Starting March 28 in New Orleans, the national tour of Cabaret will have a new fraulein Sally Bowles: Lea Thompson, best known from TV's "Caroline in the City" and filmdom's "All The Right Moves" and "Back to the Future." The current Sally, Joely Fisher, leaves the show March 19.
Cabaret is now playing in Charlotte, NC through March 12 and then in Miami March 14-19. The following week, in Louisville, KY, understudy Alison Ewing will star.
According to a spokesperson, although few are familiar with Thompson's off-screen performances, this won't be the actress' stage debut. Aside from ballet work in her youth, she also appeared in The Illusion at Los Angeles Theatre Center and Bus Stop at Pasadena Playhouse.
Thompson will stay with Cabaret through July 9, including performances in Dallas (TX), Detroit (MI), Pittsburgh (PA), Columbus (OH), Wallingford (CT), Baltimore (MD), Atlanta (GA) and Houston (TX).
Thompson started rehearsals this week and is "very excited and eager to begin." Produced by SFX Theatrical Group, in association with Eric & Scott Nederlander & Jujamcyn Productions, the Cabaret tour began in March 1999 in Los Angeles before heading to Boston. Strong sales in Chicago extended the late summer run there, with Teri Hatcher playing Sally at the time.
Cabaret tells of a sexually-ambivalent American writer visiting Weimar Germany and watching the rise of Nazism there. He also becomes entangled with Sally, a free-spirited but morally questionable singer at the Kit Kat Klub.
The Sam Mendes revival of the John Kander and Fred Ebb tuner opened on Broadway, March 19, 1998 at the Kit Kat Klub. The Roundabout revival originally starred Alan Cumming as the Emcee, Mary Louise Wilson as Fraulein Schneider and Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles.
On tour, the Emcee is currently Jon Peterson (from London's West End). Clifford is played by Jay Getty (Pericles at NY Shakespeare Festival). Hal Robinson (Old Wicked Songs) and Alma Cuervo (Titanic) play Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider. Lenora Nemetz plays Fraulein Kost.
