McCutcheon’s the Lady for Cabaret???

Martine McCutcheon is rumoured to be in line to play leading lady Sally Bowles in Bill Kenwright’s production of Cabaret, which is expected to open on Shaftesbury Avenue in September (See The Goss, 11 Apr 2006). McCutcheon, best known to TV audiences for her role in EastEnders, famously missed more than half her scheduled performances in Cameron Mackintosh’s National Theatre production of My Fair Lady, incurring the reported wrath of the theatre impresario (See The Goss, 21 May 2003). However, she did win an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Eliza, based on the shows when she was performing. The new production of Cabaret will be directed by Festen’s Rufus Norris. The musical opened on Broadway on 1966 and was made into 1972 film starring Liza Minnelli as club singer Sally in Nazi Germany. Set in the Kit Kat Klub of 1930s Berlin, the story is one of pre-war sexual decadence and eroticism. The musical is based on the stories of Christopher Isherwood and the play by John Van Druten, and has a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Cabaret was famously revived by Sam Mendes at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 1993. That production later transferred to Broadway, where it ran from 1998 to 2004 and won a host of awards, including Tonys for Best Musical Revival, Best Actor in a Musical for Scotsman Alan Cumming, playing the Kit Kat Club’s Emcee, and Best Actress in a Musical for Natasha Richardson as Bowles.

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