Since last month, Tony winner Billy Porter and two-time Olivier Award nominee Marisha Wallace have been welcoming Broadway audiences to the Kit Kat Club and Cabaret. The duo will be the production's final Emcee and Sally Bowles, with the show set to close on October 19.
In a recent joint conversation with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek for The Broadway Show, Wallace opened up about contemplating the Kander and Ebb musical through a Black lens. "Black people in Nazi Germany haven't really been spoken about. I was like, ‘This might be a chance for us to open up these stories and really open up this part of history.’"
Porter, who has wanted to play the role of the Emcee for decades, spoke about how his take on the character deviates from his predecessors'. "I've seen it where the Emcee actually does assimilate and becomes an antagonist. And then there are some that I've seen where he gives over." As for Porter? "My intention is rage."
Check out the full interview below.