First Preview of West End Cabaret Postponed
By John Nathan
22 Sep 2006
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Anna Maxwell Martin as Sally Bowles
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| photo by Gavin Evans | The first preview performance of Rufus Norris' London revival of Cabaret, originally scheduled for Sept. 22, has been postponed because of technical reasons.
The show’s spokesperson told Playbill.com, "We are behind technically but will absolutely be up and running for Saturday’s matinee,” the next scheduled performance, on Sept. 23.
The Kander and Ebb musical will still officially open Oct. 10 with Anna Maxwell Martin playing Sally Bowles and James Dreyfus, who was recently seen in Frayn’s Donkeys’ Years, as the Emcee.
The cast also includes American actor Michael Hayden — who plays Cliff Bradshaw, a role which he took on in the Broadway run of Sam Mendes' production in 1999 — as well as Sheila Hancock.
Martin first came to prominence in the National Theatre production of His Dark Materials. Other credits include The Coast of Utopia and Honour.
It was to the Lyric that Norris’ Almeida production of Festen transferred before moving on to Broadway.
The musical was turned into an eight-times Oscar-winning 1972 movie starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. Prior to the movie, Cabaret premiered on Broadway 1966. The musical returned to New York with Mendes' famous Tony-winning production, which premiered at London's Donmar, and starred Alan Cumming (London and Broadway) and Natasha Richardson (Broadway only) in the roles made famous by Grey and Minnelli on screen.
Joe Masteroff's book for Cabaret was based on John van Druten's play I Am a Camera, itself inspired by Christopher Isherwood's Berlin stories. The musical was the second collaboration between Kander (music) and Ebb (lyrics). Their other work includes Chicago; Flora, The Red Menace; 70, Girls, 70; The Act; The Rink; Steel Pier; and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Set in pre-war Weimer Berlin, the show follows the fortunes of Sally Bowles who performs at the infamously decadent Kit Kat Klub.
The revival reunites Norris with designer Katrina Lindsay, who worked on Norris' production of Market Boy at the National.
Cabaret is produced by Bill Kenwrwight with choreography by Venezuela-born Javier De Frutos.
For more on Cabaret visit www.cabaret-the-musical.com or call (0)870890 1107.
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