Michael Hayden will assume the role of Cliff Bradshaw in Broadway's Cabaret earlier than expected, he begins the role on July 30, rather than the previously announced date of Aug. 3. Hayden replaces Boyd Gaines, who played his last performance on July 27, leaving the show early to have minor surgery, according to a production spokesperson.
The exact nature of Gaines surgery could not be determined. Brian Duguay, the role's understudy, performed on July 28 and 29, while Hayden was in preparations for his taking over the role.
Hayden was recently seen in A.R. Gurney's Far East at Lincoln Center. No word, yet, on whether the surgery will effect Gaines next role at Lincoln Center Theater's dance/theatre piece, Contact, by Susan Stroman and John Weidman.
Because of his stay in Cabaret, Hayden will not be appearing in King Lear and A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC, according to a spokesman for the DC resident company. The classical season there had been tailored with Hayden in mind. It was not immediately clear if Hayden would appear in planned roles in the rest of the Shakespeare season, after his Cabaret run.
Cabaret received four Tony Awards (including Best Musical Revival), three Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, a Theatre World Award, an Astaire Award and a special award from the New York Drama Critics Circle. Cabaret opened on Broadway March 19, 1998. With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and book by Joe Masteroff, and co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, Cabaret tells the story of an English woman's romance with an American writer set against the background of a crumbling Germany at the start of the Third Reich. Cabaret is based on the true-life observations of Christopher Isherwood who wrote "The Berlin Stories," which was also turned into the straight play, I Am a Camera.
The current cast of Cabaret includes Susan Egan as "Sally Bowles," Michael Hall as "the Emcee," Laurence Luckinbill as "Herr Schultz," Carole Shelley as "Fraulein Schneider," Victoria Clark as "Fraulein Kost" and Michael Stuhlbarg as "Ernst Ludwig."
The production has seen numerous cast changes during its run, including the replacement of Tony winners Alan Cumming, Natasha Richardson and Ron Rifkin.
Cabaret plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM, Sunday evenings at 7 PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM. Tickets range from $45-$90. Tickets are on sale at the Studio 54 Box Office at 254 West 54th Street and through TeleCharge at (212) 239-6200.
