‘Cabaret’ revival confirmed for Broadway
Willkommen – once again.
An intimately-scaled hit London revival of the musical “Cabaret” will transfer to Broadway, opening in the spring. It will play the August Wilson Theatre, which is currently home to “Funny Girl” (which is slated to close at the end of the summer). Although no casting has been announced, the revival originally starred Eddie Redmayne as the mysterious Emcee (the role originated by Joel Grey). It is directed by Rebecca Frecknall (“Sanctuary City”).
“Cabaret,” which premiered on Broadway in 1966, looks at an American writer who travels to Berlin in the early 1930s and observes how Hitler’s rise to power was greeted by the city’s inhabitants with either open arms, indifference or a feeling of helplessness. What made the musical so revolutionary, in addition to its political content and disturbing visuals, was how the plot was indirectly reflected in elaborate production numbers taking place at a tawdry nightclub known as the Kit Kat Klub.
In 1998, the Roundabout Theatre Company produced a daring revival of “Cabaret” co-directed by a pre-famous Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall and starring Alan Cumming and the late Natasha Richardson, both of whom won Tony Awards. The Roundabout revival made “Cabaret” even more explicit, environmental and decadent. The theater was altered to resemble a nightclub space. The score was revised to reflect changes from Bob Fosse’s 1972 film version.
Due to acclaim and popular demand, the Roundabout revival, originally a limited run, transferred to Studio 54 and ran for six years – and later received an encore run in 2014 starring Cumming again, while nightclub singer Sally Bowles was played by Michelle Williams, Emma Stone, and Sienna Miller.
Theater in Quarantine to present 3D ‘Nosferatu’ for Halloween
Joshua William Gelb, the star and creator of Theater in Quarantine (one of the most notable and acclaimed digital performance series of the pandemic shutdown), will appear in “Nosferatu, A 3D Symphony of Horror,” a 3D reimagining of the classic 1922 vampire film inspired by midnight horror films. It will be produced by NYU Skirball (though still filmed from the Theater in Quarantine closet) and made available online from Oct. 27 to 31, just in time for Halloween.
‘Merrily’ Broadway revival extends before beginning performances
The upcoming Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” (starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez) is probably going to fare a lot better financially than the original 1981 Broadway production, which ran only 16 performances and ended the glorious partnership of Sondheim and director Hal Prince. The revival, which premiered in London a decade ago with a different cast and played Off-Broadway during the winter, has pushed back the end date of its limited Broadway run from Jan. 21 to March 24 due to high demand. It is scheduled to begin previews at the Hudson Theatre on Sept. 19. “Merrily,” which has an extraordinary score, moves backwards in time in order to demonstrate how a three-way friendship disintegrates and its lead character loses sight of his ideals in pursuit of material success.
