Interview: Angela Travino Debuts WHEREVER IS YOUR HEART at Joe's Pub

Angela Travino is making her solo-show debut at Joe’s Pub after spending eight years serving drinks in the very same space. Her cabaret centers on her community as a way to showcase the people who have supported her all these years, weaving a story of love and grief through songs both old and new.

She has recently performed in the world premiere productions of Suffs and The Seat of Our Pants at The Public Theatre.

Below, read a conversation with Angela Travino about Wherever is Your Heart.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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How did you get started in the world of theatre and cabaret?

This is actually my first venture into cabaret specifically, but I have been doing theatre since I was six years old. Both of my parents met in college doing theatre, so it was encouraged in my house growing up. I was invested in it very early on.

For cabaret specifically: I’m very familiar with Joe’s Pub because I started working there back in 2012, when I moved to New York City. I got to know cabaret through working the room. It’s where I learned that it could be anything, whether that’s a musical act, a dancing act, or someone just standing up on the stage interviewing people.

You mentioned that you spent eight years working at Joe’s Pub. What is it like getting to now perform on that stage in your solo show debut?

It’s an amazing feeling. I’m still very close with Kevin Abbott, the Managing Partner of Joe’s Pub. And for years, they would have these annual talent shows. All of my coworkers were artists, so it was our little time to shine. Ever since those talent shows, Kevin was always like, “When do you want to do your own show?” and I was always like, “Yeah, no, that would be so much fun!” but I never pursued it any further. I think it’s because I felt I didn’t have anything to show for it.

Cut to fifteen years later, I’m married, I have child, and I’ve got some professional credits under my belt. I finally feel like I have a worthy story to tell. So I emailed Kevin Abbott and Alex Knowlton and I was like, “Guys, I think I’m ready. This is the date I’d love, and I’m just wondering if it’s available.” And fifteen minutes later they emailed me back and told me I was set.

I can’t say that’s probably a normal thing for setting up a show at Joe’s Pub. It’s one of the more famous New York venues, so I feel very fortunate that I’ve got that inside connection—which also means I really can’t screw it up.

Can you tell me a little more about what you’re planning on doing in Wherever is Your Heart?

Wherever is Your Heart is a way of showcasing my original music as well as featuring the composers who have impacted me along the way. I wanted to spotlight the community I’ve built here in New York—the people who have kept me afloat and inspired me all these years. So it may be a “solo” show on paper, but it’s so much more than that. I’m including one song written by my music director/ arranger, Jonathan Brenner, I actually sang the original demo back in 2020. There’s an original piece that I did about a year and a half ago called The Postman’s Daughter—a two-hander original musical by Danielle Koenig and Justin Cook, about a newly postpartum mother completely sung through—and I’m going to include one of those songs. Also, I will debut four of my originals, which is a way to highlight that other side of me that not many people know.

You’ve worked as a swing and understudy on multiple productions, including the world premieres of Suffs and The Seat of Our Pants. What is it like creating a cabaret show instead of playing a character in those productions?

In a way, there’s a bit more freedom when you’re performing your own material and creating your own show. If I mess up a lyric or the script I’ve written for myself, no one knows. No one has heard the show before or has an expectation of what it’s supposed to sound like. Everyone in the audience is there in support of whatever I am offering them, so it’s comforting, in a way, that whatever happens becomes a part of that show. 

When it comes to offstage understudying and swinging, there is not so much freedom. There is an expectation that you have your shit together, and if they need you mid-show, you have to get into costume, makeup, and hair in five minutes and be able to jump on in without anyone really noticing. Of course, you as the performer will know everything you did wrong, but you’re basically able to keep the show and the momentum going. So there's a responsibility and expectation that you know all of your marks, and all of your music. Period.

What would you say the most rewarding part of creating Wherever is Your Heart has been so far?

The collaboration of it. My music director and I set up a schedule two months out from the show for when we’d get together, meet with the band, and start arrangements on the songs. Up until that point, I basically had to figure out what my setlist was going to be and how I wanted to connect the songs I had chosen, and that was through my own writing. It had been all about me and putting it together, but the second I actually sat down with my Jonathan  and figured out what I wanted it to be, it was the most exciting thing.

I live for collaboration, and that’s probably why I’ve done so many original musicals. I love the process of it being brand new and ideas coming about in the room. I love nothing being set in stone yet and the freedom of that. And I just love how some of these songs that I wrote six or seven years ago on piano are taking on a new life because Jonathan has added full instrumentation to it. He’s just filling out these songs and making them so much more. That has been my absolute favorite thing about it.

And then, when we get to have a rehearsal with the band, it’s going to be another level.

Do you have anything else you would like to add?

I would say, if you’re looking for a musical evening full of honesty and entertainment, then come on down. If you’re a working mother in this industry, please come. And if you are on the fence on whether you want to create your own work, or if you are curious about it, start by going out to see new works. And maybe that means this show

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Tickets for Angela Travino: Wherever is Your Heart at Joe’s Pub on September 27th at 8:00 PM are available here.

You can find out more about Angela Travino at her website here.