Cabaret

"......But of course the evening belongs to Samantha Peo's tragic, illustrious and provocative Sally Bowles. Audience members may compare her performance to those of her illustrious predecessors. But miss Peo shines with explosive brilliance in a vivid, heart-rending performance. Her unique and raw rendition of 'Cabaret' will stay with me for many moons. Her performance is deeply human, exceptional and soul-filled...." Leon van Nierop Artslink

"......As Sally, Samantha Peo flits across the stage like a glittering dragonfly, sampling the surface. She is strident, demanding, unpredictable, charming – a creature of the night. No wonder bemused American Clifford, a nuanced portrayal by Bryan Hiles, is swept away by her. It’s a gaudy half-life, tawdry and no doubt brief - Samantha conveys that with poignancy in her more revealing moments when the brittle façade drops. Her final number, Life is a Cabaret, is heartrending...." Jennifer de Klerk Artslink

"......Sally Bowles (a role that was appropriated by Liza Minelli in the classic film) is a tough one to tackle. How do you make it your own? If one had to pull a name out of a hat, it would be Peo – and she does. The biggest test is the title song, which she owns with a gut-wrenching performance. She has a magnificent voice, but it is the interpretation of the song Cabaret that clinches the deal. There’s bravado as Bowles decides to ignore the signs and grab hold of any piece of life that comes her way. Peo performs with an underlying pathos that unleashes all the darkness Bowles is not ready to face...." Tonight

"......A seasoned actress, Samantha Peo, steals the show as the naive Sally Bowles (made famous by Liza Minnelli in the 1972 movie), besotted with cabaret, gin and a good time, and her relationship with young American writer , Cliff Bradshaw. One of the country's most accomplished entertainers, Peo's energy and talent ignites the stage from beginning to end...." The New Age

"......Samantha Peo hits the mark as Sally Bowles. She is edgy, fragile and irresistible. Her Sally, flirts with hysteria, a woman who knows where she wants to be and who wants it desperately, but who commits so much energy to performing the story of her life that she just does not have anything left to go beyond her own limitations. Her delivery of the title song, a challenge for actresses in the role because there is so much going on at that point in the show for the character in its subtext, communicates that sensibly as clearly as it communicates the conflict Sally is experiencing, which will subsequently play out in the final scenes of the show. Many actresses make the mistake of playing 'Cabaret' as the culmination of Sally's journey. Peo does not...." BWW

"......Samantha Peo is the beautiful, boozy Kit Kat Club singer, Sally Bowles, who falls in and out of men's beds as she nurtures her fear of her fading looks in a world where it is truly everything to a working girl. Peo is grace and tragedy personified and she is perfect for the role. She portrays Bowle's multi-faceted character skillfully, and she can sing. I last saw her in the production of 'Chicago' for which she won a Naledi award. She is a skilled performer. Her beautiful figure and face is utilised to its fullest glory by designer Neil Stuart-Harris...." Astrid Stark

"......Samantha Peo once again shines gloriously both on the acting side and when she delivers some of the musical's most memorable numbers, the awesome 'Cabaret' towards the end, her jaunty 'Mein Herr' and the heart-tugging 'Maybe This Time'...." Feldman Artlink

"......Samantha led us to see the layers of Sally's armour peeled away and made me ache for her, long before she reached the rawness with which she invested the title song, making me feel I’d never heard it before. She made her soul engage us even as her mask enchanted. Peo is up there in the best Leading Lady tradition...." Michael Burke

"......Musical-theatre darling Samantha Peo (Chicago, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Aspects of Love) brings equal parts saucy sass, brittle fragility and sheer bloody-minded stoicism to the role of Sally, a good-time girl in the seedy Kit Kat Klub in Berlin...." Business Day

"......Samantha Peo has brought Sally Bowles to life on local soil. And boy is she doing the part justice – the girl has a set of pipes on her – and she can act!...." Casino Lifestyle

".....Samantha Peo (Chicago, Popcorn and Grease) as Bowles is a revelation to watch. She brings just the right amount of sauciness and vulnerability to the lead role, while her renditions of Cabaret and Maybe This Time gave me goosebumps...." Cape Town Tourism Blog