It's really coming back, old chum! Broadway dates are now confirmed for the Roundabout revival of Cabaret, starring Michelle Williams in her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles and Alan Cumming reprising his Tony-winning role as the Emcee. The 24-week limited engagement begins previews on March 21, 2014, with opening night set for April 24 at Studio 54, which will once again be transformed into the Kit Kat Klub.
Cabaret will mark the return of director Sam Mendes and co-director/choreographer Rob Marshall, who are recreating their Tony-nominated direction and choreography of the 1998 production (which earned Cumming a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical). Full casting will be announced shortly.
“I first played the Emcee in London 20 years ago, and then again five years later on Broadway,” said Cumming in a statement. “Cabaret is both a celebration of diversity and a reminder of the dangers of complacency. It couldn’t be more relevant, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.”
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret is set in a seedy nightclub in 1930s Berlin where a young English cabaret performer (Williams) encounters an American writer, under the watchful eye of a zealous Master of Ceremonies (Cumming). The show features a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
“I am thrilled that Cabaret is coming back,” said composer Kander. “It will be exciting to find out what the show means to this generation.”
The 2014 revival will reunite the original design team of the 1998 production, which featured set and club design by Robert Brill, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Peggy Eisenhauer and Mike Baldassari, sound design by Brian Ronan and musical direction by Patrick Vaccariello.
Watch Cumming perform Cabaret's beloved opener "Willkommen" on The Rosie O'Donnell Show: