and it shouldn’t be this way — ten times better and work ten times harder. It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.“Matthew MurphyWhile Kouatchou may be in the midst of a career-defining moment, she almost took a sharp turn out of show business when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Broadway theaters and auditions started drying up.“I found myself just feeling lost and feeling like I didn’t have a purpose anymore,” she admits, adding that she decided to take control of her own destiny and pursue hobbies like yoga and fashion that could potentially pave a new path forward.However, Kouatchou’s parents — her mother is a doctor, and her father is a businessman — encouraged her to get a degree in business.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.“I was a little reluctant, but I thought, ‘You know what, I could take night classes and still audition.’ And so I decided that come the fall, if nothing had happened, I would apply at business schools, and then literally in the fall, this thing happened,” she says. “I got the call in August, and that just kind of changed everything for me.“The University of Michigan graduate had auditioned forPhantomat least twice before, but it wasn’t until this summer that the creative team decided on Kouatchou to be the Christine alternate on Broadway.RELATED VIDEO: Recap of Broadway’s Diana Set to Premiere on Netflix and Elizabeth Debicki JoinsThe CrownWhile the historic moment inPhantom’s near 34-year run is not lost on Kouatchou, she says that she’s looking forward to a time when casting Black actors in roles such as hers is no longer a monumental occasion.“It frustrates me that it took this long, it does,” she says. “I’m honored that it’s me, and I’m honored that I’m making history, but I’m really excited for when it’s not even a question, it’s not even a thing, the first Black Christine.““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,” she adds. “No matter what I do on stage, me in that costume and me wearing that wig and me singing those songs and just my face as a face ofPhantom[is] so important.“When she took her first bow back in October, the audience erupted. Kouatchou recalls she “lived her best life” during the curtain call.“Humility is great at all, and being kind and humble is very important, but I’m very conscious of not allowing myself to be small, especially in a situation like that. I just wanted to feel like I could take up as much space as I could,” she says, “because I felt like I deserved it.”
Emilie Kouatchou inThe Phantom of the Opera.Photo: Matthew Murphy
The Broadway production ofThe Phantom of the Operais older than Emilie Kouatchou — but when the young actress joined the cast earlier this year, she made history at a musical that’s been running for over three decades.Kouatchou, 25, is the first Black performer to play leading lady Christine Daaé inAndrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway hit. On Oct. 27, the actress — who performs the role three times a week at the Majestic Theatre — made her debut on the Great White Way and tells PEOPLE that the moment was incredibly “special.“Still, she says that she felt immense pressure in the days leading up to her first performance.“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,” she says. “I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be — and it shouldn’t be this way — ten times better and work ten times harder. It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.“Matthew MurphyWhile Kouatchou may be in the midst of a career-defining moment, she almost took a sharp turn out of show business when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Broadway theaters and auditions started drying up.“I found myself just feeling lost and feeling like I didn’t have a purpose anymore,” she admits, adding that she decided to take control of her own destiny and pursue hobbies like yoga and fashion that could potentially pave a new path forward.However, Kouatchou’s parents — her mother is a doctor, and her father is a businessman — encouraged her to get a degree in business.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.“I was a little reluctant, but I thought, ‘You know what, I could take night classes and still audition.’ And so I decided that come the fall, if nothing had happened, I would apply at business schools, and then literally in the fall, this thing happened,” she says. “I got the call in August, and that just kind of changed everything for me.“The University of Michigan graduate had auditioned forPhantomat least twice before, but it wasn’t until this summer that the creative team decided on Kouatchou to be the Christine alternate on Broadway.RELATED VIDEO: Recap of Broadway’s Diana Set to Premiere on Netflix and Elizabeth Debicki JoinsThe CrownWhile the historic moment inPhantom’s near 34-year run is not lost on Kouatchou, she says that she’s looking forward to a time when casting Black actors in roles such as hers is no longer a monumental occasion.“It frustrates me that it took this long, it does,” she says. “I’m honored that it’s me, and I’m honored that I’m making history, but I’m really excited for when it’s not even a question, it’s not even a thing, the first Black Christine.““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,” she adds. “No matter what I do on stage, me in that costume and me wearing that wig and me singing those songs and just my face as a face ofPhantom[is] so important.“When she took her first bow back in October, the audience erupted. Kouatchou recalls she “lived her best life” during the curtain call.“Humility is great at all, and being kind and humble is very important, but I’m very conscious of not allowing myself to be small, especially in a situation like that. I just wanted to feel like I could take up as much space as I could,” she says, “because I felt like I deserved it.”
The Broadway production ofThe Phantom of the Operais older than Emilie Kouatchou — but when the young actress joined the cast earlier this year, she made history at a musical that’s been running for over three decades.
Kouatchou, 25, is the first Black performer to play leading lady Christine Daaé inAndrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway hit. On Oct. 27, the actress — who performs the role three times a week at the Majestic Theatre — made her debut on the Great White Way and tells PEOPLE that the moment was incredibly “special.”
Still, she says that she felt immense pressure in the days leading up to her first performance.
“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,” she says. “I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be — and it shouldn’t be this way — ten times better and work ten times harder. It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.”
Matthew Murphy
While Kouatchou may be in the midst of a career-defining moment, she almost took a sharp turn out of show business when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Broadway theaters and auditions started drying up.
“I found myself just feeling lost and feeling like I didn’t have a purpose anymore,” she admits, adding that she decided to take control of her own destiny and pursue hobbies like yoga and fashion that could potentially pave a new path forward.
However, Kouatchou’s parents — her mother is a doctor, and her father is a businessman — encouraged her to get a degree in business.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
“I was a little reluctant, but I thought, ‘You know what, I could take night classes and still audition.’ And so I decided that come the fall, if nothing had happened, I would apply at business schools, and then literally in the fall, this thing happened,” she says. “I got the call in August, and that just kind of changed everything for me.”
The University of Michigan graduate had auditioned forPhantomat least twice before, but it wasn’t until this summer that the creative team decided on Kouatchou to be the Christine alternate on Broadway.
RELATED VIDEO: Recap of Broadway’s Diana Set to Premiere on Netflix and Elizabeth Debicki JoinsThe Crown
While the historic moment inPhantom’s near 34-year run is not lost on Kouatchou, she says that she’s looking forward to a time when casting Black actors in roles such as hers is no longer a monumental occasion.
“It frustrates me that it took this long, it does,” she says. “I’m honored that it’s me, and I’m honored that I’m making history, but I’m really excited for when it’s not even a question, it’s not even a thing, the first Black Christine.”
“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,” she adds. “No matter what I do on stage, me in that costume and me wearing that wig and me singing those songs and just my face as a face ofPhantom[is] so important.”
When she took her first bow back in October, the audience erupted. Kouatchou recalls she “lived her best life” during the curtain call.
“Humility is great at all, and being kind and humble is very important, but I’m very conscious of not allowing myself to be small, especially in a situation like that. I just wanted to feel like I could take up as much space as I could,” she says, “because I felt like I deserved it.”
source: people.com
