Video: CABARET Stars Billy Porter and Marisha Wallace Discuss Art as Resistance

Having recently begun their run in Broadway's Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Tony Award winner Billy Porter and Olivier Award nominee Marisha Wallace visited MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss the production, which is running through Sunday, October 19.

During their appearance, the pair noted the relevance of the story, with Wallace noting that this production offers a chance to tell the familiar story through a new lens. "There were many expats like Josephine Baker and other artists who came to Europe during this time to flee the Jim Crow south," she explained. "But also, this story celebrates life and trying to push through these tough times that we are having [and asks] 'What is the role that we are playing?'"

Porter went on to talk about the idea of joy and art as resistance, specifically in regard to the Black community. "For me, it's intentional. I chose, decades ago,[that] my art is my calling, my purpose, my ministry, my joy, my hope, my peace. Art also heals. So, in this show, playing this part, I feel a part of the resistance." Watch the full conversation now. 

Porter, along with two-time Olivier Award nominee Marisha Wallace, are currently starring in the Tony Award-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre, having begun performances on Tuesday, July 22, for the production’s final 13 weeks through Sunday, October 19. Check out photos of the performers here.

The cast also features Calvin Leon Smith as ‘Clifford Bradshaw,’ 2024 Tony Award nominee Steven Skybell as ‘Herr Schultz;’ Ellen Harvey as ‘Fraulein Schneider,’ Henry Gottfried as ‘Ernst Ludwig,’ and Michelle Aravena as ‘Fritzie/Kost.’

The second year company of Cabaret also features Gabi Campo as ‘Frenchie,’ Jada Simone Clark as ‘Helga,’ Colin Cunliffe as ‘Hans,’ Marty Lauter as ‘Victor,’ David Merino as ‘Lulu,’ Julian Ramos as ‘Bobby,’ MiMi Scardulla as ‘Texas,’ Paige Smallwood as ‘Rosie,’ and Price Waldman as ‘Herman/Max.’ Swings for the production are Maya Bowles, Pedro Garza, Christian Kidd, Corinne Munsch, Chloé Nadon-Enriquez, and Karl Skyler Urban.

The Prologue Company, the dancers and musicians that welcome audiences to the club, feature dancers Sun Kim, Deja McNair-Kyles, and swing Ida Saki. The musicians of the Prologue are Brian Russell Carey (piano & bass), Francesca Dawis (violin), Keiji Ishiguri (dedicated substitute), Déa Thatcher (accordion), and Michael Winograd (clarinet).

Experience this groundbreaking musical like never before. The denizens of the Kit Kat Club have created a decadent sanctuary Inside Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre, where artists and performers, misfits and outsiders rule the night. Step inside their world. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself.

Cabaret, one of the most revered and successful musicals of all time, has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood. The show features the songs “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Mein Herr,” “Maybe This Time,” “Money,” and the iconic title number.

Buy Tickets to Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club