Neil Patrick Harris, who recently exited the cast of Proof, will become Cabaret's next Emcee on Jan. 3, 2003, a spokesman for the actor told Playbill On-Line.
Harris is going into rehearsals next week and will stay in the show until at least March 16. The Roundabout Theatre Company production of Cabaret is lodged at Studio 54.
Harris left Proof on Oct. 6. He will follow in the Kit Kat Klub footsteps of such former Emcees as Alan Cumming, John Stamos, Matt McGrath and Michael Hall. The current shirtless vamp in the bowtie and suspenders is Raul Esparza, who joins The New Group's revival of The Comedians Off-Broadway in January.
Harris may find himself at Studio 54 again later in 2003. Cabaret will play one more year at the space and then close to make way for Assassins, Roundabout Theatre Company artistic director Todd Haimes has said. Harris was cast in the Sondheim revival when the mounting was postponed in the days following Sept. 11, 2001. Harris' spokesperson said, "He's still attached to the project. The earliest it would happen is fall 2003."
* Tom Bosley, of Fiorello! and "Happy Days" fame, will return to his Broadway roots Dec. 13 when he joins the cast of Broadway's Cabaret as Herr Schultz.
Bosley, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in the musical, Fiorello!, replaces the exiting Hal Robinson. He is better known, however, as Howard Cunningham, Richie's dad, on the 1970s-80s sitcom "Happy Days." His recent stage credits include Capt. Andy in Show Boat, and Belle's father in Beauty and the Beast.
Esparza, who had a success with his 2001 run as the Emcee in Broadway's Cabaret, returned to the show Sept. 9, as did Carole Shelley. Molly Ringwald began her second stint as Sally Bowles on Aug. 6.
Also in the current cast also are Rick Holmes as Clifford Bradshaw, Candy Buckley as Fraulein Kost and Peter Benson as Ernst Ludwig.
The praised Broadway revival of the darkly conceptual show plays at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200.
