‘Cabaret’ sets early closing on Broadway; Billy Porter withdraws

Previously set to close in October, the musical revival will now end its run later this month, with Porter departing immediately due to illness.

Cabaret on Broadway will close on September 21, a month earlier than the previously announced closing date of October 19. At the time of closing, the musical revival will have played 610 total performances at the August Wilson Theatre.

Additionally, Billy Porter, who currently stars as the Emcee, has withdrawn from the production due to sepsis. Marty Lauter and David Merino, the production’s two Emcee alternates, will alternate in the role for the final performances, with an exact schedule for each to be announced.

Continuing with the production through its closing are Marisha Wallace as Sally Bowles, 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.

“Billy was an extraordinary Emcee bringing his signature passion and remarkable talent,” producer Adam Speers said in a statement. “We wish Billy a speedy recovery and I look forward to working with him again in the very near future. I personally invite audiences to return to the Kit Kat Club one last time to see the incandescent Marisha Wallace as Sally Bowles, alongside the remarkably talented Marty and David, two actors who have been giving soul-stirring performances as Emcee since we first opened last April.”

Cabaret takes place in a 20th-century Berlin nightclub whose hedonism gets overtaken by Nazism. Rebecca Frecknall directs the current revival, which is also continuously running London's West End.

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Photo credit: Billy Porter in Cabaret on Broadway. (Photo by Marc Brenner)