Jun 20
'Drag Race' Star Marcia Marcia Marcia Set to Step Up in Broadway Revival of 'Cabaret'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" star Marcia Marcia Marcia will take center stage as the Emcee for a six-performance run of "Cabaret" on Broadway starting July 15.
Eddie Redmayne, who stars as the Emcee in the Broadway production, will get a break from the KitKat Club when Marty Lauter - the non-binary actor's real name - takes on the role for six performances, starting July 15.
Playbill noted that the "Drag Race" alum had already been announced as Redmayne's replacement on July 15. An update reveals five more performances starring Marcia Marcia Marcia.
"Newly announced are Lauter playing the Emcee July 22, July 29, August 5, August 19, and August 26," Playbill relayed.
Another understudy, David Merino, "will play the Emcee June 24, July 7, and July 8," the publication specified. Sally Bowles actor Gail Rankin will also be getting some time off, with understudies Gabi Campo and Paige Smallwood sharing the role.
"Current on Broadway as a transfer from an Olivier-winning West End engagement, the revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's 'Cabaret' opened April 21," Playbill noted, before adding that the "Rebecca Frecknall-helmed show "was nominated for nine 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. It won one, for Tom Scutt's set design."
Marcia Marcia Marcia was a contestant on "Drag Race" Season 15 and has appeared on and off Broadway before in productions of "Kinky Boots." They also appeared in a touring production of "Hello, Dolly!"
"This group of understudies are normally part of the Kit Kat Club ensemble," Playbill noted. "Merino usually plays Lulu, Lauter usually plays Victor, Smallwood usually plays Rosie, Ciccone-Burton plays Helga, and Campo usually plays Frenchie."
But fans of the "Drag Race" alum got a shock when an announcement of the performer's temporary elevation from understudy to the star of the show ended up looking a little too much like an obituary notice.
"I won't lie my ass scrolled past this and came back up because I though it was a 'in memory of' for them and almost cried 😭😭," one person commented.
Another echoed: "Not me thinking she died pls wtf".
"girl what is this i thought she died 😭," another complained, while someone else remarked, "Ok but can we get a poster that doesn't look like an obituary 😭 jeez".
Comments at the drag icon's Instagram took a similar vein.
"Congratulations, but honey I thought you were dead," one fan wrote. "My heart skipped a beat😂😂😍👏".
Another gasped, "Marcia I t thought you were dead don't do that again please 😭❤️".
"girl we NEED a new graphic for this i keep thinking you died😭😭," a third commented.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
