It’s official: Life is a cabaret.
The OG diva of the Real Housewives franchise, Luann de Lesseps, touched down in Montreal for one night only, and it felt like a fever dream.
I met the Countess in the lobby of her hotel in downtown Montreal, and she looked every inch the glamorous Bravo royal that she is—even down to her hat (made by a U.K. milliner who just received a royal warrant from Queen Camilla, bien sur).
We sat down in a quiet corner of the bar and chatted about the Montreal neighbourhood she was staying in, the Canadian dates for her hit show Countess Cabaret (get ready, Vancouver and Calgary), and her newest projects (including an episode of Murdoch Mysteries airing April 7, 2025).
And, of course, pirates.
All I could think was: “Be cool. Don’t be all, like, uncool.”
Ending our conversation with a little French, she whisked off to get ready for her evening show.
A few hours later I was watching her on stage at the Rialto Theatre in Montreal's Mile End, giving the performance of her life, including self-deprecating anecdotes about her sex life that had the crowd roaring, multiple outfit changes that were feeling Jovani, and a live interactive trivia session with the audience.
Bonus: highlight reels of her most memorable Real Housewives moments played on a big screen behind her as she belted out favourites like Money Can’t Buy You Class (my friends!).
The Countess sat down with Time Out Montreal for a candid Q&A:
Is this your first time in Montreal?
It is my first time in Montreal doing a show. I’ve played in Canada in various places, but I’ve never played in Montreal.
Because your parents are from Montreal, right?
They are, and I’ve been here many times, but not for a cabaret show...
Well, welcome back! Can you tell me about the format of the show tonight?
So, how I started cabaret was when a good friend said to me: “You love to sing for your friends. You love to tell jokes and you love to host parties. You should be doing cabaret.” I said to myself: “Oh!”, and I kind of put that on the backburner. I was doing the Housewives, and I got married, and divorced, all kinds of things going on, and I finally decided I wanted to put on a cabaret show. I start with a song that I love, that I know my fans love. And then I decide what story am I going to use to get into that song that I love so much. Why do I love that song? And then I pick the perfect Jovani dress…
Cabaret is a personal story, it’s my story. It’s cabaret meets pop culture meets comedy meets a fashion show. It’s immersive, I play games with the audience, and the audience sings along because they like the songs, they grew up with the songs. This tour is called the greatest hits tour, the last one was Marry F Kill!, and I always change my show. You’ll never come back and see the same show. I always change it up for my fans, which is important and keeps people coming back. It’s my love affair with music, and I love the audience: they come dressed for me in sequins and statement necklaces. They show up for me, which is a huge nod to what I do. And you can see I’m having a great time. I enjoy being on stage and they can see that. It’s joy. It’s pure joy. When I was in London, Tilda Swinton came to my show and she introduced me to the stage.
Does it get any more iconic than that?
I know! Amazing. She came to my show last year in London, and she invited me to Scotland with some friends. And this year, she didn’t tell me she was coming. She sent me flowers saying: “I’m gutted, darling, that I can’t come,” and then she surprised me in my dressing room with her whole family. It was huge. She went on to introduce me to the stage which was just, I mean, I could have died and gone to heaven. And this is in the house of Andrew Lloyd Webber! I love the people who love the show. I’m spreading joy around because I’m bringing back the OG’s in a way. It’s not only Housewives—I have people who come to my show who haven’t seen the Housewives, but the stories are the same, because we all have friends like that. And the stories that I tell…”You can’t do this; you can’t do that; life isn’t a cabaret…!” Well, guess what, life is a cabaret. And the stories aren’t just about the Housewives, they’re my stories. I’ve had husbands come to shows, and they get dragged into the Housewives, and say: “This is so much fun!” And people meet each other there because they have the common thread of the Housewives. They go out together, they make new friends from being at my show. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
Are you working on anything in the studio right now?
I am going to be working on a Christmas LP because I wrote a song called Sonja Got Run Over By A Reindeer, which makes total sense. My director is Richard Jay-Alexander, who directed Kristin Chenoweth, still directs Barabara Streisnand and has directed Bette Midler. I said: “I want to do Lay Down Sally for Christmas, and he said: “That’s not a Christmas song!” But now it’s: “Lay Down Santa”. I’ll change the lyrics to some classic songs, I make up stuff all the time. I love the creative part of the show, that’s my favourite part. How am I going to make them laugh? When am I going to drop “Jovani”? When am I going to drop: “Be cool, don’t be all uncool.” I have a great team, like Bryan Nash, who plays piano, keyboard, synthesizer, he just does everything. And the drummers have been with me since I started cabaret in 2018, so I have the same team. We’re like a family. I have six men, two gay men and 3 straight boys, and we have a great time touring. I feel very blessed to have found this because TV gigs are few and far between.
Can you talk about your upcoming TV show?
I’ve got a new one coming up, The Love Hotel. I’m excited for fans to see that on Bravo. And that show is really about the drama between the guys. There’s drama between the girls, but not like Housewives. It’s more about: “What do you think about that guy? Oh, I like him… you like him, too?” I think the fans are really going to love it. I can’t say much about it… but they picked some really great guys. They called me up and they were like: “What kind of guy are you looking for?” And I said: “You think you’re going to find me a guy?” I wasn’t very optimistic. But they brought on some good guys… I think the fans are going to love that because there’s some good eye candy.
Speaking of eye candy, as you know, Montreal has an Old Port, and maybe some pirates hanging around…
I’m never opposed to a pirate!
Can you talk a little bit about your connection to Montreal?
When I was a kid I used to come here a lot, but we didn’t stay in Montreal so much because my aunt, who is going to be at the show tonight—she’s my father’s sister and my cousins are coming—lived in Saint-Sauveur. We would go up there skiing, it was beautiful there. In the 80s we took horse carriages and did the touristy things. I didn’t really know Montreal, and my cousins would take me around. We were teenagers rolling around Montreal having fun and speaking French. And then we would go skiing in the mountains.
I know you’re only in Montreal for one night, but have you been out and about?
We did just go for lunch at a fabulous place called Le Pois Penché. I had lapin. They didn’t have the coq au vin because it was sold out, so I had the lapin. A lot of people don’t eat rabbit, but I love rabbit.
Your hotel is perfectly located near Crescent Street, one of the city’s biggest party streets, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
I know, I saw that! I wanted to go but I didn’t have time. When I come in for shows, I don’t get to spend a lot of time in the cities because I’m always preparing. Maybe I have time for lunch, and then it’s like off we go. I wish I had more time! I’m off to Indianapolis for Countess and Queens.
Speaking of Queens, there’s a famous club in Montreal called Cabaret Mado. You would love it.
I’ll remember Mado… Is it a jazz club? They must do something fun on a Friday. Maybe we need to call ahead and see it.
And I see you’re into hats. Around the corner from Cabaret Mado is Henri Henri, one of the oldest hatmakers in the city.
I just came from Philip Treacy in London. I’m wearing this old one, but you can’t make this anymore.
Last question: how do you make your famous eggs à la française?
It’s just eggs! You can make them at home. It’s beaten eggs, like you’re going to make scrambled eggs, and instead of a frying pan, you put them in a saucepan on low heat with butter. Lots of butter. Stir them very slowly and put a splash of water in them—no milk because it separates the yolk—and the water makes them frothy. Salt and pepper, and stir consistently until the consistency you want. They can be very loose, they can be more cooked; I like eggs to be soft and loose. And then you can put pesto on top, marinara or I like truffle oil. So that’s eggs à la française. C’est tout ça.
For more information about Countess Cabaret starring Luann de Lesseps and a complete list of dates, click here.
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