Today, it was announced that GRAMMY Award nominee Adam Lambert and fast-rising star Auli’i Cravalho will make their respective Broadway debuts as Emcee and Sally Bowles this fall in the Tony Award-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre.
Lambert and Cravalho will begin performances Monday, September 16 and play a limited engagement through Sunday, March 30, 2025. During their runs in Cabaret, Lambert and Cravalho will normally perform seven shows per week.
As previously announced, Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, both of whom received widespread critical acclaim and earned Tony Award nominations for Cabaret, will play their final performances as Emcee and Sally Bowles on Saturday evening, September 14. Casting for the roles of Emcee and Sally Bowles after March 30 will be announced in the new year.
In a statement, director Frecknall said, “I’m so thrilled that Adam and Auli’i will be joining our Cabaret company this fall. Both actors bring such talent, tenacity, and intelligence to their work and I know they will bring new and exciting offerings to the Kit Kat Club. Having started out in the world of musical theater, Adam has a real passion for this work and such a wealth of artistic experience to bring to the role of Emcee. I can’t wait to see his interpretation of the role and see him host the audience at the August Wilson Theatre, it’s going to be electric! And I’m so excited to be working with Auli’i on the role of Sally Bowles. I know her humor, musicality, vulnerability, and ferocity will combine to make an unmissable performance. It’s a real privilege to have both of these incredible artists making their Broadway debuts in our production.”
Lambert previously appeared in the North American touring production of Wicked and shortly after, rocketed to stardom in the eighth season of American Idol. In addition to being a platinum-selling singer/songwriter, he appeared in the five-time Academy Award-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody and starred in the Sofia Coppola-produced feature film Fairyland. In addition to fronting legendary rock band Queen, playing to sold-out stadiums across the globe, last week Lambert released his latest solo EP, the hedonistic, dance-driven AFTERS.
Lambert commented, “Growing up on the musical theater stage, it was always a childhood dream to perform on Broadway. With this production of Cabaret, it finally felt like the right time to accept an invitation to make my debut. The themes of this show have always resonated with me and given the current sociopolitical climate the world is in, feel eerily timely. Eddie and Gayle have been a dream pairing and I’m looking forward to working with Auli’i to create our own magic. It is thrilling to be able to sink my teeth into this important story and collaborate with the rest of the talented artists in the cast and crew.”
Cravalho first gained attention as the voice of the title character of Disney’s Moana and performed the anthem “How Far I’ll Go” with the film’s songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda at the 2017 Academy Awards. She went on to star in The Power on Amazon, Hulu’s Crush, the NBC drama Rise, and Netflix’s All Together Now. Last spring, she starred as Janis in the film adaptation of Tina Fey’s Broadway hit Mean Girls: The Musical. This fall, she will return to the role of Moana in the eagerly anticipated sequel to the global phenomenon.
Cravalho said, “I’m thrilled to join the long line of talented women who have taken on the iconic Sally Bowles; most recently, the woman I watched with notebook and pen in hand, the dynamite Gayle Rankin. To join a show with so much history – and such a stellar cast and crew – means it’s quite literally an honor to get my butt kicked each week. Mahalo palena ʻole family, I wouldn’t be making this debut without you.”
Cabaret also stars two-time Tony Award winner and 2024 Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Bebe Neuwirth as Fraulein Schneider, Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as Clifford Bradshaw, 2024 Tony Award nominee Steven Skybell as Herr Schultz, Henry Gottfried as Ernst Ludwig, and three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz as Fritzie/Kost.
The cast of Cabaret also includes Gabi Campo as Frenchie, Ayla Ciccone-Burton as Helga, Colin Cunliffe as Hans, Marty Lauter as Victor, Loren Lester as Herman/Max, David Merino as Lulu, Julian Ramos as Bobby, MiMi Scardulla as Texas, and Paige Smallwood as Rosie. Swings include Hannah Florence, Pedro Garza, Christian Kidd, Corinne Munsch, Chloé Nadon-Enriquez, and Karl Skyler Urban.