Quiet Backstage: A Series of Lippa Oneshots

And Think Of How He Used To Know Me (AU)

Inspired by Another Day of Sun from La La Land. 

Alright, enjoy!

Lin buttoned his coat and headed out the door to the Uber he called to his apartment. Lin sent Tommy Kail an "on my way" text as the black Toyota Camry took Lin to the theater. "Thank you." Lin waved to the driver as he made his way to the door. He got into the theater and took his seat by Kail.

"I think you're going to love this girl. I think she'll be a great Maria." Kail nodded.

Lin nodded and flipped through his Playbill for a few moments before accordion notes filled the room and every audience member was instantly transported to Moscow, in the year of 1812.

~~~~~

Lin was restless the entire show. Ever since her first introduction, he just could not take his eyes off of the girl who played Natasha. Not only was she immensely talented, but there was something about her, something about her performance, that was just so incredibly familiar.

After the show, after the standing ovation, Lin and Tommy waited for the house to calm down before going and speaking to the actress.

"So, did you--"

"Wait!" Lin stopped Tommy. He ran a hand through his hair as he frantically fingered through the Playbill.

Phillipa Soo: Natasha

Lin's heart skipped a beat. "Yes." He folded his Playbill back over and pushed it back into his pocket. "Yes, she was great."

"Is something wrong, Mate?" Kail asked.

Lin shook his head. "No, no, let's just go see her. She knows we're coming, right?"

Tommy nodded as they headed back to where the director told them to go meet Phillipa. "Yes, I talked it out with the director earlier."

"Awesome." Lin nodded and started walking slightly ahead of Tommy.

"Hi, are you Phillipa?" Tommy tapped the young woman's shoulder.

"I am." She spun around, and her smile just took Lin all the way back.

"Hello, you were amazing tonight." Pippa smiled. "Listen, I am Thomas Kail," Tommy shook her hand. "And this is--"

"Lin-Manuel Miranda." Pippa gasped, shaking Lin's hand too.

"Yes." Tommy nodded. "Anyways, Phillipa, we are working on a show about Alexander Hamilton, for Off-Broadway, and we are here to ask if you would like to come down to a reading and read--"

Lin interrupted Tommy. "Read as the leading lady, Elizabeth Schuyler." Tommy shot Lin a "what the heck" look at Lin.

Pippa's eyes sparkled. "Of course! I would love to! Thank you so much!"

"Great." Tommy smiled, though he was confused. "May I get your email so I can share the information for the next reading with you?"

"Of course." Pippa scribbled her email address onto a stray Playbill cover that she spotted on one of the tables. She chuckled as she handed the page to Tommy.

"Hey, it works." He smiled. "We'll keep you in contact."

"Thank you so much." Pippa smiled and shook both men's hands once more. "Thank you for coming to the show!"

"Of course, you were stunning tonight, Phillipa." Lin told her before they went their separate ways.

"Are you insane?!" Tommy grabbed Lin's arm and pulled him out of the immediate house like a mother scolding her child. "Are you absolutely insane?!" He shouted at Lin once they got onto the Manhattan streets. "We have an Eliza!"

"I don't know, Kail, I panicked!" Lin defended himself. "She is just so talented and there is something about her that just screams Eliza at me."

"But we have an Eliza, Lin! We came looking for a Maria!"

"Tommy, why don't we switch the roles? Give the Jones girl we hired as Eliza, give her Maria, and give Philippa, Eliza." Lin snapped his fingers. "Just for this reading, and we can see how it goes."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Fine. But I don't want to find out you only did this so you could kiss her more." Tommy taunted and Lin rolled his eyes. "Because I know you two have quite the history." Tommy went on his way and so did Lin.

~~~~~

Hi! So, I have ballerina bootcamp this week (basically twelve hours of rehearsal for the next six days), so if I'm inactive, and/or my updates are few and far in between, that is why.

I hope you all enjoyed this one! Xx.