Quick Q&A: Emily Shoolin

I don’t often blog about cabaret, but I was so delighted last weekend by Emily Shoolin’s show Perfect Isn’t Easy at The Laurie Beechman that I couldn’t resist. I chatted with her about the show, which runs through tonight, and about Enter Laughing, recently at The York.

Ae you telling your own story in the show?

Oh yes, of course. I spent my life growing up trying to be a good girl and trying to only do things that were appropriate, trying to look great through the world’s eyes. A couple of years ago I realized that it’s impossible to do everything well and I’m okay with that. You can’t be everything to everybody and be happy.

One of the many reasons I loved your show was because you do reveal and share yourself, but it never feels indulgent. It’s personal, but not a therapy session.

Thank you. At first I wasn’t going to do an autobiographical show at all. Matt (Castle, Music Director) and Frank (Galgano, the director) sat me down and said I could either write about myself or about a subject, but what I know most about is me. Once I decided I was going to share I wanted to do it in a good way where I could invest in the audience and let them invest in me. I didn’t want to get down to all the details and the nitty gritty or to vilify anybody; that’s just boring. I don’t want to see that when I see a show, so I didn’t want to be doing it in mine. Just sharing the honest parts of myself is fun and funny and hopefully universal, ultimately.

Had you seen a lot of other acts before putting your show together?

I hadn’t seen a lot, I had an idea of what cabaret was supposed to be but I didn’t think I wanted to go that route, sitting on a stool and going from song to song. A friend came and told me after that it’s an “anti-cabaret cabaret” and more like a one-act play. That was ideal; I wanted it to be like an evening of theatre.

When you were selecting songs, was there one you knew you just had to include?

“Perfect”, by Tom Kitt, is that song. It marked a turning point in my life. It’s also one of the songs that drops down to the most emotional level in the show. I consider myself a comedic actor who has the ability to get to that place. Even though most of the show is up and fun, that song is so honest and, well, perfect. It says exactly what I wanted to say and I wouldn’t change a word of it.

The song “Perfect Isn’t Easy” is a Disney song, if you can believe it. That came in conjunction with naming the show. I spend most of my time listening to happy songs, maybe looking funny skipping around and mouthing the words. I chose a lot of traditional musical theatre songs but I didn’t want to be stuck in that one genre when I got to the middle of the show, when it gets deeper emotioonally. So I brought in other things like The Beatles or Carrie Underwood….

About that Beatles song: it seems very smart to me that you chose a song for that moment in the show that everyone in the audience would know…

I can’t take full credit for it. Frank came up with that. Both Frank and Matt are equally important in helping to shape the show. We would sit down and riff on ideas.; it’s a totally collaborative process. They’re both incredibly musical and would pay close attention to things I might not.

with Josh Grisetti in Enter Laughing; photo by Carol Rosegg

The first time I saw you perform was in Enter Laughing…..

Initially I didn’t get that role but then they called and offered it to me. I thought it would be a week of work – it started out as a Mufti, a one week run, but blossomed into 6 months of blissful fabulousness. Thus far it was the best experience in my theatrical career; having that supportive family at The York with a supportive cast and getting to sing my tits off. It was incredible to know that we were affecting people with laughter.

Was there a moment when it dawned on you that Enter Laughing was a bigger hit than anyone had expected?

The night we heard we had a special guest in the audience. The lights come up and Joseph Stein, who’d been with us during the process, comes down to the stage with Carl Reiner. We’re looking out into the house: “oh my gosh, there’s Jerry Seinfeld!”, “oh my gosh, that’s Alan Alda!”. That’s when it dawned on me, these luminaries watching our “little engine that could” show in the basement of a church. That’s something I can tell my grandchildren one day.