“All of my experiences have sat with me in a positive way because I get to wake up and do the thing that I love doing the most,” said Eva Noblezada.
Only 28 years old, Noblezada has made waves in her illustrious career. She’s been seen on stage as Kim in the London and Broadway Revival of Miss Saigon, Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables and Eurydice in the original London and Broadway cast of Hadestown. She’s also been seen on TV in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and on film in Yellow Rose, Easter Sunday, and more. Noblezada currently stars in The Great Gatsby as Daisy Buchanan, alongside Broadway veteran Jeremy Jordan, who was seen on the LTAC stage last season.
Her work has earned her Tony Award nominations for Miss Saigon and Hadestown, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album (Hadestown).
Catch her at the LTAC for “An Eva Noblezada Holiday” on December 20th at 7:30PM. Get ready to be transfixed by holiday classics as well as personal stories and anecdotes.
What is your favorite part of the holidays?
“I’m working on Broadway…you don’t really get to see your family as much. But I do love how busy New York City is, and I love how decked out the city is with Christmas lights and holiday decorations. I think it’s a great time for people to come visit New York City, if you’re brave.”
When you are able to be with your family, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
“Decorating the tree with each other. If it snows around the holidays, definitely sledding. Just watching Christmas movies and holiday movies…and eating cookies.”
What can attendees expect from this particular concert?
“Some Christmas classics. I’ve never really done a show before where I have a 15-minute intermission, so I really wanted to create a sort of narrative as well. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say at the end, you might get a special guest from a holiday classic character that everyone loves. So you’ll have to come and buy a ticket to find out who that is.”
What is one of your favorite holiday songs?
“I would say one that I’m actually singing for the concert is called “The Christmas Waltz.” My favorite version was recorded by the amazing Peggy Lee. It was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra.”
How are you putting your own stamp on these classic songs?
“I like to sing them sometimes from the point of view of a character that I’ve created in my mind, just because I do that every night. So that’s kind of a fun, unique thing that I like to do, just because it gives me an extra edge to perform with. For example, let’s say Rudolph has a girlfriend and is nervous about him flying off on his first mission as the lead reindeer, and is watching him fly away – insert ballad here that everyone knows. It just gives an extra little seasoning to the song.”
Will you be incorporating Broadway into this concert?
“There’s definitely going to be a lot of Broadway classics that are perfect for the winter time or perfect for the mood of the show, which I would say is winter broody, dark romance.”
What is it like to come from Broadway to do a show like this?
“I love it. I’ve been doing this for what feels like a long time, and I love doing solo shows. First of all, it’s a huge privilege to have that space and to be asked to do those things. I mean, that’s my absolute dream, to just be on a stage performing, regardless of how many people are performing next to me. It’s a huge, huge blessing to be able to do these shows and to be asked to do these shows is just awesome.”
“But I will say coming from the schedule that we’re on over here, the holiday schedule, and just how busy our lives are here in New York…originally, because of the holiday performance demands, [my people] wanted me to leave the day of the show, which I said absolutely not. I’ve never been to Colorado. My body’s never adjusted to the different levels of oxygen. I would need to fly in the day before and adjust my body and get as much sleep as possible, because it’s a lot of pressure and responsibility on the solo artist who’s on stage. I don’t want to fly in and be all dehydrated and by song three know that I’m going to be pushing it.”
“The audience deserves a great show, and I deserve to have a show that I feel confident in, because I spent months creating the set list and rehearsing it here at home, and rehearsing all the transitions and everything. It’s a huge responsibility, but it’s also one that I take not for granted, and it’s a great challenge. It’s very exciting, and it’ll be interesting to fly back, the first flight back the next day and make the evening show here in New York City.”
What are you most excited about with this show?
“I would say this is probably the fourth or fifth show I’ve ever done where it’s at a performing arts center where it’s just this massive performance space, which is really amazing. And my musical director/pianist and I have done what seems like hundreds of shows together since 2017. Wherever we go together, he’s just such an amazing musician, and we have each other’s back. So it’s really awesome to just have a massive stage shared between the two of us. It’s a huge responsibility. And don’t get me wrong, I get very nervous. But I think it’s a really awesome challenge for the artists to kind of create something that not only fills the whole stage, but keeps an audience interested in seeing simply one singer on stage for 90 minutes.”
By Star Ilalaole, special to the Lone Tree Arts Center