From January 7–23, Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts will present Cabaret, the Broadway musical set in Weimar-era Berlin based on an autobiographical novel by Christopher Isherwood. For many, the musical is best known for its Academy Award-winning screen adaptation in 1972 starring Liza Minnelli. Set in 1929–1930 as the Nazis are seizing power, the musical centers upon Sally Bowles, a British singer at the Kit Kat Klub, one of the German capital’s bawdy kabarett stages, and her relationship with American writer Clifford Bradshaw. Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly succumbs to the nascent Third Reich. Chloé Marie, a singer originally from Baton Rouge who relocated to New Orleans in 2020, has been cast as Bowles. She spoke with David Johnson, OffBeat’s digital media editor, about the role.
Tell me about your background as a singer.
I’ve been singing pretty much my entire life. Of course, I did choir in high school and all of that. I started in musical theater by doing shows with this group at the Chapel in the Oaks. They would put on a musical every year at the church. And so that was a pretty big part of my formative experiences. I took a break from theater for several years after I graduated high school in 2012. I didn’t do theater for about three years. And then I did a show at New Venture [in Baton rouge] called Dreamgirls. And then I became a band leader in 2013. I didn’t know if could do both, being in a band, being a songwriter, being a professional musician and also do theater.
So for a while I flip-flopped back and forth. I went back to my band and didn’t do another musical until 2017 when I did Hair at Theatre Baton Rouge. And then once that one came along, once I had that experience, I told myself, “Okay, I have to make this work. I have to be able to do my band and I need to be able to do theater.” So I would say from 2017 is really the point where I was determined to be a professional actor while also pursuing music.
Chloé Marie as Sally Bowles in the musical “Cabaret.” Photo courtesy of the artist.
What drew you to the role of Sally Bowles and Cabaret?
I have always loved Cabaret. I love the movie. Of course everybody knows the iconic Liza Minnelli. So I’ve always been a huge fan of the show and I actually was in a production of it in 2018 at Theatre Baton Rouge. And a lot of people don’t realize if you’ve only seen the film and not the stage version, they’re different. The stage version is darker and delves a little deeper into some of the musical’s more controversial themes. I was a Kit Cat girl in 2018, but something about actually being in the stage version versus watching the movie gave me a new appreciation for the show. There are so many twists and turns and so many really gut-wrenching moments that are unexpected.
An incredible actress played Sally in that production in Baton Rouge, and I knew then that this was a role that I absolutely wanted to play. I would absolutely love it. To be honest, I didn’t always think it was attainable, simply being a Black woman and it not being a role that is typically cast as anything other than white. It didn’t always seem realistic, but then I found out Rivertown was doing it and I’d worked with Bryce [Slocumb], the director, before. And so when he reached out to me try out for it, I was like, “Absolutely, absolutely.”
Do you have a favorite song from the musical?
Honestly, before I started the process, when I was just practicing things on my own, I thought it was going to be “Cabaret” because that’s always been my favorite song. It’s such an iconic number, but after getting into rehearsals and really starting to dive deep into some of the emotions, now it’s “Maybe This Time.” That song hits really deeply, especially in a pandemic, because some of the lyrics are just so relatable. And I think that there are moments within that song that everybody has felt like—that I’m not a loser anymore, like the last time or the time before.
That speaks really deeply as an actor, especially because we are getting told no all the time. You audition for things, you don’t get them, you’re heartbroken, you move on and it happens over and over again. And that’s a feeling that you get used to but there’s always that little spark when you walk out of the audition room—”Maybe this time I win, maybe this will be the one.” And it’s just applicable to so many different areas of my life.
Vocalist Chloé Marie portrays Sally Bowles in the musical “Cabaret.” Photo courtesy of the artist.
What is it about Cabaret that makes it such an enduring musical?
Our director Bryce said we don’t really have a lot of examples within the arts of exploring what happens in the lives of people when movements are gaining traction, what’s actually happening when you think that something political is so far off from you. Then you one day have to wake up and realize, Oh, it’s everybody around me actually.
In the musical we see the creeping in of these ideas that are dangerous, that people might not necessarily believe are that dangerous until it’s too late to backtrack. That part of the musical really speaks to people. It’s a reminder to keep your eyes open, to make sure you are on the right side of things and make sure you are not just complacent. Sally constantly says, “Politics, what does that have to do with me?” Until one day it has everything to do with you and everyone around you. That’s probably something that really tugs at audiences. Heavy themes aside, I think just the foxiness of it all and the Kander and Ebb score makes Cabaret some of the best musical theater music in history. The music is just so timeless. It keeps people coming back because who doesn’t want to hear that beautiful, beautiful score?
Many stages have been dark throughout the pandemic. Was it difficult to return to a live show?
I will be completely honest and say I was pretty anxious going into this show. With the pandemic and theater being shut down and no one really knowing what was going to happen next, I had an unexpected break at home. The last time I did a show was 2019. We couldn’t really do musicals or anything like that. And honestly, the voice is a muscle that you need to work out, but I’ve been sitting back for two years. I was lucky enough to get a job with Victory Belles at the National World War II Museum. So I was eased back into the performing aspect. But I was really anxious in the beginning, asking myself can I still do this? And what a way to come back to a full musical being Sally Bowles.
Everyone involved in this show has reinvigorated my love for theater and helped me figure out that yes, I can still do this—the little two-year break was what you needed mentally but it didn’t ruin you. I was scared it might have. I’m so grateful to be with all the people involved with Cabaret, to be able to make theater again and doing such an iconic show.
Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts is located at 325 Minor Street in Kenner. for more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.
Read more about Chloé Marie’s work in a televised puppet program for children on Louisiana Public Broadcasting here.
