Cabaret Posts West End Closing Notices for 21 Jun

Following Gone With the Wind and Spamalot (See News, 2 Jun 2008), Cabaret has become the third West End musical to post closing notices in the past week.

Rufus Norris’ award-winning revival of the Kander and Ebb classic opened at the Lyric Theatre on 10 October 2006 (previews from 23 September) and had been booking through to 1 November 2008. It will now close on 21 June 2008, after a run of a year and nine months.

Cabaret turns Weimar Berlin of 1931 into a divine haven of decadence, its morally ambiguous inhabitants determined to keep up appearances as the real world – outside the comfortable sanctuary of the cabaret – prepares for war.

Based on the stories of Christopher Isherwood and the play by John Van Druten, Cabaret has a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966 and in 1972 was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles, Michael York as Cliff and Joel Grey as the Emcee.

In the West End, actor and TV impressionist Alistair McGowan took over the role as the Emcee from Julian Clary in April (See News, 15 Apr 2008). The current cast also features Amy Nuttall as Sally Bowles, Steven Cree as Cliff Bradshaw, Angela Richards as Frau Schneider and Barry James as Herr Schultz. The production is designed by Katrina Lindsay with choreography by Javier De Frutos, who won a 2007 Olivier for his work on the musical. It’s produced by Bill Kenwright.

No further productions have yet been announced for the Lyric. A regional tour of Cabaret, starring dancer Wayne Sleep as the Emcee, will launch from Birmingham Rep on 28 August 2008 and will visit Bristol, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester, Woking, Cheltenham, Bath, Leeds, Truro and Malvern, where its 2008 schedule concludes on 13 December.

– by Terri Paddock