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Life may be a cabaret, old chum—but not for much longer in New York. The immersive Broadway revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Cabaret is cutting the music and packing up its feather boas on Sunday, September 21, nearly a month earlier than planned.
The sudden shuffle is partly thanks to a plot twist even the Emcee couldn’t camp up: Billy Porter, who stepped into the role in July, has been sidelined by a serious case of sepsis, per The New York Times. Producers say the Tony winner is expected to make a full recovery, but his doctors have ordered rest instead of late-night Willkommen-ing. Alternates Marty Lauter (better known to RuPaul’s Drag Race fans as Marcia Marcia Marcia) and David Merino will carry the torch through the final bow, with Marisha Wallace still dazzling as Sally Bowles.
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But Porter’s illness isn’t the whole story. Behind the curtain, the numbers just haven’t added up. The Kit Kat Club—really the heavily overhauled August Wilson Theatre—was transformed into a Weimar-era den of debauchery at a reported cost of $23 million, with weekly expenses around $1.5 million early in the run. Early grosses soared when Eddie Redmayne was Emcee, but box office momentum fizzled after his departure. By the end of August, the show was pulling in barely half a million dollars a week, an unsustainable figure for a production of this size.
As if that weren’t enough drama, there’s also a lawsuit. One of the investors has accused the lead producers of withholding profits and dodging financial transparency. The show, which grossed more than $90 million since opening in April 2024, is now mired in accusations of mismanagement. It’s giving The Producers (the musical about a Broadway scam) a little too much real-world resonance.
It’s a shame, because creatively, this Cabaret has been an all-out spectacle. The August Wilson was reborn as an in-the-round club, with ticketed entry times, roving prologue performers, and even dinner service for those willing to splurge. It scored nine Tony nominations and a scenic design win, and its West End sibling is still thriving after four years.
But Broadway is a tougher crowd and even the most glamorous nightclub can’t keep the lights on without steady sales. So consider this your last invitation to the party: The Kit Kat Club’s doors close September 21. After that, New York’s toast to Berlin nightlife is one more memory in the history of Broadway revivals.