The Tony-nominated revival of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff's Cabaret will say willkommen to country music star Orville Peck and two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada later this year.
Peck will step into the role of the Emcee, and Noblezada will be the new Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the KitKat Club at the August Wilson Theatre beginning March 31 and continuing for 16 weeks through July 20. They will succeed Adam Lambert and Auli‘i Cravalho, who will play their final performances March 29.
Peck's 2018 debut album was titled Pony. He followed that with Bronco in 2022 and last year’s duets album, Stampede. Peck trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; Cabaret will mark his Broadway debut.
Noblezada will finish her run as Daisy Buchanan in the new Broadway musical The Great Gatsby January 30. She’ll then join the West End production of Hadestown for a limited engagement, reprising her Tony-nominated performance as Eurydice. She made her Broadway debut in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon, for which she received a Theatre World Award as well as a Tony nomination.
Peck said in a statement, "The Emcee has been my dream role since I was a teenager. The nature of the character allows for complete freedom of individual expression. It can be portrayed through such a vast range of emotions, perspectives, and performance styles. That kind of freedom is every actor's dream. I truly cannot believe I’m getting to make my Broadway debut in one of my favorite shows and in probably my favorite role in all of musical theatre. I grew up in the theatre. I was a working actor and a dancer for many years before I started making music. I did the hustle, and the struggle, for a long time, trying to make things happen for myself. But it taught me so much of who I am as a performer and a person, so it feels very full circle to be making a return to it at this point in my career.”
Noblezada added, “While studying musical theatre in school, Cabaret always stood out. I was, and am, amazed by the lineage of theatre royalty who have been in the show. And Sally Bowles to me is simply… fascinating. She is like a totally conscious child who is also completely unhinged. Almost clownish. But real and raw and in your face. And that character amidst and against that backdrop of such an evil reality is painfully surreal. I am totally psyched to start learning more. And I am ready to be as submissive as possible to the iconic world that is Cabaret.”
Director Rebecca Frecknall stated, “After such a brilliant collaboration with Adam Lambert, I’m thrilled to be able to bring yet another incredible contemporary musician into the role of the Emcee. Orville brings such theatricality to his own musical performance and has one of the most crystalline voices in music right now. It’s going to be exciting to see him become a part of our production and hear him sing John Kander and Fred Ebb’s score. I’ve followed Eva’s work for years, and it’s a privilege to have her join the company as our next Sally Bowles on Broadway following Auli‘i’s magnificent run. She brings such truth and emotional vulnerability to her work and has a voice that always thrills. She is truly one of theater’s great leading ladies, so it only seems fitting for us to get to see her take on this great canonical role.”
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club also stars two-time Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth as Fraulein Schneider, Calvin Leon Smith as Clifford Bradshaw, Steven Skybell as Herr Schultz, Henry Gottfried as Ernst Ludwig, and Michelle Aravena as Fritzie/Kost.
See the current cast of Cabaret in the photos below.
As in the production's West End run, the theatre has been transformed into an in-the-round Kit Kat Club. Ticket holders receive a "club entry time" before their show date so that everyone's able to take in the pre-show, which can even include a full dinner at some ticket levels. The prologue company, a group of 12 dancers and musicians, welcome theatregoers with a pre-show performance beginning approximately 75 minutes prior to curtain time.
Based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin and John Van Druten's dramatization of it, I Am a Camera, Cabaret
is set in Weimar-era Berlin as American writer Clifford Bradshaw
arrives to work on his novel and soak up the debaucherous nightlife. He
meets English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and a complex relationship
develops, all as the Nazis ascend to power and the spectre of World War
II and all its horrors loom on the horizon.
The creative team also includes choreographer Julia Cheng; club, set, and costume designer Tom Scutt; lighting designer Isabella Byrd; sound designer Nick Lidster (for Autograph); and music supervisor and director Jennifer Whyte. Hair and wig design are by Sam Cox, and Guy Common is handling makeup design. Prologue composition and music direction are by Angus MacRae, with Jordan Fein serving as prologue director. Casting is by Bernard Telsey and Kristian Charbonier, and Thomas Recktenwald serves as production stage manager.
READ: In Cabaret, Set and Costume Designer Tom Scutt Wanted to Celebrate Queer Individuality
Visit KitKat.club.