Cabaret: Sally Bowles

[RoryW]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 2:47pm

I am performing in Cabaret as 'Sally' It goes towards my final grade at uni. I was looking for some advice, from more advanced performers than me, or someone who is just very knowledgeable of the musical. I need some help on how to be more 'Sally' and how to step out of my comfort zone and have fun with her as this is something I am really struggling with. I have done all my research though there may be a few fuzzy areas I still need to cover. 

Maybe if you could tell me how you see Sally, and how you think she should be portrayed and why? maybe this will help. Rehearsals have been quite a struggle especially since my 'cliff' can;t look me in the eye during scenes especially the more intimate scenes where he tenses up and gets embarrassed which doesn't make me feel at ease, Any tips for dealing with a nervous and uncomfortable scene partner? I have spoke to him about what would make him more comfortable but he just shrugged his shoulders and said he wasn't sure.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 2:52pm

Here’s what I can tell you about Sally. I saw every Sally who did the first revival besides one. What I noticed is that Sally can be performed a myriad of different ways, none of them wrong. Some actresses were better than others but whether Sally was being played as ditzy and silly or dark and depressed, there was always something new to see in her. So anyone who tells you that Sally “needs to” or “should be” played a certain way, is wrong.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 5:48pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Here’s what I can tell you about Sally. I saw every Sally who did the first revival besides one. What I noticed is that Sally can be performed a myriad of different ways, none of them wrong. Some actresses were better than others but whether Sally was being played as ditzy and silly or dark and depressed, there was always something new to see in her. So anyone who tells you that Sally “needs to” or “should be” played a certain way, is wrong."

Listen to Jordan. He knows of what he speaks. 

[east side story]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 7:00pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Here’s what I can tell you about Sally. I saw every Sally who did the first revival besides one. What I noticed is that Sally can be performed a myriad of different ways, none of them wrong. Some actresses were better than others but whether Sally was being played as ditzy and silly or dark and depressed, there was always something new to see in her. So anyone who tells you that Sally “needs to” or “should be” played a certain way, is wrong. "

Who were your favorites, and why? Just curious.

[RoryW]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 7:16pm

Thanks Jordan, This is such a great message, makes me feel a lot more confident in my own choices for the character.  I guess I will just keep experimenting with different ideas until one sticks, I don't need to compare or copy anyone else who came before me since not everyone will take the character the same way!

This has really helped thank you, I'm definitely quoting that last line in rehearsals if any of the other performers give me any grief about not agreeing with my character choices.

Thanks again!

[RoryW]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 7:36pm

East side story. I really like what I can find of Susan Egan's performance of 'Sally'  - I'd loved to have seen a full production of her cause what clips I can find are amazing but such low quality you can't see her face, but I think she is fab. I also really like Debbie Gibson, Jane Leeves, Andrea Goss and Emma Stone - mostly for her acting ability being so strong.

I'm not a big fan of the movie...I just feel it's too upbeat compared to the stage show, I also hate that sally's American - Sorry Liza, still love you - but the movie doesn't hit me the same way the musical does.

 

 

[RoryW]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 7:38pm

CarlosAlberto, He certainly does :) :) :) 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 7:51pm

You’re very welcome. Wishing you best of luck with the show! :)

East Side - My favourite (I have to spell it that way since I’m on vacation in London right now) Sally was Jennifer Jason Leigh. She was so fragile and dark and sad, you felt like she could just break into pieces at any second. I never saw anyone even come close to doing that again with Sally.

Updated On: 3/24/19 at 07:51 PM

[HereAndThere2]

Posted: 3/24/19 at 8:01pm

I was fortunate to have seen Judi Dench in the 1968 London production of "Cabaret".  I will never forget it.  This bit of video offers an interesting take on the character of Sally Bowles, and shows Dame Judi in rehearsal.

 

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/25/19 at 8:01am

Before there was such a term, Sally in Act 1 was the absolute definition of the manic pixie dream girl. And then Sally in Act 2 deconstructs that trope completely as she comes apart at the seams and we see the effect that this compulsion to "glitter and be glib" has on her.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/25/19 at 8:27am

How exciting for you, Rory W.  

My advice is no one can help you be Sally.

We can only try to help you be your Sally.
What specific questions do you have that come out of your own interpretation of Sally?
If we knew that we might be able to help you connect some of the dots you've already painted.  Mostly by asking you follow up questions to take a more focused look at what you've already begun and are invested in.  By asking rather than telling.

As to how we see Sally and how she should be played, those are questions we can't really answer.  We are not your director or any part of the creative team.  Their vision of Cabaret and its characters might be very different from ours if we were in their shoes.  And the last thing you need is someone getting in the way of that.  

Whether or not we might ultimately agree with the ideas informing your production - whatever they may be - is completely beside the point.  This is the production you are in.  That is a blessing.  And above all you need to trust in that vision and be that vision, by putting your very own mark on it.  A mark that is all about you and what you bring to the Sally that fits into this production.  About how you become her and how she becomes you.

One more thing, finding her, like finding any role, has to be as much about what your scene partners give you as about what you give them.

Updated On: 4/1/19 at 08:27 AM

[broadway86]

Posted: 3/26/19 at 6:07pm

My method, regardless of the scene partner, is to figure out what my character wants and, perhaps even more importantly, what kind of reaction they want from the character they're speaking to.

So as Sally, does she want to impress Cliff with her worldliness? Does she want him to feel empowered to write his novel? Does she want him to fall in love with her? The more specific you can be, the more you can embody the character, and your nervous scene partner may naturally gravitate to what you're doing without even realizing it.

But specifically to this character. Sally projects this vivacious, sexy, sophisticated ingenue. But really, who is she? What do her actions and her surroundings say about her true nature? Bottom line, there is a ton of things happening around her, especially politically, and she will do whatever it takes to not let it affect her.

Just my two cents.