The musical directed by Sam Mendes with Rob Marshall featuring the music of Kander, the lyrics of Ebb and book by Joe Masteroff, opened on Broadway March 19, 1998. It won Tony Awards that year including Best Revival of a Musical.
Neil Patrick Harris (Proof) currently heads up the cast as the Emcee. Carole Shelley (Fraulein Schneider), Tom Bosley (Herr Schultz) and Heather Laws (Sally Bowles) also star with Rick Holmes, Penny Ayn Maas and Peter Benson. (Songstress Deborah Gibson will join the cast as "Sally Bowles" in mid-February.)
The current revival surpassed the tallies of the original production and the musical's first revival. Cabaret first played Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre under the direction of Harold Prince. The production which opened Nov 20, 1966 would play 1165 performances (including a transfer to the Imperial Theatre) before closing at the Broadway Theatre Sep 6, 1969. A revival with original star Joel Grey (reprising his role as the Emcee) and director Harold Prince opened Oct 22, 1987 at the Imperial, playing 261 performances before closing.
This production began at the Henry Miller Theatre (the current home to Urinetown) and was forced to move when the city shut down the street due to a construction elevator collapse at the nearby Conde Nast building site. The new environmental production — featuring a Kit Kat Club setting that extends out into the audience with tables — moved to Studio 54 on Nov. 14, 1998.
Gibson will become the next in a long line of varied actresses to play the role of Sally Bowles after the revival's Tony Award-winning originator Natasha Richardson. Other include Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary McCormack, Susan Egan, Joely Fisher, Lea Thompson, Katie Finneran, Gina Gershon, Kate Shindle, Brooke Shields, Jane Leeves and Molly Ringwald. Neil Patrick Harris follows the Tony Award-winning Alan Cumming, Michael Hall, Matt McGrath, Raul Esparza, and John Stamos in the role of the Emcee.
Roundabout Theatre Company artistic director Todd Haimes told Playbill On-Line (Aug. 2002) that Cabaret will play one more year at the space and then close to make way for a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins.
Tickets for Cabaret at Studio 54, 254 West 54 Street and through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or click here.
