‘Cabaret’ on Broadway’s Price Waldman Details Fainting Mid-Performance (Exclusive)

Price Waldman is opening up about a health scare he had over the weekend during a performance of Broadway’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.

The understudy was on for the role of Herr Schultz in director Rebecca Frecknall’s revival of the classic John Kander and Fred Ebb musical on Friday, Sept. 12, when he suddenly fainted onstage. Now, after making a full recovery, Waldman recalls to PEOPLE how the show’s cast and crew helped him in his time of need.

“They literally caught me on stage, so I didn’t fall. I didn’t hit my head, which is how people injure themselves when they pass out,” he says.

During the incident, Waldman froze upon his character’s entrance in Act 1, roughly 20 minutes into the show. Already on the stage were his costars, Calvin Leon Smith, who plays writer Clifford Bradshaw, and Ellen Harvey, who plays landlord and Schultz’s love interest Fraulein Schneider. The two quickly moved to hold him as he lost his balance. 

Moments later, the actor says, stage manager Derek Michael DiGregorio “sensed that something was wrong and ran out.” Altogether, Smith, Harvey and DiGregorio escorted him off the stage. “I could tell something was happening, but it was all very vague. I remember thinking in my head, ‘Oh, is this really happening right now?’ ” Waldman says. 

As for what caused the medical incident, the actor explains, “It was a quickly onset stomach issue that dehydrated me. I sat down right before making my entrance. When I stood up, I had a drop in my blood pressure and that made everything go blurry.”

Once Waldman was escorted off stage and seated, he immediately felt “more lucid.” From there, a variety of theater personnel ensured he was properly cared for. “The stage management team was right there. Company management came right away. The dressers were there. They helped cool me down and made sure that I was okay. They called 9-1-1, and the EMTs were there within five or 10 minutes,” the actor says. 

At Mount Sinai West in New York City, about seven blocks from the August Wilson Theatre, Waldman was given IV fluids and took a few tests. The cause of his health incident was then determined to be dehydration. The hospital experience was fairly quiet as “it was early enough on a Friday evening that it hadn’t gotten crazy,” he says.

“I was not particularly scared,’ the Broadway actor remembers. “It was pretty calming, all things considered. If I was less lucid, I think I would’ve been more nervous. But I started feeling better almost right away.”

Waldman was back on stage just two days later, for the matinee performance on Sunday, Sept. 14, where he performed the Jewish fruit vendor for the last time. 

“I decided, just for the sake of prudence, to take both the Saturday matinee and the Saturday evening show off,” the actor explains.

In regards to returning to the stage in his first performance following his health incident and in his last scheduled performance as Shultz, he says, “It was great. I’m glad that I could redeem myself after having passed out. That felt good.”

The Friday night performance was a clear demonstration of Broadway’s favorite saying, “The show must go on.” With Waldman in the hospital, understudy Colin Cunliffe took over as Schultz after about a 30-minute hold. Two swings also got tapped in to switch their character tracks.

Waldman knows the importance of understudies, being one himself. The actor joined the cast of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club towards the end of March, when Orville Peck and Eva Noblezada stepped into the roles of Emcee and Sally Bowles. He typically doubles as Herman and Max, while being an understudy for Schultz. 

During the week of Sept. 12, Waldman was on for Schultz while actor Steven Skybell was temporarily out to star in a Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof in Los Angeles. 

“Swings are the lifeblood of any Broadway musical because people go down and they’re there to keep the show on the rails,” he says.

Earlier this month, Billy Porter withdrew from the production after being diagnosed with “a serious case” of sepsis. The Tony winner, who was playing the Emcee after a turn in the London production, was scheduled to star in the show through Oct. 19.

The musical, which opened in April 2024, will make its final bow on Sunday, Sept. 21. For the final performances, the Emcee is being played in rotation by the production’s understudies Marty Lauter and David Merino. Also in the closing cast is Marisha Wallace, who joined the cast with Porter in July as Sally Bowles.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, with a book by Joe Masteroff, follows 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.

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Waldman, who returns to his usual role for the final week, hopes the message of the show remains does not get lost amid other headlines.

“The story that we’re telling is so important, especially in this political moment,” the actor says. “Are we ever going to learn from our mistakes or are we doomed to repeat the same patterns over and over? It’s a question that we all are grappling with.”

“Stay aware and don’t be afraid to stand up for what you think is right,” he adds of the show’s takeaway.

Tickets for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club are now on sale.