Bebe Neuwirth and Steven Skybell Join the Cast of CABARET AT THE KIT KAT CLUB on Broadway

More casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club! Two-time Tony Award® winner and Emmy Award® winner Bebe Neuwirth will play ‘Fraulein Schneider’ and Obie Award winner and Drama Desk Award® nominee Steven Skybell will play ‘Herr Schultz’ opposite Academy Award®, Tony Award, and Olivier Award winner Eddie Redmayne as ‘The Emcee,’ Gayle Rankin as the toast of Mayfair ‘Sally Bowles,’ and Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as ‘Cliff'.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club will run at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street), directed by Olivier Award® winner Rebecca Frecknall and designed by Tony Award nominee and Evening Standard Award® winner Tom Scutt.

Previews for Cabaret will start Monday, April 1, 2024 ahead of decadent twin opening night gala celebrations starting Saturday, April 20 continuing into the following night, with the official press opening on Sunday, April 21. 

Neuwirth has a decades long relationship with Cabaret composers John Kander and Fred Ebb having won a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Awards for her legendary portrayal of ‘Velma Kelly’ in the revival of Chicago. In subsequent runs in the show, she has also played the roles of ‘Roxie Hart’ and ‘Matron Mama Morton.’ Additionally, she portrayed ‘Aurora’ in Kander & Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman in London’s West End and headlined a symphony tour entitled “Bebe Sings Weill and Kander & Ebb.”

Neuwirth said, “I’m completely thrilled to be a part of this beautiful production, and to help tell this fascinating tale through the sublime score of John Kander and Fred Ebb.”

Skybell received a Lortel Award along with Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League nominations for his thrilling turn as ‘Tevye’ in Fiddler in the Roof in Yiddish. His numerous Broadway credits also include Pal Joey; Wicked; The Full Monty; and Love! Valour! Compassion!; and Ah, Wilderness!

Skybell said, “In these times of increased antisemitism, I am proud and privileged to play the Jewish role of ‘Herr Schultz’ in Cabaret. It’s important to tell stories like Cabaret, which is, of course, massively entertaining, but also sheds a light on this moment in history, when fascism and intolerance nearly overcame the Jewish people and the world at large.”

Neuwirth and Skybell previously appeared together in 2012 Classic Stage Company production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream where she played ‘Titania,’ opposite him as ‘Nick Bottom.’

Additional casting and other news about Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club on Broadway will be announced in the coming weeks.

For this thrilling production of Cabaret, the creative team will transform the August Wilson Theatre into the Kit Kat Club with an in-the-round auditorium and sinfully dreamlike spaces which guests will be invited to explore, featuring pre-show entertainment. After purchasing tickets, guests will receive a “club entry time” to allow them to take in the world of the club before the show starts.

Patrons can upgrade their experience at the Kit Kat Club with exclusive dining or drinks packages that allow them to soak up the pre-show atmosphere. These various upgrades offer unparalleled service and unique experiences in the heart of the Kit Kat Club. Drinks can be enjoyed before and during the show, while food will be cleared shortly before the performance begins, ensuring uninterrupted and unmissable views of Cabaret. For a complete menu and more information on the upgrade packages, please visit www.kitkat.club/upgrade.

Cabaret, one of the most revered and successful musicals of all time, has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood. The show features the songs “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Mein Herr,” “Maybe This Time,” “Money,” and the iconic title number.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club on Broadway is directed by Olivier Award winner Rebecca Frecknall with club, scenic, and costume design by Evening Standard Award winner, Tony Award nominee, and Olivier Award nominee Tom Scutt, and choreography by Olivier Award nominee Julia Cheng.

The creative team for Broadway includes Jennifer Whyte (Music Supervision & Music Direction), Obie Award winner and Olivier Award nominee Isabella Byrd (Lighting Design), Olivier Award winner Nick Lidster for Autograph (Sound Design), Sam Cox (Hair & Wig Design), Guy Common (Makeup Design), Jordan Fein (UK Associate Director & Prologue Director), Danny Sharron (US Associate Director), Kayla Lomas-Kirton (UK Associate Choreographer), Jessica Castro (US Associate Choreographer), Angus MacRae (Prologue Composer & Prologue Music Director), The Telsey Office (Casting Director), and Thomas Recktenwald (Production Stage Manager). 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as the US General Manager of Cabaret.

When Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club first began performances in November 2021, it electrified London’s West End with critics calling it “a kill-for-a-ticket theatrical triumph” (The Telegraph). The production went on to win a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards, the most for any musical revival in Olivier history. Now entering its third smash year, the West End production of Cabaret currently stars Jake Shears as ‘The Emcee’ and Rebecca Lucy TAYLOR as ‘Salle Bowles.’

