NEW YORK: Michelle Williams will make her Broadway debut next year in a role best known by Liza Minnelli — fishnet-and-bowler hat wearing chanteuse Sally Bowles in “Cabaret.”
The Roundabout Theater Company confirmed Wednesday that the former “Dawson’s Creek” and “Brokeback Mountain” star will join Alan Cumming in the revival. Williams takes over after Emma Stone withdrew due to scheduling conflicts.
Previews will begin March 21 with an opening set for April 24 at the Roundabout ‘s Studio 54 theater on Broadway, the last home of the show, which ran for more than 2,000 performances from 1998 to 2004. It won the Tony Award in 1998 for best musical revival.
Cumming, who will be reprising his 1998 turn as Master of Ceremonies, recently ended a one-man “Macbeth.” Also reprising their parts from the 1998 production: Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, who will direct. Marshall will also choreograph this time as well.
Set in 1931 Berlin, “Cabaret” centers on the world of the indulgent Kit Kat Klub as it becomes intertwined with the world outside, which gets more precarious on the brink of World War II. The songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb include “Willkommen” and “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.”
“Cabaret,” both the Broadway show and 1972 film starring Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York, are based on the 1951 Broadway play “I Am a Camera,” which, in turn, was based on Christopher Isherwood’s book “Goodbye to Berlin.”
In addition to Minnelli, the part of Bowles has been played by Jill Haworth, Gina Gershon, Melina Kanakaredes, Natasha Richardson, Jane Leeves, Lea Thompson, Alyson Reed and Judi Dench, among others.
Williams’ film career took off with 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain” and received her first of her three Oscar nominations for her performance as the rejected wife of former real-life partner Heath Ledger’s cowboy. She’s earned two other nods, for “Blue Valentine” and “My Week with Marilyn.” Her other credits include “Shutter Island” and “Land of Plenty” and was directed by Raimi in his recent film “Oz: The Great and Powerful.”
Michelle to hit Broadway in new ‘Cabaret’
Michelle to hit Broadway in new ‘Cabaret’
Mick Jagger’s fiancee ‘physically attacked’ at exclusive London club
- Melanie Hamrick, 38, dined with a friend before heading to private members’ club Annabel’s in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, where the incident happened
- The author, choreographer and former ballerina has been in a relationship with the 82-year-old Rolling Stones singer since 2014 and they have a 9-year-old son together
LONDON: Melanie Hamrick, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger’s fiancee, said she was attacked at an elite and exclusive private member’s club in Mayfair, central London.
The 38-year-old said the incident on Tuesday at Annabel’s in Berkeley Square had left her heartbroken and shaken.
In a message posted later that night on Instagram, she wrote: “This is incredibly hard to share, but I was physically attacked at Annabel’s Mayfair tonight.
“I’m so thankful to my friends for protecting me. Two people grabbed me from behind and thank God for the good people who stepped in to help me.
“I’m shaken, sad and heartbroken that people can treat each other this way.”
The message was deleted a few hours after it appeared.
Hamrick has been in a relationship with 82-year-old Jagger since 2014, and she confirmed in April last year that they became engaged about two or three years earlier. They have a son, Deveraux, who was born in 2016.
Hamrick is a choreographer, author and former ballerina who performed with the American Ballet Theatre for 15 years before retiring in 2019.
Before the incident on Tuesday, she had dined with a socialite friend, Emma Thynn, before heading to Annabel’s. Sources at the venue said staff were not notified of an attack. The Metropolitan Police said it had not receive any report of an incident, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
The incident is believed to have taken place outside of the club. In the past few weeks there has been a series of daytime heists targeting luxury goods stores across London. It is not known if the incident involving Hamrick was related to these.
However, the area around the prestigious Berkeley Square has become one of the worst in London, and even in Europe, for robberies and street crime, the Daily Mail said. Official figures show that people in the area were 30 times more likely to fall victim to crime compared with those in other parts of the city, the newspaper added.
Numbers of thefts and robberies, mainly of mobile phones, have tripled in London over the past four years, with tens of thousands of reported cases, particularly in the upmarket Mayfair and St James’s areas.
Organized criminal gangs have reportedly been targeting high-value luxury brands such as Rolex and Yves Saint Laurent across London. Some visitors have even hired private security while visiting the city.
Last month, the Daily Mail reported that Tom Cruise, 63, had abruptly moved out of his £35 million ($47 million) luxury apartment in One Hyde Park, a high-rise in West London, over safety fears.
