Billy Porter reflects on landing Cabaret role after being rejected in 1998

Billy Porter has come full circle by landing the role of the Emcee in the famed musical Cabaret 27 years after being rejected for the part.

The Pose star will take over the role of Emcee alongside Marisha Wallace as Sally Bowles in the ongoing West End revival at the Playhouse Theatre later this month.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, Porter noted that he'd come a long way since the '90s, when he couldn't even get an audition for the Broadway revival.

"I was turned down for an audition for the 1998 revival with a swift and unequivocal 'No' and the reason they gave was, 'That is not the story we are telling.' So, they were telling a story of racism and oppression with no Black actors," he stated.

Porter didn't take the rejection lying down; he went away to do his research about Black people in Nazi Germany, where Cabaret is set, before telling the show's creative team what he'd learned.

"As an activist, I searched for historical evidence and found the book, Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany, so I sent it to everyone in the creative team and wrote inside, 'We were there, we were always there,'" he recalled. "I didn't hear anything but fast forward to this year and there are three Black people in lead roles in this commercial production - it's changing history, and it matters."

Porter has been in many Broadway productions over the years, most notably Kinky Boots, for which he won a Tony Award in 2013.

The West End revival of Cabaret launched in late 2021 and transferred to Broadway last year.

Porter will perform as the Emcee from 28 January to 24 May.