Billy Porter leaves Broadway’s Cabaret after being diagnosed with ‘serious case of sepsis’
Billy Porter has pulled out of Cabaret due to a ‘serious case of sepsis’. (Getty)
Billy Porter has pulled out of Cabaret due to a 'serious case of sepsis'. (Getty)
Cabaret is set to close on Broadway almost a month ahead of schedule after lead star Billy Porter was diagnosed with a “serious case of sepsis”.
A statement posted on social media on 8 September by Broadway’s Kit Kat Club, née August Wilson Theatre, explained that Porter would not be returning to the eccentric revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical before it closes on 21 September.
Cabaret was due to run until 19 October with Pose star Billy Porter in the lead role as Emcee, the Master of Ceremonies at seedy Berlin-based venue The Kit Kat Klub. West End star Marisha Wallace starred alongside him as Sally Bowles.
Yet, due to the illness, Billy Porter pulled out of performances from 30 August to 7 September, before the theatre production officially notified fans that he wouldn’t be returning.
“Due to a serious case of sepsis, Billy Porter must also withdraw from the production. His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule,” reads the official announcement.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition which occurs when your immune system has an extreme reaction to an infection.
Marty Lauter, also known as RuPaul’s Drag Race star Marcia Marcia Marcia, and theatre star David Merino will fulfill the role of Emcee until the closing date.
In a statement, Cabaret producer Adam Speers announced “with a heavy heart” that the team had to make the “painful decision” to close the production early due to Billy Porter’s illness.
“On behalf of all the producers, we’re so honored to have been able to bring this version of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff’s important masterpiece, Cabaret, to New York and to have opened the doors to our own Kit Kat Club for the year and a half we have been here.
“Billy was an extraordinary Emcee, bringing his signature passion and remarkable talent,” he continued.
“We wish Billy a speedy recovery and I look forward to working with him again in the very near future.”
Writing on Instagram Stories, Marisha Wallace sent well wishes to her colleague and friend.
“Sending all the love and healing to my @theebillyporter we have been on this journey so long. I’m gutted to be ending this way but we made history. Come see the rest of this amazing cast til Sept 21st,” she wrote.
Porter and Wallace began their Cabaret revival journey in London’s West End earlier this year, before it was announced that they would close the Broadway run together. As a duo, they became the first pair of Black actors to play the roles of Emcee and Sally Bowles full-time.
Speaking to PinkNews last month, Wallace described starring in Cabaret – which centres Berlin’s underground jazz scene during the time of the Nazi Party ascending into power – as “heavy”, due to the “new rise of fascism” in America.
Cabaret re-opened on the West End in 2021, and remains open with My Son Is A Queer (But What Can You Do?) star Rob Madge currently playing Emcee.
The Broadway version opened in 2024, starring Eddie Redmayne in the role of Emcee and Jessie Buckley playing Sally Bowles.
Cabaret on Broadway closes on 21 September.
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