Emcee understudies Marty Lauter (aka Marcia Marcia Marcia of RuPaul's Drag Race fame) and David Merino are starring in Broadway's Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club née August Wilson Theatre for the final two weeks of the production's run, filling in for an ailing Billy Porter. And now the revival has revealed when each will be performing.
Lauter will star for performances September 12-18. Merino will star September 9-11 and 19-21.
The immersive revival of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff's Cabaret will end its run September 21. The production had been set to close in October, but producers moved up that date over the weekend after it became clear that Porter would have to sit out the remainder of the run as he recovers from a case of sepsis. Producers share the Tony winner is expected to make a full recovery.
The current cast also includes 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.
READ: In Cabaret, Set and Costume Designer Tom Scutt Wanted to Celebrate Queer Individuality
As in the production's West End run, the theatre has been transformed into an in-the-round Kit Kat Club. Ticket holders receive a "club entry time" before their show date so that everyone's able to take in the pre-show, which can even include a full dinner at some ticket levels. The prologue company, a group of 12 dancers and musicians, welcome theatregoers with a pre-show performance beginning approximately 75 minutes prior to curtain time.
Based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin and John Van Druten's dramatization of it, I Am a Camera, John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret is set in Weimar-era Berlin as American writer Clifford Bradshaw arrives to work on his novel and soak up the debaucherous nightlife. He meets English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and a complex relationship develops, all as the Nazis ascend to power and the spectre of World War II and all its horrors loom on the horizon.
The creative team also includes choreographer Julia Cheng; club, set, and costume designer Tom Scutt; lighting designer Isabella Byrd; sound designer Nick Lidster (for Autograph); and music supervisor and director Jennifer Whyte. Hair and wig design are by Sam Cox, and Guy Common is handling makeup design. Prologue composition and music direction are by Angus MacRae, with Jordan Fein serving as prologue director. Casting is by Bernard Telsey and Kristian Charbonier, and Thomas Recktenwald serves as production stage manager.
Visit KitKat.club.