Ms. Billy Porter joins CABARET and box office drops

[Ali Gator]

Ms. Billy Porter began his three month run as the 'Emcee' in the current revival of CABARET last week, and the box office dropped nearly in half. The musical, which has a weekly cost of just over $500K, saw the box office drop from $1,166,265 the week prior - the last week country crooner Orville Peck was in the role  - to $648,886 for Porter's first week. (Marsha Wallace also joined the show as Sally, but Porter's name was supposed to be the big draw.) This was the lowest grossing week for the current revival since opening on April 21, 2024, with actor Eddie Redmayne as the 'Emcee'.  ( Adam Lambert and Peck succeeded him in that order.)

The show is scheduled to close on October 19, but many speculate if ticket sales don't improve with Porter in the role, it my be 'au revoir' to CABARET long before the announced closing date. 

[pleasureseeker]

Wish I'd seen it with Adam Lambert, I have the feeling he was the best emcee in this sorry production. Couldn't stand Eddie Redmayne and Ato Blankson couldn't act his way out of a hat and Bebe Neuwirth was just too sad to comment on. Great sets though!

[skynyc]

HATED Redmayne...blamed the direction. Missed Lambert because I was afraid it would be the same. Then friends saw Peck and raved and so I went back. And yes, he was terrific...an entirely different show. No interest in Porter. 

For the sake of the working cast/crew, I hope it lasts through October. 

[Ali Gator]

I have not seen the show, nor will I be seeing it. However, from what's been reported on multiple sites, Peck is the winner as far as best emcee. He was a surprising choice, yet a very successful one. They should have pulled the plug when he left a couple of weeks ago, and ended on a high note.  But they didn't - they  decided to gamble with Porter, and this is what they got. A box office falling like a rock.

 

[+ jeezopete]

On 8/3/2025 at 12:32 AM, Ali Gator said:

Marsha Wallace also joined the show as Sally, but Porter's name was supposed to be the big draw.

LOL, my first thought was the receptionist on The Bob Newhart Show. I was pretty sure she passed away quite a few years ago & would've been waaaay too old to play Sally anyway. So, I googled "Marsha Wallace" & she was the first result, but with the spelling "Marcia". When I added "Cabaret" to my search, I found Marisha Wallace.

Anyway, it gave me a good chuckle on a Saturday night. 😄

The Wallaces:

 

      Marcia                  

 

Marisha   

[Ali Gator]

The box office continues in its free-fall. All bets are on that it closes by Labor Day.  Marisha is not happy about how this is going, according to her social media, and wants everyone to go and see the show, rather than wish it ends prematurely.

Sorry Marisha - it's awful, and you can thank Ms. Porter. 

[Ali Gator]

The increasingly complex Billy Porter “Cabaret” controversy, explained

WWW.QUEERTY.COM

---

There's a lot going on here.

 

[Ali Gator]

And the box office sinks even lower for Billy’s Emcee. $498k. Only Call Me Izzy had a lower gross, and another ticket sale for 'Izzy' could've made 'Cabaret' the lowest grosser. Which begs two questions:

How much lower can the box office go before they put this out of its misery ?

Do you think City Center is a little nervous about Porter's "LA CAGE" coming up ?

He's proved himself to be box office poison, first ruining Encore's 'The Life', and now setting historic losses for CABARET. He needs to go away from the theater. 

[viewing ownly]

Why so much hate for Porter? I thought that fans LOVE people who are all about themselves 24/7? That reads like sarcasm, but I thought it was the truth. I love guys who have far too many pics of their naked ass if they're available for the touch / kiss / probe. 

Is he genuinely terrible as an actor, or has it become trendy to intentionally pan and avoid a show that's likely better than many other productions people are throwing their money at?

[FunGuyUS]

On 8/9/2025 at 9:08 AM, skynyc said:

HATED Redmayne...blamed the direction. Missed Lambert because I was afraid it would be the same. Then friends saw Peck and raved and so I went back. And yes, he was terrific...an entirely different show. No interest in Porter. 

For the sake of the working cast/crew, I hope it lasts through October. 

[FunGuyUS]

I saw it Adam Lambert it was like going to see a completely different show.  The two leads were absolutely fantastic and the show was so much different than with  Eddie

[Ali Gator]

On 8/20/2025 at 1:30 AM, viewing ownly said:

Why so much hate for Porter?

Oh, where to begin...?

[Ali Gator]

On 8/20/2025 at 1:30 AM, viewing ownly said:

Why so much hate for Porter?

I know - let's start in the very recent past, when he was announced as the replacement for CABARET.  This is what happened with Porter, which probably cost him a lot of potential audience members...

 

Billy Porter sparks controversy while promoting his ‘Cabaret’ cast: ‘Black people have replaced the Jews’ – The Forward

FORWARD.COM

---

One social media influencer accused the actor of minimizing antisemitism.

 

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, Ali Gator said:

This is what happened with Porter, which probably cost him a lot of potential audience members...

*wow*

Talk about tone-deaf !

Although . .I'm sure his personality alone rubs people the wrong way even without his making antisemitic commentary or pretending that the black community is suffering increased bigotry and being forced into ovens. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

7 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

8 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

This is what happened with Porter, which probably cost him a lot of potential audience members...

*wow*

Talk about tone-deaf !

Although . .I'm sure his personality alone rubs people the wrong way even without his making antisemitic commentary or pretending that the black community is suffering increased bigotry and being forced into ovens. 

Yet another example of why actors should stick to performing from a script.  That's where their skill set shines.   Why the masses give celebrities a microphone 🎙️ outside of their roles I'll never understand.

[Ali Gator]

50 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Yet another example of why actors should stick to performing from a script.  That's where their skill set shines.   Why the masses give celebrities a microphone 🎙️ outside of their roles I'll never understand.

Once this closes abruptly (all bets are still on Labor Day weekend), I'm curious as to how Miss Porter is going to spin this away from herself and blame the 'white' audience. It's not a question of 'if', it's a question of 'how'.  He has a history of this. 

Edited August 22 by Ali Gator

[Ali Gator]

According to a theater forum, should 'Cabaret' limp along through October, it will lose investors more than $25M. 

[+ Lucky]

If I was in New York, I'd be happy to see Billy Porter in Cabaret. The show has been around for so long that a new twist is welcome. Welcome, get it?

[d.anders]

20 hours ago, Lucky said:

Welcome, get it?

You mean a new twist is wilkomen, no?

On 8/20/2025 at 1:30 AM, viewing ownly said:

Why so much hate for Porter?

He seems to enjoy being polarizing, which IMO gets in the way of his talents. If you're not white these days, polarizing is a tough sell.

[pubic_assistance]

1 minute ago, d.anders said:

If you're not white these days, polarizing is a tough sell.

Really ? That game has a rainbow of players on the field for many years. 

[Ali Gator]

And the box office doesn't disappoint...

Porter missed a few performances last week, and the box office sunk even lower ($25K lower). One must wonder : Did the box office take a hit on the nights he didn't perform, or on the nights he did ? 

Unbelievable. Word on the street is that the show is being 'papered like crazy' for this current week. Expect this week's Box Office to drop even lower when the numbers come out next week. I can't imagine why they have not pulled down the curtain yet. Maybe because the producers figure : We already lost everything, what else is their to lose ? 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I was in line at the TKTS booth in Lincoln Center for last minute theater tickets on Saturday.  The guy ahead of me requested 2 tickets to Cabaret.

The box office attendant said "So you know, Billy Porter isn't performing tonight".

The man replied, "I know that.  I would not be purchasing tickets for tonight if he was".