Video: Willkommen to Opening Night of CABARET on Broadway

My inner nine-year-old is having a disco right now

He's so happy, yeah. Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Maseroff's musical masterpiece

Cabaret is back on Broadway, and we're here on the opening carpet. So this is the dream for me, this piece

This was the piece of theater that when I was a kid, I became obsessed with

It's a... The piece has humor. It has... lightness, it has seduction, it moves you and it makes you think

And for me, that's everything that theatre should be. So the idea of getting to do this piece, Kander and Ebb's extraordinary music on Broadway is

you know, my inner nine-year-old is having a disco right now. He's so happy, yeah

My emcee, what's amazing about the emcee as a character and why so many actors sort of love it is because

he's abstract. He was a creation made by Hal Prince and Joel Gray that doesn't exist in Goodbye to Berlin

And what is thrilling is trying to unpack him. And he is so ripe for interpretation

And when you're doing theatre and you're doing it, one of the things I love most about theatre is you never get there

You never get it right, but you get to go back each night and try again. And so as a character that you can keep mining and keep finding new things from

he is one of the greats and so it's it's lovely to be able to do that night after night

and just living in this world that Rebecca put together with this production what it means to you you so close to the audience you play off of them oh well but for the emcee the audience is the other character in the room and the audiences we had in New York have been so passionate

And this piece, Cabre was born in this city, and so it has so many avid lovers and followers

that we really feel that. And for me, as the MC, getting to interact, as you say

sporadically frightened and creep in and amongst, is glorious. So special. It's such an amazing group of individuals and creatives

such a unique group of people coming together who have really put their heart and their soul into this production

and put so much on the line. And I think it's just really brave. And I feel just honored to be a part of that

And we need that in this world right now, in theater. I mean, living in that city of that world is just a privilege of a lifetime

that the music, that, the legacy, and being with John just only last week

was just, it moves me beyond belief. I love him so very much

It means a lot. It's big. It's such an honor to step into such an iconic character

And I feel a huge responsibility, and I take that really seriously. And I try to honor her every night and give her everything I have

Takes everything I have, for sure. I'm so excited to be working on this show

I'm so proud of what we've made. I think it's a very timely, beautiful

piece of musical theater and I think we're doing it to a degree that feels exciting and fresh

you know I think my cliff is actually very close to who I am and it feels really exciting to be able to step in to this person who you know this role has been iconic for so many years and get to put my stamp on it yeah

I'm so excited. You know, it's been a, I've never known that I was going to be doing a show for as long as I've known I was doing this

So the build up to it has been so intense. Then we finally got into rehearsal. It was a joy to rehearse with Rebecca Frecknall and the entire British creative team

And now finally we're bringing it to opening. I'm just excited beyond the moon

I've waited what feels like a lifetime to come back. And to know that this was in my destiny

that not just any old show to come back or any old role, to come back at this greatness

this huge, beautiful party, celebration. It's dreams come true. Well, it's fantastic. It's my Broadway debut

And yesterday we had a Broadway debut, and it's a second Broadway debut

And so everyone who's a Broadway veteran in the show says two debuts and two openings

and so I'm very lucky. I'm like, I am the ultimate theater kid

And like every theater kid has a relationship to cabaret. It's a huge piece of Broadway history, all the artists who were part of it originally

and it's been iterated on several times, and it feels like get to be a part of it

part of the fabric of Broadway history, B.B. Newworth is in this production

I mean, it's like, yeah, I couldn't be geeking out harder. Well, I did Cabaret in high school

I think as many people do, I played Sally Bulls. So to be able to come to it and do it on Broadway

and also cover the role of Sally Bowles it just feels a really full circle for me and just really overwhelming and I filled with so much gratitude to be able to have this experience and just do 16 year old Gabby proud I feel amazing I mean just with so many shows that are like opening and closing and opening and closing it feels really good to be in something that is being so well received and knowing that it affecting people on such a deep level It just very special

Getting to create a role in a revival husband, extraordinary, because you've got this amazing blueprint

and then you get to bring your individuality to it, and I just feel so grateful

I think this is a piece that celebrates freedom and celebrates your own freedom and your own authenticity

and we each get to do that on stage every night, which is really lovely. It feels overwhelming and exciting

and it is a show that I never could really see myself in, but I adored, but the cast in the past

have not looked like me. And so when I saw pictures from London, something in my brain just said

you're going to be in that. And then from the audition to getting the call to tonight just feels overwhelming

and I'm just so grateful. Cabaret's my favorite show and it just, I thought that ship sailed

a while ago and so this has been just a treat. Getting the audition for me was the win

so getting to do the show is just icing. I think here it's just felt like such a whirlwind

and there have been so many pinch me moments and so many moments of waiting to go

hang on, someone's going to turn up and tell me that this isn't really. but it's been amazing like the amount of generosity and encouragement and love we've found here

for the piece and for what we're doing to the theatre it's been an incredible team and everybody's

just been so behind it and you can really feel that in the work and this theatre is just perfect for

it it just provides us with different differences from London which make it completely unique

to Broadway and that's just been so exciting to rediscover it here