Eddie Redmayne to Star in ‘Cabaret’ on Broadway Opposite Gayle Rankin

Caitlin Huston
·3 min read
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Eddie Redmayne will star in the Cabaret revival coming to Broadway this spring.

He reprises his role as the Emcee from the production in London, opposite newcomer Gayle Rankin (Glow), who will be playing Sally Bowles. The production, directed by Rebecca Frecknall, starts previews at the August Wilson Theatre on April 1, 2024, with an official press opening night on April 21.

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Like in London, the creative team plans to transform the August Wilson Theatre for the production, featuring an in-the-round auditorium and “sinfully dreamlike spaces,” where attendees can view entertainment and buy drinks and food before the show. Each attendee will have a timed entry to the theater and the pre show. Tom Scutt is the club, scenic, and costume designer and Julia Cheng is the choreographer.

In addition to performing the role in London, for which he won an Olivier Award for best actor in a musical (alongside the production’s six other awards), Redmayne is an Academy Award winner for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and has appeared in other notable films such as The Trial of the Chicago Seven, Fantastic Beasts and The Danish Girl. He has previously appeared onstage in The Goat, Or Who is Sylvia?, Now or Later, Richard II and Red, for which he won both Tony and Olivier Awards.

Redmayne will also act as a producer on the Broadway production, as he did on the West End, alongside Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Underbelly, Gavin Kalin Productions, Hunter Arnold, Smith & Brant Theatricals and Wessex Grove.

Rankin, known for her role as Sheila the She-Wolf in Netflix’s Glow, recently appeared on Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ series Kindred on FX and recently completed production on the second season of House of the Dragon on HBO. Other film work has included The Climb, Amazon’s Blow The Man Down and Her Smell opposite Elisabeth Moss. She last appeared onstage as Ophelia, opposite Oscar Isaac, in Sam Gold’s production of Hamlet at the Public Theater.

Redmayne and Rankin are currently scheduled to play a limited engagement through Aug. 31. Starting June 17, Redmayne will not perform on Monday evenings and Rankin will not perform at Wednesday matinees.

“It was whilst playing ‘The Emcee’ in a student production of Cabaret over 25 years ago that my love for theater was properly ignited. It now feels completely thrilling and a little surreal to be a part of Rebecca’s truly unique vision of Masteroff, Kander, and Ebb’s brilliance as it arrives on Broadway, where the piece has such a history. I am beyond excited to be doing it arm-in-arm with the remarkable Gayle Rankin and a truly stunning cast and team. I am hoping we will create an experience for you quite unlike any other,” Redmayne said.

“Cabaret has been a wildly profound marker in my life. How I understand myself as an artist and citizen in the very fragile world we live in has proved to revolve on its axis. I am completely honored to hold hands with Sally inside of this singular, powerful production, and forever grateful to Rebecca, Eddie and the whole family for inviting me into its creation on Broadway,” Rankin said.

The London production, which began in November 2021, is still running at the Playhouse Theatre with Rebecca Lucy Taylor as Sally and Jake Shears as the Emcee.

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