Broadway Star Samantha Pauly Talks The Nice Gatsby and SIX (Unique)

It’s 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 25, and Samantha Pauly has one hour to get to New York Metropolis’s Broadway Theatre.

“I in all probability look loopy proper now with my hair in these curlers,” the 34-year-old Broadway star tells PEOPLE with fun. “I assumed I’d be up all evening, however my alarm sprung me from my sleep at 9:30, so I took a bathe, did my Neti Pot for my chest an infection, took my canine for a stroll and began doing my hair earlier than heading to the theater for my make-up.”

Regardless of the hectic morning, Pauly’s calm demeanor would hardly recommend that it was opening day for the Broadway adaptation of The Nice Gatsby, wherein she stars as Jordan Baker. “The Nice Gatsby has not been achieved in musical type, however it’s a narrative that’s so iconic,” Pauly explains. “For us to get to breathe life into these characters that folks have beloved for a very long time is so particular.”

Pauly, who auditioned for the position in March 2023, says personifying Jordan Baker “has been on the mind” for over a yr now. “We have been rehearsing from 12 to 5 nonetheless through the day after which doing previews at evening, and I really feel like I’m nonetheless discovering a whole lot of issues about [Jordan],” she says.

“With a present that’s already up and working, you are available, you get your couple weeks of rehearsal, they throw you into the present and also you’re type of off to the races,” Pauly says. “However to create one thing from the bottom up is a very particular expertise that I completely don’t take with no consideration.”

This isn’t Pauly’s first rodeo bringing a personality to life in a brand new present. She is greatest identified for originating the position of Katherine Howard in SIX, which additionally marked her Broadway debut. “SIX was already up and working in London, however the writers had been very adamant about us making the characters our personal and making the U.S. model what we wished it to be,” she tells PEOPLE.

She provides, “To have the ability to do this with a bunch of women which have turn out to be a few of my greatest associates on this planet was so particular, and to now be capable of do it once more — I by no means thought I’d be on Broadway, interval. So that is far past the scope of something I assumed I’d do in my life.”

It is likely to be stunning to listen to {that a} girl who has originated two characters on Broadway didn’t develop up pondering she was destined for the stage. “I didn’t develop up a theater child. I did not begin till the tip of highschool,” she says. “I do not pay attention to indicate tunes. I am not good at staying up on new s—.  My dad and mom usually are not inventive. So I did not have that once I was youthful, which I really feel like might be higher for me as a result of it is my job. I depart it at work after which I simply produce other issues that I love to do.”

Alongside along with her costars, Pauly says her household and followers from SIX are all coming to help her on opening evening. “They’re there. They’re out in full drive. They’re loopy. I really like all of them a lot,” she gushes.

Whereas Pauly misses her SIX ladies — “We had been very fortunate”, she says — the Broadway star is grateful for her “unimaginable” The Nice Gatsby ensemble. “This solid is so unimaginable. Everyone seems to be so good. Everyone seems to be so supportive of one another. Everyone seems to be there for one another,” she says.

With opening evening lastly right here — the present, which garnered a 77th annual Tony nomination for greatest costume design of a musical, first began previews on March 29 earlier than formally opening on April 25 — Pauly can replicate on her profession to this point and what comes subsequent. “There’s a lot about SIX that made me who I’m, that made me a model of myself that is ready to now do that different present and this different character, which is absolutely nice. It got here into my life once I wanted it and gave me the issues that I wanted,” she tells PEOPLE. 

She provides, “I’d love to remain in Gatsby for so long as they are going to have me, and after this, if I can originate one thing once more.”

“Or, if I can, I’m dying to do Depraved. However as a result of this enterprise is so unpredictable and so loopy, I am making an attempt to be higher at simply dwelling within the second,” Pauly continues. “So for now, I am excited to open this. I am excited for the present to be up and working and for the summer time to be right here. I am proud of as we speak.”

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