Olivier Award-winning West End musical Cabaret directed by Rebecca Frecknall has announced new cast members for the show at the Kit Kat Club in London.
International pop stars Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) and Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem are set to star as The Emcee and Sally Bowles, from 25 September 2023.
Both have theatre credentials, with Jake Shears writing the lyrics for recent Almeida musical Tammy Faye; and Rebecca Lucy Taylor composing the soundtrack for the stage play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer.
Jake Shears as The Emcee and Self Esteem as Sally Bowles are billed to perform in the show until 20 January 2024.
They will join existing Cabaret stars Nathan Ives Moiba as Cliff Bradshaw, Beverley Klein as Fraulein Schneider and Teddy Kempner as Herr Schultz, with Emily Benjamin playing Sally Bowles at certain performances to 18 October, and then Nic Myers playing the alternate Sally from 19 October.
Also joining the company on 25 September are Wilf Scolding as Ernst Ludwig, Jessica Kirton as Fraulein Kost/Fritzie, Liv Alexander as Texas, Natalie Chua as Frenchie, Taite-Elliot Drew as Hans, Damon Gould as Victor, El Haq Latief as Helga, and Travis Ross as Bobby, joining Laura Delany as Rosie, Grant Neal as Herman/Max and Hicaro Nicolai as Lulu. The cast is completed by Rebecca Lisewski, Ela Lisondra, Nic Myers, Andy Rees, Toby Turpin and Patrick Wilden.
From 16 October, the prologue company will be Rachel Benson, Ami Benton, Onyemachi Ejimofor, Joseph Hardy, Liz Kamille, Andrew Linnie, Aine McLoughlin, Jack William Parry, Jazmyn Raikes, Oliver Stockley and Ena Yamaguchi.
The current cast includes Maude Apatow, star of HBO’s Euphoria, as play Sally Bowles, and Mason Alexander Park, of NBC’s Quantum Leap and Netflix’s Sandman, as The Emcee. The pair leave the show on 23 September 2023.
Previous casts include John McCrea, Callum Scott Howells, Fra Fee, Eddie Redmayne as The Emcee; and Aimee Lou Wood, Madeline Brewer, Amy Lennox and Jessie Buckley as Sally Bowles.
Cabaret opened in December 2021 to critical and audience acclaim, and won a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards, the most for any musical revival in Olivier history.
Earlier this month a Broadway transfer of the production was announced, for the August Wilson Theatre in New York.
Cabaret boasts music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff, based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.
The show is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, with set and costume design is by Tom Scutt with choreography by Julia Cheng. Musical supervision is by Jennifer Whyte and musical direction is by Ben Ferguson with lighting design by Isabella Byrd and sound design by Nick Lidster. The casting director is Stuart Burt and the associate director is Jordan Fein.
Jake Shears said in a statement: “It is my privilege and honour to play the Emcee in this incredible show. I am especially excited to be sharing the stage with the force that is Self Esteem. This role has been a lifetime dream of mine and I couldn’t imagine a better production of it to be a part of.”
Rebecca Lucy Taylor said: “I’ve never made a secret of my love of theatre and I honestly couldn’t be more excited about getting to make my stage debut as one of the greatest leads of all time. I’ve joked for years that there’s no need for a Self Esteem musical really because Sally’s story covers most of the points and here we are. I am both artistically and emotionally raring to take on this challenge. Pinch me!”
Book tickets to Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in London
