BWW Interviews: Andrea Goss of CABARET at Orpheum

Andrea Goss, who plays Sally Bowles, a young British singer at the Kit Kat Club in CABARET, spoke with me from her Denver appearance last week. Andrea has also appeared in RENT and ONCE.

I have seen a lot of musicals, but I've never seen CABARET. How would you describe it to me?

CABARET is such a brilliant, unique piece. It's so much fun! It's witty, it's intelligent, and at the same time it's extremely powerful and heartbreaking. I think you really go through an emotional journey with this show. It's also a little different because it tells the story through the eyes of a cabaret club. You have club numbers that perform directly to the audience. Randy Harrison who plays our incredible Emcee directly interacts with the audience and uses them as his scene partner. The audience becomes the Kit Kat Klub audience and this allows us to have a more intimate relationship with them. I think that sets the tone of the piece. It goes back and forth between breaking that fourth wall and then having very intimate book scenes. It's something very different for a lot of audiences and I think they don't expect it. The story follows two different couples and how their relationships are affected by the rise of the Nazi party during the early 1930's. The club numbers then are used to comment on what is happening in the political time. The show asks the hard question: how did people allow the Nazis to rise to power?

I'm really looking forward to it! Do you think it will work well in a normal theater rather than in a theater in the round?

Yeah, it does. I was lucky enough to be in the ensemble and understudy Sally in the New York production in 2014. It was the Roundabout Theatre Company's production at Studio 54 that was directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall. We performed on a thrust stage and the orchestra seats were taken out and replaced with tables and chairs to make it feel like a cabaret. To be honest, I was curious to see how it would transfer from such an intimate space into these massive touring theatres, but I think it is just as powerful. I think it's a testament to the writing. The writing is absolutely brilliant. It's so funny and it pulls the audience in, and then it really turns the table on them and it makes them think. And I think that's why I do theater, I want to affect people.

I see you've been understudy for some really well known actresses. Does that ever make you nervous? Do you feel you're being compared?

You know, it is a little nerve-racking at first, but I was so lucky to work with those three in New York, starting with Michelle Williams, then Emma Stone and Sienna Miller. I got to understudy these incredible women and see three different interpretations. They were all just as brilliant, and just as powerful. At the same time, I was so lucky as an understudy that when I did go on, the creative team gave me the freedom to explore and make it my own. Getting to see three such different interpretations was almost freeing for me. There are so many possibilities with this role. They didn't want me to replicate what other people did. I think that is very rare for an understudy. I'm still finding things now, even though we are eight months into this tour. This creative team for the tour led by Cynthia Onrubia and BT McNicholl have allowed me to continue to grow in this role which keeps it fresh every night. I never want to get to a point with a role where it becomes stale. It's a fun journey. I'm still learning things and getting to explore and play.

CABARET has gotten 8 Tony Awards. Why do you think it's so popular?

First of all the writing. The music is absolutely stunning. People will know the music even if they don't know the show. "Maybe This Time," "Cabaret," they know all these songs. And second, I think it's still popular because, sadly, it is still relevant. Like I said, the show is very fun, but it also has a powerful message. It's set in Berlin. It's early 1930's. And it asks the question, how did people let it happen? And sadly, any time there is prejudice or discrimination in our world, this show will still relevant. People draw so many parallels to what was happening back then to what is currently happening in our world, as they watch this show. That is why 50 years later it is still going strong. I would love to see a day where this show isn't as relevant. I would love when people could reminisce about it instead of still making parallels to the current state of our world.

How hard is it on you, physically and mentally, to do eight shows a week?

Exhausting. Tour is even harder I think than staying in New York because our day off becomes our travel day. Eight shows a week is a very tough schedule, but at the same time I am very lucky because I'm doing what I love. I don't think that's always possible for everybody, so I don't take that for granted. So, even though I'm tired I try to always find the energy to keep doing what I can. It is a lot about getting enough sleep, and resting, and making sure that you are taking care of yourself vocally and physically. A lot of us try to get to the gym every day to keep ourselves healthy. We try to eat healthily. Even though it is a tough schedule it doesn't feel like a work because we have this incredible opportunity to bring this brilliant show around the country.

If you couldn't do musical theater, what would be your second choice?

I love working with kids. I've never had a chance to travel, but I would love to travel. I've always thought-and I still want to maybe do this someday-is work with kids in another country. For me, that is a passion.

Did you do musical theater in high school? You grew up in Oregon, I see?

Yeah, I did a little bit. I was a musician first. My parents started me at piano when I was three years old. From there I started violin and singing lessons. In elementary school I remember my parents bringing me to two touring shows in Portland and I remember being so incredibly moved after seeing the shows but never fully understanding why. When I got to high school I auditioned for the Christmas show the drama department was putting up. I fell in love with it. It clicked suddenly for me because I loved dancing, singing and acting and the idea that you could do everything in one career was life changing. After that I did a few more shows in high school, but it wasn't until I went to college that I was really exposed to theatre.

Where did you go to college?

I went to college at Syracuse University in upstate New York.

And you did musical theater there?

Mmm hmm. Yeah. It was a great program. The acting and musical theatre majors all took the same acting classes together. Even though Syracuse is not a conservatory program, the intense focus on the training made it feel like it was. They also had a program where you could go to New York City and take classes for a semester your senior year. That semester was incredible training to be prepared for the professional world.

I know you play a musical instrument. You were in ONCE and every person in the musical plays an instrument.

You do in CABARET actually. I play the piano and violin. I had to pick up the guitar and mandolin a little bit because I covered three different principal roles in ONCE. In CABARET the ensemble is also the band. It's insane. They are the most ridiculously talented ensemble. I can't wait for you to see it. Everyone in the ensemble plays at least one instrument, if not more.

You've been in two of my favorite productions, both RENT and ONCE. My question is, do you kind of target the shows that you want to be in and audition for those, or do you go out for anything holding auditions and they pick you up because you're suited for that? Which comes first?

Honestly, it's both. When you're first starting out, you try to get seen for everything, just so you can get out there and meet the casting directors. After you have been in the business for a little bit casting directors start to know you and call you in for auditions they think you are right for. I also have incredible agents who support me and help get me in the door. So, it's kind of both, to be honest. I've been really, really lucky that the shows I've gotten to do are very powerful and meaningful. That's kind of what I want to do...have a career doing theater that impacts people.

Is there anything else that you'd like to let your Omaha audience know?

Like I said, it's a really unique piece of theater. This is the same Roundabout Theatre production that won multiple Tony awards. It is a vibrant, intelligent, witty, moving production that I think people will love.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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