Interview: 'There Are a Lot of Lessons to Be Learned from the Show': Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney on CABARET

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Since transforming the Playhouse Theatre in 2021, Cabaret has been the toast of London, with thousands of audience members flocking to the revival of Kander and Ebb’s iconic work. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada, who will be taking over the role of Emcee Sally Bowles, respectively. We discussed what it is like to be returning to London together, and even what they both hope audiences take away from this production of Cabaret.

So starting off with a bit of a general question, how did you each first get started in the world of theatre?

Reeve: I was a very shy kid, and I'm not exactly sure why my mom had this idea! Initially, my parents didn't really want me to be in this business, because they're also in the business, but my mom said she saw this little flyer. I grew up in New York, in Greenwich Village, and she saw this flyer that said, like, “Kids acting classes, improv classes.” Took one of those little things you used to have on street light poles, where you pull off a little piece of paper and it would have someone's phone number on it. But she called the acting teacher, and I started taking improv classes when I was five. I'm actually getting reminded of that a lot in this process here with Cabaret, because a lot of the prep of this, particularly the stuff that they do on this show, it's really reminiscent of the stuff that I did when I was a kid in that acting class. And I'm realising for the first time that I used to wear makeup a lot in that acting class, and that was the last time I really did that. I put on all this eyeshadow and glitter and stuff, and it wasn't until I took it off at the end, with this cold cream that they gave me to take it off, I was like, “Wait a minute, I've used this stuff before!” And then I had a flashback to every Saturday at acting class, this crazy makeup. So that's been pretty cool. That's the beginning of my theatre experience.

Eva: Same exact story for me! [Laughs] How did I get into theatre? I was always obsessed with stories and Disney movies, VHS tapes at my grandparents' house and reenacting them on the kitchen table. And thankfully, I had a very supportive family who didn't tell me to shut up, which is really important. But I actually loved the movie The Phantom of the Opera so much! I was obsessed with it. I wanted to be an opera singer first, and then we moved to North Carolina where I really got to know my auntie Annette [Calud], who was on Broadway. She was an alternate Kim in Miss Saigon, and she had done a lot of productions. She knew that I was interested in performing, so she was the one who planted that seed and took me to New York for the first time when I was nine. We saw three Broadway shows, and I remember seeing my first, which was The Lion King at the Minskoff, and crying as the animals came down for “The Circle of Life.” I told her, “I'm going to do this when I grow up. This is absolutely what I want to do.” I love it!

And what made each of you want to be a part of Cabaret? 

Eva: If you fall in love with theatre, and you know the history of musicals, you know how iconic Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret is, and how great of a role Sally is. I'd always loved singing “Maybe This Time” in my room with YouTube karaokes when I was a little girl. I don't think at ten years old, eleven years old, you're thinking of how deep and important a role like Sally's in a show like Cabaret is. If you are, you’re a genius! I wasn't thinking that. I was just thinking, “The music's pretty and it's really fun!” But once we found out that it was coming to Broadway, I told my agents, “I'm very interested in auditioning for the show,” and thank goodness it all worked out!

Reeve: For me, a friend of ours, three or four years ago, he came out to us when he had heard Cabaret on the West End. And Eddie Redmayne left the show in London before he came to Broadway. So because of that, our friend didn't know if he would even be coming to the Broadway version, so he said, “I have the perfect next show for you guys”. And we said, “Oh, what is it?” He's like, “Cabaret.” And we're like, “That'd be fun!” But it was just a cool thought. At that point, it was just exciting to hear him say that that was something that he envisioned. He wasn't involved in Cabaret at all, but he put that out there. And then Eva was like, “Oh my gosh, I've been saying this for years!” So it's really awesome. I'm really grateful to be here and doing this. It's so much fun. I was certainly excited about the idea of doing it with Eva. When they mentioned that they'd like to bring us over here together, that was what made me want to do it. It's an incredible show, and any chance to work with Eva, I'm in!

Eva: He’s just mind-blowing.

Reeve: You’re mind-blowing! I've seen it [Cabaret] ten times on Broadway! The only annoying thing about it is I'm not watching her from the audience, but I get to watch it from the stage in moments, which is even closer than the audience!

What is it like to be returning to the West End together? 

Eva: Epic! It's very magical. And Reeve and I have a very special connection to London and being in this area. Someone asked us yesterday, “Does it feel like coming home?” Yeah, a little bit! Even though it's a different show, different group of people, they're the loveliest! They're so amazing, all of them. When you feel comfortable going to work, there is that sense of home. And we're very quickly getting really comfortable with not just the schedule, but the theatre and the people. We're very lucky to be here, especially doing it together! That's the best part. But it's fun to return to the West End. I love working in London. It’s the best!

Reeve: It is very special, for sure. But hey, New York!

Eva: Oh, I love working in New York as well!

Do you notice much of a difference between audiences on the West End versus Broadway?

Reeve: We haven't had an audience for this show yet, but Eva has a lot of experience with this. 

Eva: Well, it's been a long time! I feel like Hadestown is one of those anomaly musicals where the vibe of that musical almost forces you to experience it all the same. But the main difference for me is that New York audiences want to experience something - they want to be in it. Even in Cabaret! Watching it here, audiences here want to witness, rather than truly experience something. Which is fine, no judgement! It's just very different cultures. 

