Review of Final Night!

Thank you very much from one of the fans Bill, who in detail wrote his experience of seeing Cabaret this past year. Fans can look back on this passage to remember these great 3 months Siobhan has had! Thank you again!

As I approached the Bristol Hippodrome on Saturday evening I did so with a real mix of emotions coursing through me. Expectation is often better than realisation, but I have seen this touring presentation of "Cabaret" in 8 different cities over the last year, so I am well aware that, in this case, expectations have always been fully realised.

But this is the final show of a 15 month long tour and I have had so much pleasure from it that I can't help feeling a real tinge of sadness that the final curtain is soon to fall.

Every member of the cast of this great show has been really good, they are seasoned and highly talented professionals who have spared no effort in entertaining audiences all over the country. So I can imagine that when Siobhan Dillon took over the role of Sally Bowles in September she would have done so with trepidation. After all she was relatively inexperienced and this demanding role has been played over many years by a string of the world's most highly talented performers. Comparisons are inevitable and she had little time to rehearse so full marks to Bill Kenwright for backing his confidence that Siobhan could step up and take on this high profile role. A lot of people would have felt that Sally Bowles was a bit of a stretch for a girl who seemed more like Julie Andrews when she narrowly failed to get the part of Maria in the Sound Of Music. I was very disappointed when she didn't win, I thought she was the outstanding contestant and she certainly got my vote.

I first saw Siobhan play Sally Bowles at New Brighton and with her new short dark hair for the role she was quite transformed and she got right into the saucy irresponsible pleasure-seeker that is the teenage English 1930's vamp, Miss Sally Bowles. She performed with a gusto and confidence that was most realistic and her singing was tremendous. I did think there were some areas of performance which needed practice and polishing but I was delighted with the way she had taken on the role. By the time I saw her in Derby she had built up her performance really well and the cast got standing ovations that night. I have commented previously about Siobhan's brilliant performance at Wimbledon where I thought she absolutely nailed this very difficult and demanding role. She did it again in York and here we are,sadly, at the final show.

The Hippodrome is a large 3 tier old theatre and it was pleasing to see that a big audience had assembled for the show. Right from the start they were warm and enthusiastic and their applause was swift and loud for all the cast.

Wayne Sleep has played Emcee with great success at various times over the years and tonight he is pulling out all his many stops and delighting the audience with witty asides and gestures, great entertainment. Every cast member seemed to be giving it their all and the entire performance from them was just brilliant. I have to give special mention to Jenny Logan as Fraulein Schneider and Matt Zimmerman as Herr Schultz, their sincerity, warmth and skill was only matched by the great partnership they have built up in this show,true professional.

And so to Siobhan Dillon in her last performance as Sally Bowles. She acted and sang her heart out and gave everything in a truly memorable performance. Cabaret and Maybe This Time have never been performed better and her audience responded with huge rounds of applause which were richly deserved. There was such passion and emotion from Siobhan and she has a talent and ability that is usually only seen in mature performers, she is quite exceptional for one so young. Her future is surely a bright one indeed.

At the end the audience gave the cast a number of standing ovations before Wayne Sleep made an excellent spoken response on behalf of the cast. By this time the cast, including Siobhan, were in tears and it was a moment and a scenario I will never forget. I felt exhausted too and I was only watching, thank you to them all for a wonderful tour finale.

Oh, and by the way, Expectation became Acclamation on this superb night.

Children in Need

While Siobhan was on tour in York, she took part in a Children in Need event at York Station to raise money. Fellow costars Wayne Sleep and Henry Luxemburg were also present during the event. Siobhan sang her rendition of "Maybe This Time" outstandingly! I love her pause after "Maybe this time i'll" and her "let's face it" look right after. The moment just feels so real and pure. So does her "win" at the end, it's just so pure! I've said it countless times, her voice is just too beautiful!

Check out the video they have on the website! They have highlights of her performance!!

THE PRESS

Last Night!

Tonight was Siobhan's last night as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. It must of been an emotional night in Bristol for Siobhan. I've heard she's doing a couple weeks of the show in Dublin but it's not on the official website so I can't say that's a 100% true. I'll take this as being her final night or well at least her final night in England playing Sally.

One of our fans will be reviewing the final night, which I appreciate very much! It's nice to have the final night in writing!

Preview to AMAZING!

It's been over three years and today we've finally got a preview, and just WOW! Her voice sounds so beautiful recorded!! The song is titled 'Amazing' and it's going to be the first song to kick off the One Song Foundation. The proceeds will go to the fund and will support projects that address sincere issues in the communities.

