UPDATE: A new report also says an investor is suing the producers. As I wrote below, the show cost $24.25 million, it’s a total loss. Billy Porter may have sepsis or is just smart about abandoning this ship.
Wilkommen, and good bye.
The very expensive Broadway production of “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” is shutting down on September 21st.
Star Billy Porter, who was set to take over as the emcee, has come down with a bad case of sepsis, according to reports. He’s out, and there’s no big name to replace him.
This version of “Cabaret” Opened in April 2024 with Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in the lead, and Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles. Producers spent millions to revamp the August Wilson Theater into a nightclub with all new seating and special bars.
But the show — loved in London — was panned here, and ignored for the Tony Awards. Redmayne left early, and box office receipts just kept plummeting. That is lasted this long is a miracle. Box office reached a high on July 7th of $1.1 million, and then dropped like a rock. Last week, the take was $505,000.
Is Porter really ill? Does it matter? What will happen to the theater? The show cost $24.25 million to stage, with $9.5 million of that to convert the theater. My guess is, there’s no recoupment and a lot of tears.
By the way, the company that paid for all that, Atlantic Theater Group, is being sold soon, they say, to Blackstone Investment Group.
