theatre
The Rage Monthly phoned Alan Cumming while he was shooting a documentary
in Berlin. Cumming said, “We’ve been filming all over Berlin about the real Cabaret.
After we wrap up our shoot tomorrow we come back to America and then get
picked up and go to my house in the country for the weekend and relax. It’s lovely.”
Allan and his husband, Grant Shaffer have a home in the Catskill Mountains of
upstate New York.
Cumming played along with the late, Natasha Richardson in his 1998 Tony
Award winning performance of Cabaret. Over ten years later, people still talk about
the critically acclaimed adaptation by director Sam Mende with Alan Cumming as
the Emcee. Alan expresses, “That whole production was a great thing for me in
many ways… it changed my life actually. It was such a huge event, so Natasha and
I went through such a big thing together. I have really fond memories of her and
doing the show. It’s such a tragic thing that happened to her. She was just a lovely
woman and a brilliant actress.”
In 2006, Cumming played along with Cyndi Lauper in The Threepenny Opera.
Alan said, “Yes, it was great and she’s really amazing, I love Cyndi Lauper. I am a
huge fan of her. Its funny being here again in Berlin, I was actually thinking about
Threepenny Opera. It was an amazing part, playing Mac the Knife. It was also really
daunting. I’ve always been kind of scared of doing something on my own. I didn’t
think I was up to it. And after I did The Threepenny Opera, I thought, f#ck it! (he
laughs) You know, if I could do that and not die I’ll give anything a try.”
Alan is slated to bring his, I Bought a Blue Car Today show on September 26 to
The Orange County’s Performing Art Center. Alan elaborates, “The title came out
of my becoming an American citizen in November of last year. You have to write
down a sentence to prove that you understand English, so my sentence I had to
write was, ‘I bought a blue car today.’ I just thought it was hilarious!” Cumming
sings his favorite songs in the show and tells the story of his past ten years living
here in America. Alan expresses, “I like that it’s sort of old-fashioned and simple. I’m
not doing a character; I’m actually playing me so it’s been a really amazing thing
for me to do. I’ve gotten out of a lot of phobias doing it and I’ve been really excited
about how I’ve connected with the audience through singing the songs. So it’s
been amazing, actually.” Cumming sings an eclectic range of songs, starting off
with “Shine” by Cyndi Lauper and other songs by John Pacino, Dolly Parton and
Mika to name a few. Alan explains, “They are all songs that I’ve always wanted to
sing or ones that I’ve sort of had come to me. I do one that is called ‘What More Can
I Say?’ which is from one of those Falsettos musicals. I sang it because my dentist
told me I should. When they have their hand down your mouth, you tend to do
what they say! He even brought the lyrics in for me. It’s so sweet.”
Alan expressed how his gay and lesbian audience relate. “I think gays and
lesbians will like how I lay myself quite bare in the show. I think people appreciate
honestly and openness. Especially gay people, so I think they will connect with
that and also a lot of the songs are very sort of passionate and out there. A lot of the
stuff is just about me being me. One of the songs is written by the musical director,
Lance Horne called ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and is actually about a boyfriend that we had
both dated. He wrote the song about him and I sing it. I had dumped the boyfriend
and then he went out with Lance after that. Of course I didn’t warn Lance so we are
now both working out our years of therapy by me singing the song” (laughs).
Alan Cumming and U2 fans alike can also look forward to February, 2010, when
aLan CumminG
Cumming is cast in Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. It will be the biggest and most
expensive show to ever play on Broadway when it opens at the Hilton. Alan ex-
plains, “Bono and The Edge of U2 have written the music. Julie Taymor is directing
ShareS hiS MeMorieS and SongS:
it—whom I’ve worked with a couple times. (Cumming recently completed filming
Taymor’s upcoming film, The Tempest). “It’s just really going to be a huge spectacle
i BoughT a BLue car Today
and I’m looking forward to it.”
You can read more about Alan at
alancumming.com. Call 714.556.2121 or visit
by lance perkins
OCPAC.org for tickets and more info on I Bought a Blue Car Today.
12 RAGE monthly | september 2009
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