One Song Foundation

Check out the preview by clicking on the world off to the right hand side. I've listened to it at least 20 times already, I'm soooo excited to get it, I can't wait!! I can't even try to describe how much I need Siobhan on my ipod, it's ridiculous!!

This is the final week of Cabaret for Siobhan, plenty more updates to come this week!!

Worcester News Review

Another review of praise for Siobhan as well for the rest of the cast!

"Siobhan Dillon, who starred in the BBC series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, was an exasperating but irresistible Sally; an oddball English girl whose self destructive streak was barely hidden behind her showgirl confidence."

Worcester News

‘Maria was my stepping stone’

As Cabaret comes to York, Steve Pratt speaks to leading actress Siobhan Dillon, whose

career has seen her swap a dirndl for suspenders.

‘IF I said I didn’t like it, I’d be lying,” says Siobhan Dillon when mention is made of her

sexily scanty costumes in the stage musical Cabaret.

“The majority of them are very skimpy, but it’s quite a liberating feeling going on stage in

stockings and suspenders,”she says.

Perhaps the name Siobhan Dillon doesn’t ring a bell, but you might remember her if I tell

you she was one of the Marias in the BBC-TV talent show to cast the leading role in a

revival of The Sound Of Music.

She didn’t win but, in common with several other unsuccessful Marias, has had her stage

career boosted by the exposure that a hit Saturday night TV show can bring a performer.

She’s appeared on the West End stage in the musical Grease and toured, to Darlington

among other places, in the Barry Manilow musical Can’t Smile Without You.

Now she’s doing three months on tour in Cabaret, opposite Wayne Sleep as the Emcee.

She readily admits that she’s not the first person most people would think of when casting

the role of Sally, whose raunchy look couldn’t be more different to the nun’s habit of

Maria in The Sound Of Music. Liza Minnelli, I don’t need to remind anyone, played the

part in the film of Cabaret and won an Oscar for her efforts.

“It’s just so unlike any part I’ve done before and really is so complex,”

says Dillon. “Strangely, I’m loving every second of it and hopefully have made the part my own.”

“The songs really made it a challenge for me because they’re not what I would normally

sing. The style of singing is streets away from my solo album, but I love a challenge,”

she explains.

Can it really be three years since How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Well it is, and

a string of stage roles means her debut album has been pushed on to the back burner

several times. “Whenever somebody says, ‘would you like to audition for this?’, the album

gets put on hold for three months,” she says.

Cabaret, which brings her to York Grand Opera House this month, is only on the road a

short time, but Siobhan is not sure she’d want to tour again. “You’re living out of a

suitcase and I’m a bit of a home girl and like being in my own bed. I find it emotionally

not very constructive to be away,” she says.

She quit her fashion school course to take part in the Maria contest when she was 21,

only making the final ten after one of the finalists dropped out at the last minute. It

earned her the nickname Second Chance Maria.

She has no regrets about entering – “not in a million years” – even though she didn’t win,

coming third.

“It gave me a platform to be able to do what I’m doing now. And I’m glad I’m not

typecast, doing everything from Grease to Cabaret and no one bats an eyelid.

“I loved every second of that programme.

It gave me exposure and the facility to meet different people in the industry. You can’t

buy that, just knowing all those people, casting directors and directors who’ve seen me on

the show. The name is enough to get me into the audition room.”

Link Here:

Northern Echo

Half and Half

A bit of praise and a bit of criticism in these next couple reviews, nothing too disheartening though. I see more praise in both of them.

From Broadwayworld:

"In one of the great female roles in musical theatre, Siobhan Dillon gives a crowd-pleasing performance as Sally, showing off a fine singing voice, just the right side of the stridency that would be misplaced in so vulnerable a woman as Fraulein Bowles. At just 25 years old, we can expect Ms Dillon to grow into the spoken timing this blackest of comedy demands, but she's not quite there yet."

BroadwayWorld

From IndieLondon:

"Siobhan Dillon almost gets away with Sally Bowles and, in fact, succeeded in showing her vulnerability better than her brashness. I felt she was a little insecure in the role as her performance improved noticeably as the evening matured and I think Bowles is in her if only she would let her out."

IndieLondon

Looks like this is the last month for Siobhan in Cabaret, her last date is November, 28th in Bristol. Then I believe from I've heard she'll be performing in Dublin for a couple weeks! So book tickets soon!