Michelle Williams to make Broadway debut in Cabaret

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23969419

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Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams is to make her Broadway debut in a role made famous by Liza Minnelli in the hit musical, Cabaret.

The Brokeback Mountain star will play party girl Sally Bowles alongside Alan Cumming as emcee, a role he played in the 1998 Tony award-winning revival.

Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall will return as director and choreographer.

The Roundabout Theatre Company production will open on 24 April at the Studio 54 theatre on Broadway.

Williams, who won a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the film My Week with Marilyn, first appeared on stage in New York in 1999 - when she was cast in the Off Broadway run of Tracy Letts' trailer-park story, Killer Joe.

She went on to star in the Off Broadway production of Mike Leigh's Smelling a Rat in 2002.

For her screen work, the 32-year-old actress has received Oscar nominations for her roles in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine and My Week With Marilyn.

She most recently starred as the sorceress, Glinda, in Sam Raimi's fantasy adventure Oz The Great and Powerful.

Set in Berlin on the brink of World War II, Cabaret centres on the indulgent Kit Kat Klub.

It originally opened on Broadway in 1966 with songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

The Broadway show and the 1972 film starring Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York, are based on the 1951 Broadway play, I Am a Camera, which, in turn, was based on Christopher Isherwood's book, Goodbye to Berlin.

Other actresses to have played Bowles include Jill Haworth, Gina Gershon, Natasha Richardson, Alyson Reed and Judi Dench.

Williams is taking over the role from Emma Stone who withdrew over scheduling difficulties.