Put down the knitting, the book and the broom before “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” closes on Broadway in the fall.
The revival will play its final performance on Oct. 19 after a 14-month run on Broadway. Having embarked on a massive reconstruction of Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre into a Weimar nightclub and shouldering an estimated $23 million capitalization, it’ll be nearly impossible for investors to recoup.
Billy Porter and Marisha Wallace will take over as the Emcee and Sally Bowles on July 22 through the production’s final 13 weeks. The two actors are reprising the roles they played while the show ran on London’s West End.
“I can think of no better way to celebrate this production’s incredible run on Broadway than by welcoming Billy and Marisha into the company for our final thirteen weeks,” said director Rebecca Frecknall. “They brought down the house every night on the West End, and I cannot wait for Broadway audiences to experience the electricity they generate together.”
“Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” opened in April 2024 with Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin in the lead roles. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including best revival, but won only for scenic design. Notable replacements have included Adam Lambert and Orville Peck as the Emcee and Auli’i Cravalho and Eva Noblezada as Sally Bowles.
Set in Nazi Germany during the twilight of the Jazz Age, “Cabaret” centers on the hedonistic nightlight at the seedy Kit Kat Club and revolves around a writer’s relations with performer Sally Bowles. John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical — which features stage classics like “Cabaret,” “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Mein Herr” and “Maybe This Time” — has inspired many revivals as well as the Oscar-winning movie with Liza Minnelli.
“Having the chance to present this masterwork to audiences at this moment in history has been the honor of a lifetime. We are so proud of what Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club has achieved on Broadway – artistically, culturally, and with audiences,” said Adam Speers on behalf of the producers. “We’ve been unbelievably lucky to have had such an incredible string of cast members lend their talents to this run, and Billy and Marisha are the ideal stars to lead us into this final stretch.”
