The Broadway revival of “Cabaret” will close earlier than planned, now ending its run on September 21.
The closing date had previously been set for October 19. By the final performance, the production will have completed 18 previews and 592 regular shows.
The show has also lost one of its lead performers. Billy Porter, who joined the cast last month as the Emcee after playing the role in London, has withdrawn due to illness. Producers confirmed Porter is recovering from sepsis and is expected to fully recover.
Marty Lauter, also known as Marcia Marcia Marcia from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and David Merino will take over the role for the remaining performances. Marisha Wallace, who joined alongside Porter and reprised her West End role as Sally Bowles, will continue through the closing date.
Producer Adam Speers said in a statement that “it is with a heavy heart that we have made the painful decision to end our Broadway run on September 21.”
“On behalf of all the producers, we’re so honored to have been able to bring this version of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff’s important masterpiece, Cabaret, to New York and to have opened the doors to our own Kit Kat Club for the year and a half we have been here,” Speers said.
The current cast also features Calvin Leon Smith as Clifford Bradshaw, Steven Skybell as Herr Schultz, Ellen Harvey as Fraulein Schneider, Henry Gottfried as Ernst Ludwig, and Michelle Aravena as Fritzie/Kost.
“Cabaret” is based on Christopher Isherwood’s “Goodbye to Berlin” and John Van Druten’s play “I Am a Camera.” The musical follows American writer Clifford Bradshaw as he becomes involved with cabaret performer Sally Bowles in 1930s Berlin, during the rise of the Nazi regime.
For more information and additional details, theatergoers can visit the official “Cabaret” website.
