Now she's starring in another powerhouse show playing Jordan Baker in "The Great Gatsby."
The musical, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel, transports audiences to the roaring 20's, there's jazz, a pop-infused score, and fireworks.
The show starts by saying everybody knows Gatsby. When it comes to "The Great Gatsby," everybody knows this work. But this time it's different.
"What our book writer has done is that she's created a version of this story that allows the characters to be completely 3D and off the page. But they're also characters. And it's a story that I feel like is meant to have music. It gives a new perspective, and it gives a new voice to all the drama in the book and all of the emotions and all of you know, the crazy turning point," Pauly said.
She loves her character's personality.
"I love Jordan Baker so much. I feel like if I ever talk to fans, or you know, friends or people at the stage door, I think that she and I are one in the same. She's independent. She doesn't feel like she has to rely on a man for happiness or success. She just wants to live her life and do whatever she wants to do," Pauly said. "I feel like my personal Sam Pauly motto is, 'I'm here for a good time,' not for a long time. And, I think that is probably also how she likes to live her life."
There's even a similar line in the musical.
"I like large parties. They're so intimate, small parties. There isn't any privacy," Pauly said.
Pauly has made a habit of playing strong women.
"This role has become incredibly therapeutic and healing for me, on a very personal level, discovering what it means to be independent and without a significant other and kind of rejecting the idea of a traditional role for a woman. I'm learning a lot from her every single day when I get to do this show and I get to sing her songs and I get to be her," she said.
If you come to see "The Great Gatsby," Pauly promises you will be dazzled.
"They can expect a party. I mean, it is 'The Great Gatsby,' after all, we have to have Glitz. We have to have glamor. This is the biggest show I've ever done. And I don't think people will leave disappointed. It is truly on a whole other level. Between the set and the costumes and the voices that are out there, the choreography is absolutely insane," she said. "We've got all the necessary things for a party and fireworks!"
You can watch Pauly in "The Great Gatsby" now at the Broadway Theater.
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