Eddie Redmayne isn’t living as risqué of a life as his Cabaret character.
The Oscar and Tony Award-winning actor is currently playing the Emcee in the hit Broadway revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s classic musical, which is now open at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City. And though the atmosphere at the Kit Kat Club might be unrestrained, the pressure of doing eight shows a week keeps Redmayne on his best behavior offstage.
“You live like a monk,” he admitted on an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan that aired on Thursday, April 25. “It’s sort of this odd thing where you’re inviting audiences to come and have a hedonistic, sort of all-consuming evening and yet, you are only drinking water, not speaking, all that stuff.”
Taking on the character of the Emcee has taken a physical toll on his body.
“The role itself is quite a workout, but I have this brilliant man called Greg who is sort of this icon on Broadway in that he is the man who keeps people upright,” Redmayne said. “I go and see him, I saw him last night. He’s a masseuse. But as much as I love him, and I have great respect for you Greg, he’s horrendous. It’s absolute agony. It’s that sort of thing where you think the pain, it must be doing something, right?”
“I was telling this to Greg last night, he was like, ‘Eddie, your body, it’s broken.’ And it makes you feel so heroic,” The Good Nurse star continued. “‘Yeah, I’m the toughest Emcee in the world!’ “
Marc Brenner
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club follows fictional American writer Clifford Bradshaw as he moves to Berlin amid the rise of the Nazi party. His observations about the eccentric characters that populate the Kit Kat Club, like the mysterious Emcee and the British singer Sally Bowles, provide the groundwork for both the musical and his future novel.
The musical has long been a success both on the stage and screen. Based on John Van Druten’s 1951 play I Am a Camera, which in turn was adapted from the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret first hit Broadway in 1966. It was later turned into the 1972 film of the same name starring Oscar-winner Liza Minnelli as Sally, and revived on Broadway in 1998 and in 2014, both with Alan Cumming as the Emcee.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
A score, by Kander & Ebb, is made up of a string of songs that have become musical theatre mainstays, like “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mamma,” “Mein Herr,” “Two Ladies,” “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” “Money,” “Maybe This Time” and, of course, “Cabaret.”
Marc Brenner
Redmayne first played the role of the Emcee in the West End, where the production that’s now on Broadway originally opened in 2021.
“The reason why so many actors are drawn to [the Emcee] is because it’s almost like an abstract character,” Redmayne told Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. “I see him as a bit of a shapeshifter. There’s this one moment where he’s a clown and then he’s almost dressed as a skeleton, so it’s a lot of makeup, a lot of quick changes.”
It’s also a lot of interactions with the audience.
“He is in a void in some ways, and so often when you’re on stage, the other character in a scene with you is the audience. … So for me, I get to play with beautifully generous American audiences every night,” Redmayne said, noting that American audiences are “less reserved” than London audiences.
He explained, “That’s my role; to interact with the audiences and sort of creep in amongst them and play with them and entice and seduce them into the world. [So ]it’s lovely having people who are giving so much. In Britain, the British reserve was slightly more on display.”
Janet Mayer/Shutterstock
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, who also helmed the West End version.
In addition to Redmayne and Gayle Rankin as Sally, the rest of the principle cast is rounded out by Ato Blankson-Wood (Clifford), Steven Skybell (Herr) and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth (Fräulein), as well as Natascia Diaz (Fraulein Kost and Fritzie) and Henry Gottfried (Ernst Ludwig).
The cast also includes Gabi Campo (Frenchie), Ayla Ciccone-Burton (Helga), Colin Cunliffe (Hans), Loren Lester (Herman/Max), David Merino (Lulu), Julian Ramos (Bobby), MiMi Scardulla (Texas), Paige Smallwood as Rosie, and Marty Lauter (Victor), who is also known as Marcia Marcia Marcia of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame.
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings). Tickets for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club are on sale now.