Reeve: It'll be interesting to see - we have no idea yet!

Eva: Yeah, we have no idea from the performance point of view. Audience point of view, watching both, it is like, “Hello? We can clap!” But I like listening audiences, so no judgment, if that's what they do.

What have the rehearsals been like so far?

Reeve: It's been great! Everyone's had a different amount of time to rehearse - we got here on the 20th of August! But yeah, the team is incredible. They’ve definitely gotten this down to a science in terms of the way they rehearse the casts that are incoming. And it's great for us, because there are around ten other cast members that are entering the show at the same time that we are. That's unusual for this show! Normally, they have two or three people enter at same time. So it's been great working with everyone from the ground up. But yeah, the creative team is really amazing in this show. 

Is there anything that surprised you during the rehearsal process?

Reeve: This is my first time jumping into a show that's already been a well-oiled machine and a huge commercial success. The idea that there's going to be an amazing performance of the show on Saturday night, then they have a day off, and then we join the show? It's just wild. I guess that happens all the time, but I haven't been a part of something like that! There are a lot of questions that would be answered when you're originating a role, starting it from the ground up, that you wouldn't necessarily have answers to if you don't ask ask certain questions in the process. So I have had a lot of questions, and the team has not only answered them for me, but it's given me a really strong, clear foundation for what it is that they're aiming to achieve, and that's really important as an actor. And I wouldn’t necessarily have expected to receive all that, because there's so much going on. So the fact that they find time to do that with everyone is really amazing.

What is it like to be a part of this show during such an interesting time in terms of the world around it?

Eva: Scary, informative. Community is very important. It's always so nice to come to work and know that everyone has your back and your front and your sides, which makes you feel very lucky. But it keeps you on your toes. Reeve said something really amazing about how he hopes audience members who come just stay present. And this show forces you to be like that because it's in the round, so you have to be very aware of your entire body and of every angle. But the second you leave the stage, it's disheartening to see that, how many years later, we can still find parallels in today's world - it's quite telling. So thankfully, we're also providing a very safe space for theatre members and for queer bodies. I think that's really important today, when so many voices are attempting to silence those types of bodies.

Reeve: There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the show, and I think that the hope is that we're not only preaching to the choir. There are people who probably need to hear this message even more than other people, and I'm hoping that those people come see, to hopefully further evolve.

Eva: There's a lot of people who need to hear the message, and it's important to learn from people who are complicit. It's important to learn from people who are just observers, because it's affecting all of us, whether or not it's affecting you in your day to day. Not to give anything away or be too dark, but it's only a matter of time until it truly affects everybody. So I hope that people can watch the show and leave and feel motivated to evolve, reminded that their voice won't stand alone when it comes to the topic of the show.

So you've both played roles that have been pretty emotionally heavy. How do you balance that in terms of leaving it on the stage and not bringing it with you?

Eva: It's a matter of practice. Certain actors are very different. I definitely have days where I feel very emotionally drained. I normally love to keep my dressing room door open, because I like to goof off and have fun with everybody backstage. But sometimes, you really need that energy and time to replenish yourself so that you can give the best performance on stage, and also make sure, more importantly, that you're giving yourself the best part of your energy before and after. It's like aftercare when the show's done, but it's a matter of finding out who you are, how you work, how the role affects you and what you need to do to prepare for the role on a day to day basis. It's a matter of trial and error. But it's also important to know that we shouldn't be bringing any of ourselves on stage. Ideas and inspirations, yes, from things that we've seen in our life. But I shouldn't be thinking anything in Eva's brain while I'm on stage. So it's a good challenge to really leave yourself in your dressing room or right before you step onto the stage, because having both characters in your brain is a tug of war. It's distracting of my character's essence when too much of Eva is on stage with me.

Do either of you have a song that you're looking forward to performing or for watching?

Reeve: I don't think I have one in particular. It's brilliantly composed the show, and I don't necessarily have just one! 

Eva: I don't know how I'm going to watch it, but I can't wait to watch his “I Dont’ Care Much.” I don't want to give too much away, but it's pretty extraordinary. Anything Reeve does is incredible. So I'm really excited! 

On the subject we touched on earlier, what do you hope audiences take away from this production of Cabaret?

Reeve: I would hope that people would look inward and try to think about their part in how we got to where we are today, and try to figure out ways that we can evolve and improve upon those things that kind of get us in these tricky situations

Eva: Fräulein Schneider sings a song in act two where she says, “With a storm in the wind, what would you do?” I ask myself that during the song and when I leave the theatre. We watched it last night, and even though I knew every word that was going to come up, the legends who wrote this piece made sure that it was very pointed, very direct and very raw. Every time, I'm very affected by the message of the show. By a certain point of Act Two, you could tell that everyone's really locked in, especially at the Playhouse. It's such an intimate space, which is good. We want people to be listening and to be present and to be reminded that they have choices once they leave the theatre, which is really powerful, really exciting.

And finally, how would you describe this production of Cabaret in one word?

Reeve: Prescient.

Eva: Catalyst.

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