The 2021 Original London Cast Recording of Cabaret featuring Eddie Redmayne and recorded during a live performance is available on Decca Records as a CD and to stream on all major platforms. To order the album or stream it, please visit https://cabaret.lnk.to/ListenNow

BIOGRAPHIES

Bebe Neuwirth (Fraulein Schneider, she/her) has achieved extraordinary success in theater, television, and film. In 1980, she made her Broadway debut in A Chorus Line. She then appeared in Little Me, Dancin’, and Sweet Charity, for which she won her first Tony Award, followed by Damn Yankees, Fosse, and The Addams Family. Bebe won her second Tony, as well as the Drama Desk, Astaire, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Distinguished Performance of the Year Awards for her portrayal of ‘Velma’ in Chicago. A few years later she played ‘Roxie’ in the show, and a few years after that she played ‘Mama Morton,’ making her the only triple-threat to have played all three leading ladies’ roles on Broadway. Bebe’s ‘Velma’ is recorded on the Grammy-winning cast album of Chicago. Her many and diverse roles in regional theater and Off-Broadway include ‘Anita’ in West Side Story, ‘Katherine’ in The Taming of the Shrew at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Writer’s Block written and directed by Woody Allen, and The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman, both at the Atlantic Theatre Company, among many others. On London’s West End, Bebe followed Chita Rivera into the role of ‘Aurora’ in Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 2005, she appeared in the critically acclaimed Here Lies Jenny, a music theater piece comprised entirely of music by Kurt Weill, at the Zipper Theatre. It was directed by Roger Rees and choreographed by Ann Reinking.

Neuwirth is well known for her work in film and television. She won two Emmy Awards for her role of ‘Lilith Sternin Crane’ on “Cheers,” and gained Emmy nominations for her work on “Frasier” and for her portrayal of ‘Dorothy Parker’ in the television movie Dash and Lilly. She’s been a guest on many shows including “The Good Fight” and “Blue Bloods,” and recently played Julia Child’s best friend ‘Avis Devoto’ in HBO Max’s “Julia.”  She has appeared in numerous films, including Say Anything, Green Card, Bugsy, Jumanji, Summer of Sam, Liberty Heights, Celebrity, The Faculty, and Tadpole. 

Animation voice is also in Neuwirth’s repertoire. Characters in films and many television shows include All Dogs Go To Heaven, “Aladdin” (series), “Duckman,” “Ultra City Smiths,” etc.

Neuwirth toured a symphony show, “Bebe Sings Weill and Kander & Ebb,” and a piano cabaret show, “Stories with Piano.” Her two CDs are a studio album called Porcelain, and another recorded live at 54 Below called Stories. . . in NYC.

In November of 2023, Neuwirth was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Her awards include the CTFD Rolex Dance Award, the Dance Magazine Award, and the Sarah Siddons Society Award, among many others. As a vice-chair of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund), she founded the Dancers’ Resource – a program aimed at addressing the particular emotional and physical challenges faced by professional dancers. She has an Honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, is an Honorary member of IATSE Local 1 (Stage Hands Union), and is an Honorary Ziegfeld Girl. 

Steven Skybell (Herr Schultz, he/him) most recently starred as ‘Henry Lehman’ in the first American production of The Lehman Trilogy, at Boston’s Huntington Theatre. He starred as ‘Tevye’ in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish directed by Joel Grey from 2018-2023, for which he received the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, as well as nominations from the Drama League, Outer Critics, and Drama Desk awards. He recently made his Carnegie Hall debut appearing in an evening of Yiddish songs to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In September 2022 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut appearing as ‘Tevye’ in Barrie Kosky’s celebrated English production of Fiddler on the Roof from the Komische Oper Berlin. His numerous Broadway credits include: the 2016 revival of Fiddler on the Roof (Lazar Wolf); Pal Joey; Wicked; The Full Monty; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Café Crown; Ah, Wilderness! His additional Off-Broadway credits include: The Lucky Star, Babette’s Feast, Antigone in New York (Obie Award). Other: Camelot (Helen Hayes nomination); Broken Glass, Caucasian Chalk Circle (both, Connecticut Critics Circle nominations);The Chosen. Television and film: “Blue Bloods,” “Elementary,” “666 Park Avenue,” “Chicago P.D.,” Miracle of Miracles, Cradle Will Rock, Simply Irresistible, Arthur Miller’s Everybody Wins, many others. Shakespearean credits include the title role in Hamlet, Vanessa Redgrave’s Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, Two Gentlemen of Verona (all at The Public Theater), and Julie Taymor’s Titus Andronicus (Theatre for a New Audience). He has performed all over the world, including the Saito Kinen Festival in Tokyo, Japan and Shakespeare’s Globe in London, where he was one of two Americans chosen for the inaugural season, appearing in Henry V, and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, which included a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II (as seen on PBS’ “Great Performances”). He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale College, a Certificate in Acting from the British American Drama Academy, Balliol College at Oxford, and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama. He has taught acting at Yale Drama, Juilliard, Harvard, NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts, Fordham, and the Shakespeare Lab at The Public Theater.