Nicole Talbot
Unapologetically Me
Josephine’s Cabaret at Club Café’s Napoleon Room, Boston, MA, October 25, 2026
Reviewed by John Amodeo
A relative newcomer to the Boston cabaret scene is Nicole Talbot, who is someone to watch. A young transgender woman whose cabaret debut took place at Josephine’s Cabaret at Club Café’s Napoleon Room in May 2023 as part of The Ladies Who Brunch series. She shared the stage with two well-seasoned local cabaret performers, Jinny Sagorin and Ida Zecco. She followed that appearance with her solo show in the Club Café’s larger Moonshine Room in 2024 that celebrated her 10-year anniversary as a trans woman. In her recent outing, Unapologetically Me, Talbot emerged as a real talent that begs to be seen and heard.
Looking beautiful and svelte in a dark cobalt-blue velvet pantsuit and singing with the chops that would thrive on a musical-theater stage, Talbot wowed the audience with her opening number, Stephen Schwartz’s “The Wizard and I” (Wicked), building to a stunning climax with a belt to rock the rafters. It is also a song that she sank into emotionally, clearly identifying with Elphaba’s otherness and her determination to come to terms with it. This was certainly a promising start.
Her show was a collection of introspective ballads, a good half of them power ballads and perfectly well suited to Talbot who sang them with real yearning, grit, and conviction. She was well-supported at the piano by music director Simon Byrne, who was extraordinary and had Talbot’s back at every turn. But this ballad-heavy hour seemed too much of a good thing and would be greatly improved when mixed with some upbeat, up-tempo moments that could showcase some of her youthful spunk. Working with a director could help shape her next show to feature more variety and show some sides of Talbot we haven’t seen.
The songs themselves were terrific, a nice mix of show tunes and pop songs. The show tunes were each personal favorites of mine, such as “Journey to the Past” (Stephen Flaherty/Lynn Ahrens, from Anastasia), “Come to Your Senses,” (Jonathan Larson, from tick, tick… Boom!) and in an unexpected gender swap, “Go the Distance” (Alan Menken/David Zippel from Hercules). They displayed her impressive breath control and her trademark powerful belt. It was also refreshing to hear a song from Boop!, the title character’s big 11 o’clock number, “Something to Shout About” (David Foster/Susan Birkenhead), where Talbot belted thrillingly into her high mix to bring it home. All wonderful, but there are only so many power ballads an audience can handle before becoming desensitized to them. The message in each of these songs was meaningful to Talbot, with lyrics that speak to her personal experience as a trans woman, such as the line, “Shouldn’t a girl, who’s so good inside/Have a matching exterior?” (from “the Wizard and I”) or “Somewhere down this road I know someone’s waiting/Years of dreams just can’t be wrong,” with Anastasia’s longing to know her true identity. A few moments like this in a show are gold, but too much gold can make us squint.
The pop choices, while well-chosen for Talbot, were in a similar vein. She has a fondness for pop songs by Adele and for some covers by a worthy hero Cynthia Erivo written by Scott Alan. Who can blame her? Alan’s “Anything Worth Holding Onto,” with the lyric, “A prisoner in my own skin,” seemed tailor made for Talbot. As was Alan’s dreamy “Take Me Away,” about being true to oneself, where Talbot dug deep into her emotional core. Adele’s two songs, “Love in the Dark” and “Turning Tables,” were equally sweet and heartfelt while remaining introspective.
In a rare bit of patter, she revealed she hoped to be the first trans woman to play Elphaba. The show could benefit from Talbot speaking more, just being herself and not “performing.” Opening up like this between songs would be an effective way for her to connect with the audience. It was in Schwartz’s songs from Wicked that she really shone. “I’m Not That Girl,” gave her an opportunity to just relax into a lilting melody and bittersweet lyrics. Then there was her note-perfect “Defying Gravity”; it was riveting and well-acted and she brought to a pyrotechnic finish. Such talent and poise are the earmarks of success in cabaret. With some direction and development, we can expect great things from her in the future.
