www.timeout.com/newyork: Life may be a cabaret, old chum—but not for much longer in New York. The immersive Broadway revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Cabaret is cutting the music and packing up its feather boas on Sunday, September 21, nearly a month earlier than planned.
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After seeing Eva Noblezada and Orville Peck in Cabaret this summer, I am so sad to see its closing early even though I wouldn’t have been able to see it again before it closed in the first place. I know there was a lot of hate towards Billy Porter's portrayal of the Emcee, especially following Orville Peck who many fans saw as one of the best Emcee’s left. It doesn't surprise me that the show is closing early because since this replacement cast came in, ticket sales have been declining. It sucks to see so many fans of Cabaret celebrate Billy Porter leaving the show, whether or not they think his Emcee is bad or not, doesn’t excuse celebrating someone’s critical health condition. I hope the final few weeks of Cabaret run smoothly, with the understudies on for Billy Porter, and I hope he has a healthy recovery soon.
I am absolutely saddened to hear the cabaret is closing a whole month early. It is scary to hear that some of it is because of Billy Porter’s illness, it is always hard to hear that an actor has to step out of a role- forced by illness, but when sickness or illness happens it is vital that they take the time that they need. By Billy Porter stepping out when he is sick it will send a message and start a ripple effect to artists and performers, that it is ok to be sick and that the smartest thing to do is to take a step back and recover so as not to injure yourself further. It is more important to take the rest that your body or mind needs than to break or burn out and never get to do your job or what you love ever again.
For a show that received so much buildup before it actually entered broadway, this is such an abrupt ending that is disappointing, but not surprising considering all of the issues they are facing. Not only does he now have sepsis, but he has had controversy throughout his run on the show for the controversial statements he has made, and his overall interpretation of the role and how that has affected the performance. This though could all just be the fact that he is playing the role after Eddie Redmayne, who really seemed to be their driving force in ticket sales, which also contributes heavily to their revenue stream problem. The fact that this isn't even the end of this string of issues is ridiculous, but it is also such a bad look with the financial lawsuit happening. That not only affects Cabaret, but the theatre community as well, giving a look of irresponsibility to the industry when now more than ever we need support in order to create more art. While it is upsetting to see Cabaret go, I hope to see it as more of a lesson and something to learn front when assessing successes and failures.
I was really disappointed to hear the original closing announcement from Cabaret a few months ago, as it seems the West End production is still going strong, as I had seen in with Eddie Redmayne when it opened however long ago and found it beautiful and captivating. I think this is a beautiful production and I loved all of the pre-show performance as well as how it is set in the round and uses the space as a whole. I’ve been hearing a lot of opinions about Billy Porter’s version of the Emcee and I have my own, but regardless of any of that it is truly unfortunate how serious of an illness he’s contracted that has needed him to take a long break. I know that ticket sales were already suffering and they were already closing in October, so I do with for the rest of the talented cast and understudies involved that they could’ve kept the show going until the original closing date instead of ending early. Especially since Marty’s Emcee tends to bring in higher audiences with his online/drag following for his career. I am sure it was in the best interest of the producers to close the show early, and I wish Porter and all the cast and crew involved in this production successful next chapters!
I am so sad to hear that the Cabaret revival is closing. I saw this production in London a few months ago, and it was stunning! Marisha Wallace gave one of the best performances that I have ever seen! The way that she story tells through physicality and vocals is incredibly powerful. I had already seen Marisha in the immersive production of Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre in the West End, so I already knew that she was a star! However, she went even further in Cabaret and left me stunned. I was supposed to see Billy Porter as well, but his understudy was on the night that I went. His understudy was amazing as well! The ensemble might be my favorite part of the show though, they are the real reason that you feel immersed and carry the whole show! As a whole, this is one of my favorite productions of all time! Immersive theatre might be my favorite art form, and this production of Cabaret transported me to early 30s Germany from entrance to exit. I only knew the basic gist of the show beforehand, but walked out adding it to my top musical list! When I visit London again, Cabaret will be a must see!
To be completely honest, I have never seen Cabaret nor done a true deep dive into the story or music. However, I have heard so much about it through the course of my life and truly considered it a classic theatrical staple like “Phantom of the Opera.” Somehow I didn’t know Billy Porter was in Cabaret but I truly wish him healing and peace while he battles sepsis. I also understand that along with that the financial troubles that came along with the show contributed greatly to their closing, however I do wonder when the show would close if it was purely based on ticket sales. Would it have gone forever? Would it slowly die out? We’ll never know. Once again, I wish legend Billy Porter all the best in his healing process and hope that we’ll be able to see him shine on stage again. I really wish I got to see such an iconic show, but luckily, it will surely be produced in other places.
