What world has this man not had his fingers in? No grass


grows under Alan Cumming’s feet, there isn’t time, in fact, I’m betting there is a trail of glorious flames. His credits run from Shakespearian classics such asHamlet andMacbeth, Noel Coward’sDesign For Living and a murderous lover in Martin Sherman’s critically-acclaimed play,Bent. Then, there are his turns as Dionysus, the Devil, God, the Pope and as Pan for Herb Ritts’ inVanity Fair. He’s been a Smurf, a teleporting Superhero called Nightcrawler and rocked the role as henchman Boris Grishenko, in the Bond classicGoldenEye.(Betcha didn’t remember that one, now did you?). He won a Tony award for his performance inCabaret, is an Olivier award winner forAccidental Death of an Anarchist and has been nominated multiple times for Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG awards for his ongoing role in The Good Wife. He’s a bestselling author, penning a very personal memoir about the violence he faced in,Not My Father’s Son, has had a photo exhibition called Alan Cumming Snaps! and an award-winning fragrance named Cumming and the most recent 2nd Cumming. (Makes you want to go right out and get both, now doesn’t it?) His activism and passion for various civil rights and sex education causes is legendary and has garnered him the respect not


only of this writer, but the many others he has affected. There have been some accolades for that as well, from the Trevor Project, PFLAG, LAMBDA Literary, GLAAD Media, The Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Human Rights Campaign Fund, to name a few. He and husband, graphic artist Grant Shaffer married in 2012 and live in New York with their adopted dog, Jerry. His latest endeavor, takes


him from the recording studio to his first solo appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall, forAlan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, sharing the stage with Darren Criss, Chita Rivera, the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and a special appearance by Ricki Lake. I’m exhausted just writing this up. Luckily, Alan has an enormous... amount of energy and was kind enough to answer a few questions forThe Rage Monthly.


Tell me a little bit aboutAlan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs. What made you decide to do the show and album at this point? It really was a variety of reasons: I’d done my previous showI Bought A Blue Car Today on and off for a couple of years then that sort of transitioned into Alan Cumming Uncut and then I did the shows with Liza [Minnelli] and so when the Cafe Carlyle asked me to do a two week run last June, I felt it was time for me to get a whole new show together. Also, I had been listening to a lot of music every night in my dressing room parties (aka Club Cumming) during the Broadway run ofCabaret and I realized I wanted to do a show that was more personal and authentic and honest. I love the album cover by the way... It’s an amazing shot. What was the motivation behind shooting it in front of Carlyle Hotel? Jordan Matter, the photographer, asked me to


photograph by gareth easton FEBRUARY 2016 FEBRUARY 2016 | | RAGE monthly monthly 31


take part in a project he was doing called Dancers After Dark where he shot dancers naked around N.Y.C. at night. I was very flattered! I arranged to do it one evening after my show at the Carlyle. I was supposed to go and do it in the East Village but I had lots of unexpected guests after the show, so I asked Jordan to come uptown and eventually we decided to just do it in front of the hotel’s revolving doors! We managed to get two dancers to come over and brandish the champagne bottle in front of me and we all ran downstairs about 2 a.m., rather tipsy and got naked on the street! Luckily it was the Upper East Side, so nobody was about at that hour! I hear Kristin Chenoweth is performing with you at Carnegie Hall, any “inside scoops?” The only scoops about Kristin Chenoweth are


the ice cream and slushies and gooey candy that she imbibes at all times. It’s a miracle she is alive, when you see what she puts into her body. In fact she is


a miracle, period. I love her so much and she can make me fall on the floor laughing. She is one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done... What a woman. You two remind me a bit of each other, incredibly talented and impish at heart—Maybe you’re both “elves?” Did you have as much fun as it looks like you do? We laugh like drains. Seriously, hosting the


Tony’s would have been a hideous experience without her. We’ve known each other since 1999, when we did the remake of Annie and we will make each other laugh forever. My favorite story about her is that she accidentally sent a basket of muffins to Isabelle Stevenson’s (the former head of the American Theatre Wing) funeral with a card saying “Congratulations, Isabelle!” She had gotten mixed up and thought Isabelle was being honored! We have promised to send baskets of muffins to whichever one of us dies first.


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