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Alan Cumming and Creative Team Talk CABARET!

By: Sep. 04, 2013
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Roundabout Theatre Company just announced that Alan Cumming will reprise his Tony Award-winning role as Emcee opposite three-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams, making her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in its revival of CABARET by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb. Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (director) and Academy Award nominee Rob Marshall (co-director/choreographer) will return to recreate their Tony-nominated direction and choreography from the 1998 Tony Award-winning production.

Cumming and the creative team discussed CABARET in a statement released by Roundabout today. Here's what they had to say:

Todd Haimes: "Cabaret is one of the greatest musicals in American musical theatre history. A classic like Cabaret should be seen at least every decade in the same way we see classic plays like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. Our production opened 15 years ago in a seminal production directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall and showcased a Tony Award-winning performance by Alan Cumming. Sam, Rob and Alan bring back 15 years of experience and perspective to this material. I am excited to experience the production with an all new cast including Michelle Williams who I know will make an exceptional Sally Bowles."

Sam Mendes: "I'm delighted to be stepping back into the Kit Kat Klub one more time, and to be having the opportunity to re-explore and re-discover this extraordinary musical alongside two equally extraordinary performers."

Rob Marshall: "I am thrilled that Todd Haimes and the Roundabout have decided to revive this production of the Kander/Ebb/Masteroff masterwork, Cabaret. Working on this unique and profound musical was a truly great experience and I am looking forward to returning to it with such a spectacular cast. Michelle Williams is an actress of rare gifts and she will make an astonishing Sally Bowles. And I am especially excited that Alan Cumming is reprising his extraordinary performance as the Emcee for a whole new audience to experience."

Alan Cumming: "I first played the Emcee in London 20 years ago, and then again five years later on Broadway. I was in a totally different place in my life on both those occasions, and I am certainly a different man today. But one thing hasn't changed: There are still people in this world who want to oppress and destroy us for being different, and Cabaret is both a celebration of diversity and a reminder of the dangers of complacency. It couldn't be more relevant and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of it."

John Kander: "I am thrilled that Cabaret is coming back. It will be exciting to find out what the show means to this generation."

Joe Masteroff: "As the book writer of Cabaret, I can hardly wait to see what some brilliant guys have done to make the new Cabaret as fresh and young as ever. Can I be their next project?"

CABARET features some of the best-known songs in musical theatre, including "Willkommen," "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret." John Kander and Fred Ebb are two of the most successful and prolific collaborators in the American Theatre and are currently represented on Broadway with the award-winning revival of Chicago.

Roundabout's production of Cabaret opened on Broadway on March 19, 1998 starring Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson and won four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical. Alan Cumming received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall received Tony nominations for direction and Rob Marshall received a Tony nomination for choreography. The production went on to play for six years and 2, 378 performances before finishing its run on January 4, 2004.

CABARET premiered on Broadway in 1966 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in addition to the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Critics' Cricle Award, the Variety Poll of New York Critics, and London's Evening Standard Award. The original Broadway production played 1166 performances.

CABARET features a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. It is based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

CABARET will play a 24-week limited engagement beginning previews on March 21, 2014 and open officially on April 24, 2014 at the newly transformed Kit Kat Klub at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street).

Tickets are currently available to Roundabout subscribers and donors, and will be available to the public in the coming weeks. For more information on subscriptions and becoming a donor, or to sign up to be notified when tickets go on-sale to the public, visit roundabouttheatre.org or call 212-719-1300.




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