This news is actually very upsetting to hear for me. I’ve never gotten the chance to see Cabaret and I was actually really excited when I heard it was getting a revival. My friend actually asked me a few months ago if I’d like to go see it with him, and we were going to go together, but life got so busy that we never got to go. I guess that may contribute to my feelings of sadness around this early closure. Not only that, but the circumstances surrounding its early end are very upsetting in themselves. I wish nothing but the best for Billy Porter and I hope he has a speedy recovery and that he is able to rest well. I am seeing from the other comments that his performance was apparently not viewed in a positive light, but that does not give people any right to celebrate his condition and it is downright awful and cruel that some would. Unfortunately, though I can’t say I’m surprised seeing how desensitized people have become and how toxic fandoms can get. Nevertheless, I wish the cast and crew the best and I am sad to see this production go.
I feel like Cabaret is one of the most important musicals of our time and it's a shame for it to close anywhere. I saw it this August, and the audience was almost completely silent with shock during intermission and after the show. It is truly one of those pieces of media that really makes you think. I've never seen a movie that had that effect, or read a book of similar popularity that impacted its audience in such a way. This Cabaret in particular is a favorite of mine—the ending really just shocks me to my core. Its ending REALLY drives home in a way that other revivals don't the "even if you are a victim in a situation, you can still be complicit in it (even MORE than complicit at times). Also, of course, it's a scenic marvel and an absolute wonder of immersiveness.
This honestly really sucks to hear. I love Cabaret, it's 100% one of my favorite musicals of all time, out of all of them I’ve seen, this one is very timeless and most of the points and story elements are still important today. I can definitely see why they are closing, it’s a very expensive show to run, and they just aren't doing well at the box office recently. The only cast that seemed to do good with sales is the opening case, Eddie. Last week alone, they only grossed $380,051.60 total for the week. This is an extremely expensive show to run, they have a prologue cast, automation to maintain, a decently sized cast, and a band dressed as cast, just to name a few of its extras. While a great experience and a great show, it’s sad it’s closing but ultimately does make a lot of sense on why. It also sucks they are getting sued, it’s going to be interesting to see how this effects the overall view of the production management company Cabaret uses, and if investors will continue to invest in that specific production company.
Moving up the closing was certainly a bit of a shock to me, given that they had previously announced a closing in October. When I heard that Billy Porter had received the sepsis diagnosis, I figured he would be out, but I figured that the show would continue through the end of the run. What I did not know about however, was the lawsuit. The investors suing producers was a bit of a shock, and it will certainly be interesting to see how it turns out. It really is a shame the Cabaret seems to be closing prematurely, as I had been planning earlier this year to see it when I travel to New York in a few months. It seemed to be a creative and artistic marvel, and on the bright side, it seems to be seeing continued success in London. Most importantly, I hope that Billy Porter is able to recover and return to a stage soon.
I am so sad to hear this show is closing early. I saw it this summer and absolutely loved it. I knew it was closing early but I did not know the context behind it and it seems like a lot. It is so unfortunate that Billy Porter is dealing with what he is but that is just what happens and I am glad he is doing what is best for him. The thing that baffled me was the lawsuit. Those are the things that make me want to avoid big commercial shows like this. It is so unfortunate that we are losing such a good show with an important message because of something like a lawsuit over money. Billy Porter's illness is not a controllable factor but investors/producers using money correctly and now politics are harming performers and a story that is really well done. It is only a month but that is a lot of shows lost.
I can never really tell what the general theater community’s opinion on this Cabaret revival is. I feel like, for a while, people were praising it as the best thing ever, then all of a sudden, that changed. I think that was associated with the various Emcee casting changes (I think the general internet opinion on Billy Porter’s casting leaned negative?), but this article definitely helped explain a lot more about what is going on with that show. I had no idea that there was so much other drama associated with the show. The declining ticket sales make sense, since that just kind of happens after a while with Broadway shows, but I had absolutely no idea about the drama the producer is involved in. I really wish the article had gotten more into the accusations of profit withholding and everything against one of the lead producers, since I think that would be really interesting to learn more about.
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