'Ham' for the holidays
Broadway 'sister' toast the party season
They were the It girls of their day: fabulous, famous, well-educated and wealthy. No wonder the Schuyler sisters turn heads in “Hamilton” — they’re as revolutionary as their male counterparts, only better dressed.
So who better to model the season’s best party dresses than the actresses — Mandy Gonzalez, Lexi Lawson and Jasmine Cephas Jones — who play the siblings on Broadway. At the Players club photo shoot for The Post, the three showed how in sync they are, shimmying and singing along to the TLC and Lauryn Hill tunes that Cephas Jones played on her iPhone.
Though they don’t have time to hang out much off-stage, the trio have their own pre-show ritual just before they sing “The Schuyler Sisters” each night.
“We huddle up [for] a group hug and a kiss,” said Cephas Jones. “It bonds us.”
LEXI LAWSON ( Eliza) Hometown: Newburgh, NY Last seen: touring as Vanessa in “In the Heights” and Mimi in “Rent” Favorite “Ham” moment: “When finally Eliza says, ‘Oh, can I show you what I’m proudest of?’ She’s such a humble soul, but at the end she explains how she established the first private orphanage in New York City, and helped raise hundreds of children and watched them grow up. I look at the faces in the audience when I say that line, and it gives me chills.”
Happy holidays: “I’ll be in Newburgh with my parents. When I look out the window [at their house], I see snow on the mountaintop and I run around in my Uggs in the snow with my dog and my husband. We put on Nat King Cole and Mariah Carey and sing along. My mother lets us open one present the night before — it’s usually matching pajamas for my sister and me.”
Nicole Miller dress, $298 at LordAnd Taylor.com; Embellished slingbacks, $1,865 at ReneCaovilla.com; Necklace, $89.50 at AnnTaylor.com
JASMINE CEPHAS JONES (Peggy) Hometown: Brooklyn Last seen: on TV’s “Unforgettable” and “Blue Bloods” Favorite “Ham” moment: “Watching Leslie [Odom Jr., the original Aaron Burr] sing ‘Wait for It.’ Even though he’s gone, it’s still my favorite. No matter what you’re going through, you can find something to relate to in that song.”
Happy holidays: “My mom lives on a mountain in the Catskills. She’s English, so she makes a lamb roast dinner with roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese. And I watch ’The Muppet Christmas Carol’ every year.”
“Imoen” dress, $335 at TedBaker.com; “Tower” pumps, $795 at JimmyChoo.com; Pavé halo studs, $98, and bracelet, similar styles $98, both at HenriBendel.com; Choker, $22 at Lulus.com
MANDY GONZALEZ (Angelica) Hometown: Santa Clarita, Calif. Last seen: as Nina in Broadway’s “In the Heights” and Elphaba in “Wicked”
Favorite “Ham” moment: “When we all sing ‘Alexander Hamilton/We are waiting in the wings for you,’ and get into a line. Everybody gets to look at us and see what America represents.”
Happy holidays: “My mother’s Jewish so I celebrate Hanukkah, and this year it [begins] the day before Christmas, which is fabulous: We get to do both at once. I’m also a Latina, so we eat tamales. Tamales and latkes. A lot of carbs!”
Vera Wang dress, $348 at LordAndTaylor.com; “Alyssa” pumps, $1,190 at OscarDeLaRenta.com; Necklace, $75 at RJGraziano.com; “Asoka” ring, $24 at RosenaSammi.com