Cabaret: Booking period extended to 04 Jan 2015

The Roundabout's revival of Kander's & Ebb's Cabaret, which began previews at Studio 54 on 21 Mar 2014 and officially opened on 24 Apr 2014, has extended its booking period to 04 Jan 2015. It was originally booking through to 31 Aug 2014.

Cabaret features a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. It is based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

The musical tells the story of Sally Bowles a female entertainer at the Kit Kat Klub in Weimar Republic era Berlin, who romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.

For this production, Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall have converted Studio 54 into the grittty Kit Kat Klub with Cabaret-type seating as well as traditional theatre seating, to recreate the decadent environment of the notorious pre-war Berlin Nightclub.

The original design team also returned for the 2014 production featuring set and club design by Robert Brill, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Peggy Eisenhauer and Mike Baldassari and sound design by Brian Ronan. Patrick Vaccariello is the Musical Director.

Cabaret's score includes the classic songs "Willkommen," "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret." John Kander and Fred Ebb are two of the most successful and prolific collaborators in the American Theatre and are currently represented on Broadway with the award-winning revival of 'Chicago.'

The Roundabout's 1998 revival of Cabaret played at Studio 54 from 11 Dec 1998 through to 04 Jan 2004, and won four Tony Awards: Best revival; Best Actor (Alan Cumming as 'Emcee'); Best Actress (Natasha Richardson as 'Sally Bowles'); and Best Featured Actor (Ron Rifkin as 'Herr Schultz').

Alan Cumming is the second actor to return to the role of 'Emcee' on Broadway. Joel Grey originated the role in the musical's 1966 Broadway premiere, and returned to the role in the 1987 Bradway revival. Both productioins were directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Ronald Field.

Roundabout's production of Cabaret opened on Broadway on 19 Mar 1998 starring Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson and won four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical. Alan Cumming received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall received Tony nominations for direction and Rob Marshall received a Tony nomination for choreography. The production went on to play for six years and 2, 378 performances before finishing its run on January 4, 2004.

Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in addition to the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Critics' Cricle Award, the Variety Poll of New York Critics, and London's Evening Standard Award. The original Broadway production played 1166 performances.

- by Tom Millward