After 25 years in finance, former Goldman Sachs partner Stacy Polley has been singing a new tune.
The banker — a Goldman star who ran their fixed income sales — has taken Broadway by storm, performing a series of highly personal cabaret shows in recent years.
Her latest one, set for Thursday at Sony Hall, has special resonance. She’ll be raising money for research about Alzheimer’s, which claimed her father’s life in August.
The show, a mix of song, dance and humorous bits, “asks what happens after you’ve checked every box but still find yourself chasing the next accomplishment instead of enjoying the life you’ve built,” Polley told The Post.
The cabaret, titled “I Can’t Stand Still,” is dedicated to the memory of her father — a musician who accompanied her in one of her past cabarets — and also to caregivers like her mother, who took care of the dad.
The show is an eclectic mix of contemporary Broadway songs from shows like “Hamilton” and “Footloose,” as well as pop and rock ‘n roll classics like Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” Walk the Moon’s “Shut up and Dance,” a Billy Joel mashup and an original composition – “all woven together through personal storytelling,” said Polley, who will be performing with four back-up singers and a 13-piece band.
The program is about “learning how to stand still and be content” through the prism of a wellness retreat, said Polley.
“There’s a lot of humor wrapped within it,” she continued, adding that the show explores “what happens when life challenges us to rethink what purpose, success and fulfillment look like,” said Polley, age 57.
She should know. Growing up, Polley always wanted to be onstage, citing her piano playing father as a major influence.
“I loved performing as a child and wanted to be on Broadway,” she said.
But her life’s path led her to high finance, instead – “a big career on Wall Street, raising a family, and spending 25 years at Goldman Sachs,” as she summed it up.
Still, her passion for performing never went away, and she put on her first cabaret show to celebrate her 40th in 2008. Over the course of four subsequent shows, she’s tackled tough topics like divorce.
There is “humor, entertainment and a relatable message embedded within the arc of the story,” Polley said of her artistic vision.
Each show takes about nine months from conception to opening night.
“It always begins with the message. What do I want people to walk away feeling, and what is the relatable truth at the center?” Polley said. “The stories, songs and humor all grow from there.”
In 2016, Polley’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. That year, he accompanied her on piano at her show and then came on stage and “did a little dance” with her.
“It was early in the diagnosis, and he was able to do it. I knew it would be the last time, as he was already showing signs, which is why we got him to get diagnosed,” she said.
Polley — who grew up in Queens as the daughter of two New York City Public school teachers — hopes that through her shows, she is teaching as well as entertaining.
“No matter how sophisticated people are at the shows, it’s amazing how little people know about the disease,” Polley said.
She also said she once looked out at the crowd and realized “there were a lot of wealthy people in the room.” Guests over the years have included Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and Ashok Varadhan and The Carlyle Group’s Harvey Schwartz.
This year’s performance will raise money for the Fork It Fund that Polley co-founded with Daryl and Irwin Simon via the Alzheimer’s Association. The fund has donated over $4 million to Alzheimer’s research to date, with an additional $1 million-plus expected by year’s end.
The death of Polley’s father makes this year’s show “even more meaningful,” she said, adding: “It’s been a long journey.”
This time, she’s shedding light on the “often-overlooked” caregivers like her mom.
The performance will be “a nod to all of us who play the caregiver role, especially in the sandwich generation” – referring to adults who are sandwiched between taking care of their aging parents and their kids.
While raising awareness, Polley said she’s learned a lot from her audience.
“The shows are filled with humor and entertainment, yet I’ve learned that audiences connect most with the vulnerability – the moments when I share something from my own life that they may be feeling, too,” she said. “I hope people leave entertained, but also reflecting on their own lives.”
