Auf Wiedersehen to Cabaret!
The latest iteration of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club is ending its run a month early due to star Billy Porter pulling out because of a serious illness. The Broadway production announced over the weekend that it will put on its final show at New York's August Wilson Theatre on Sunday, September 21. The Porter-led production was originally set to end on October 19.
"Come hear the music play. Final performance September 21," read the announcement on the musical's Instagram page. "Due to a serious case of sepsis, Billy Porter must also withdraw from the production. His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule."
Understudies Marty Lauter and David Merino will fill in for Porter as the show's Emcee for the final performances.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have made the painful decision to end our Broadway run on Sept. 21," producer Adam Speers said in a statement Sunday, per Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly. "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."
"Billy was an extraordinary Emcee, bringing his signature passion and remarkable talent. We wish Billy a speedy recovery, and I look forward to working with him again in the very near future," he concluded.
The show opened with Eddie Redmayne as The Emcee and Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles. Later, Adam Lambert and Auliʻi Cravalho took over, followed by Orivlle Peck and Eva Noblezada.
Porter joined the production as The Emcee in July, alongside Marisha Wallace. The two were the first Black actors to play the roles on Broadway.
Unfortunately, Porter's run in the show was marred by controversy.
In an interview, Porter explained that his take on the character was an American who fled the Jim Crow South to go to Europe, only to find himself in the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.
"With what's going on in the world right now, you know, Black people have replaced the Jews in this sort of configuration of what we're going through," he said.
Some took this as a slight to the plight of both Jewish people under Nazi Germany and today.
Others have taken umbrage with his performance, saying it was over the top, featured too many fourth wall breaks, and complaining that he changed the lyrics to a song.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club ran on Broadway for 592 performances since April 2024. The show has seen a huge drop in attendance since a high in July.
