Against the peaceful backdrop of Central Park鈥檚 trees, Solea Pfeiffer is hoping to create a little disruption. Currently starring in Free Shakespeare in the Park鈥檚 Hamlet as Ophelia, Pfeiffer is drawing from a deeply personal place to portray what she calls 鈥渙ne of the OG tragic ing茅nues,鈥� explaining, 鈥淭his play is about people turning their back on someone who's being very clear and direct about what is happening to them and around them. And no one鈥檚 listening until it's too late.鈥� That frustration of not being heard is one that Pfeiffer knows all too well. 鈥淚 think for women, especially women of color, there are certain spaces where what you have to say is taken at face value. But in most spaces, that is not the case.鈥�
Pfeiffer stars in The Public Theater鈥檚 Free Shakespeare in the Park production, which plays the open-air Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 6 (the season then continues with a free musical version of The Tempest August 27 to September 3). Directed by Kenny Leon, Hamlet also stars Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood in the title role, in a new take on the material. The production features a predominantly Black cast, and Pfeiffer brings her own experiences as a mixed-race woman to a character that has almost always been played by a white actor. 鈥淚 can't really think of that many women of color that have played Ophelia, if I've ever seen one,鈥� she wonders.
Herself the daughter of an African American mother and a white father, Pfeiffer鈥檚 heritage is partially reflected in the story as Ophelia鈥檚 father Polonius is played by Daniel Pearce, who is white. Pfeiffer describes the production as 鈥渦napologetically Black in every sense鈥濃攖he production features culturally specific staging choices, including a praise team to sing hymns, and a re-imagination of the First Player鈥檚 speech in Act II Scene 2 as a rap song.
Pfeiffer made her Broadway debut with Almost Famous last year, playing the enigmatic Penny Lane and showing off her impressive vocals that have quickly made her a musical theatre favorite (she鈥檚 due to be back on Broadway this fall, in a role she can鈥檛 yet reveal to 半岛体育). But Ophelia has been a welcome change of pace for the actor.
The Black-led production has been a rewarding experience for her because diverse points-of-view are still not always given equal weight in the theatre industry as a whole. The young actor has often felt herself silenced and underestimated in her career, as a woman and as someone who is mixed-race.
鈥淚 think certain point of views are held at a much higher cachet for no reason other than we are conditioned to feel that way. And I think that's what happens with Ophelia. There are times when you want to scream because you're like, 鈥業 really have something to say.鈥� And it doesn't matter how eloquent I am, it doesn't matter how right I am,鈥� she explains. Pfeiffer is grounding her Ophelia in those very real experiences of being discounted and overlooked and believes it's something many audience members will relate to.
Pfeiffer believes any performers who feels boxed in can relate, as well. 鈥淧eople are looking at you like, 鈥楥an you do this?鈥� and I鈥檓 just like, 鈥榊es, every single person on Broadway.鈥� People are more than capable. They're just not given the chance, the confidence, or the support to embody being another kind of performer,鈥� Pfeiffer asserts passionately.
And that was part of the reason, for a time, Ophelia hadn鈥檛 been on her bucket list. 鈥淚 had totally bought into that idea. And I didn鈥檛 think that I was in the caliber of actor to be doing Free Shakespeare in the Park.鈥�
Though she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, it still came as quite the shock to the 28-year-old Pfeiffer when Hamlet鈥檚 director Leon asked her to audition for the part after seeing Pfeiffer in Almost Famous. Shifting that mindset of what kind of artist she is post-pandemic has been an ongoing process for her. She shares, 鈥淚'm not gonna say no to myself. I'm not gonna count myself out of anything.鈥�
Upon being cast, Pfeiffer really began to reflect on Ophelia and realized that she鈥檚 鈥渒ind of the blueprint for every role鈥� the actor has played in the last few years. 鈥淚 know a tragic Act Two really well,鈥� Pfeiffer jokes. (In addition to playing Penny Lane on the Main Stem, Pfeiffer starred as Eliza in the first national tour of Hamilton, Eva Per贸n in New York City Center鈥檚 Evita, and Maria in West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl.)
And because Ophelia, 鈥渓ike many other roles, does not even come close to passing the Bechdel Test,鈥� it led Pfeiffer to find much of Ophelia鈥檚 story off the page. To fill in the gaps, Pfeiffer is pulling upon some personal experiences. 鈥淚 had a family member who took her own life,鈥� she shares. 鈥淚 think about it every night as I listen to 鈥楾o be or not to be.鈥� And I wonder if my family member had the same thoughts.鈥�
Pfeiffer is also finding a way into Ophelia鈥檚 grief through Leon鈥檚 vision to set Hamlet in 2021 as the world continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. 鈥淥phelia in 2021 represents the grief that we collectively did not get to express or heal from. A million people died! And then all of a sudden, we were back at work,鈥� she says. 鈥淥phelia to me is, 鈥楴o, you are going to look at me, and you are going to understand my grief.鈥欌�
Pfeiffer argues that Ophelia isn鈥檛 crazy like the world around her believes. Ophelia is hurt. She鈥檚 been told to break up with the man she loves who later murders her father, and her brother is abroad which leaves her alone. She鈥檚 reacting to the horrifying things that are happening instead of ignoring them. And there鈥檚 a direct correlation for Pfeiffer to how we as a society are moving forward without fully grieving people and the last few years: 鈥淣othing is the same, no one is the same.鈥� And as she points out, that鈥檚 something the theatre world knows intimately.
While Pfeiffer is pulling from many emotionally heavy places to craft a deeply considered portrayal of Ophelia, she鈥檚 also approaching the process as a spiritual one. 鈥淚 think we're seeing society in general suffering from an inability to heal. It really is 鈥榯he poison of unexpressed grief鈥�, and that needs to be felt to be healed,鈥� she says while quoting the play. She hopes Hamlet provides the people who come to see it with a bit of catharsis. 鈥淎nd, hopefully they feel seen."
Like her wish for Ophelia to be heard, Pfeiffer wants people will sit up and listen to what she has to say, too. 鈥淲hen it comes to all these conversations about diversity and inclusivity, that work isn鈥檛 just saying the land acknowledgement on day one. That work is interpersonal,鈥� she says. And it鈥檚 a responsibility that Pfeiffer is charging everyone who works in Broadway with. She admits that she has 鈥渁 way easier time moving through this business than a lot of people,鈥� but she works to practice what she preaches.
As the actor explains, there鈥檚 so much left to be done to make Broadway truly equitable. 鈥淭here are people whose voices are not being heard in certain spaces, and that is the responsibility of everybody within a cast, within an ecosystem," she asserts, before continuing, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a community thing. It鈥檚 not activism with a capital A. Within the communities that you鈥檙e in, the voices next to you matter, and they need to be heard. People have valid things to say, especially female-identifying people, non-binary people, people who the intersection of their identities don鈥檛 match up with the idea of a person whose perspective matters. Their perspectives matter.鈥�
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
Solea Pfeiffer
