Famed actor and singer Billy Porter is ill with sepsis, which has forced him to drop out of the Broadway production of Cabaret, according to the show’s producers.
A Tony Award-winning actor, Porter was starring in the role of Emcee, which he also played onstage in London.
The New York revival of the show will be shuttering early, in part due to its high production costs, and other actors will take over Porter's role until it ends.
Producers said in a press release that while Porter is expected to fully recover from a “serious case” of sepsis, his doctors advised him to rest.
“Billy was an extraordinary Emcee, bringing his signature passion and remarkable talent," said producer Adam Speers. "We wish Billy a speedy recovery and I look forward to working with him again in the very near future.”
Sepsis, in which the body’s ability to fight infection goes awry, has the potential to be life threatening. But survival is more likely when the condition is caught early, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Porter told People in July that he was turned down after he auditioned for the revival of Cabaret in 1998. The actor noted that now, he was in the first all-Black lead cast for the show.
“The world has actually changed,” Porter told People. “Thirty years ago, this wasn't possible. I'm in the part now. So I just want to make sure that we're saying that part, that we're talking about the good. It's very easy to lean into the negative, but I want to lean into the positive."
The actor also described the importance of the role and Cabaret, which takes place in Nazi-era Germany, “at this time in American history.”
"Art has the power to heal, art has the power to transform,” Porter said. “My art is my calling, my purpose, my ministry, my resistance, my activism, my hope, my joy, my love. It's everything to me. And so to be able to express myself this way is such a gift and such a blessing."
In 2021, Porter opened up about being diagnosed as HIV-positive 14 years prior. The Pose actor said while he initially struggled with shame, he realized confronting the disease was the best way to live with it.
“It’s time to grow up and move on because shame is destructive—and if not dealt with, it can destroy everything in its path,” he said at the time. “This is what HIV-positive looks like now.”
