Alan Cumming is among the few performers who might show up on your television, the local cinema, the Broadway stage or in a Manhattan nightclub.
Best known currently for his recurring role on CBS' "The Good Wife," he is keeping his entertainment chops sharp with a cabaret show, "Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs." He brings it to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis Saturday with music director Lance Horne on piano and cellist Eleanor Norton.
Cumming has a bit of a Minnesota connection. He helped to produce "Sweet Land," the 2006 film set in pioneer Minnesota times. He also appeared in the film as a sympathetic farmer. Theater folk were knocked out by his portrayal of the Emcee in the famed Donmar Warehouse production of "Cabaret," which won him a Tony on Broadway. The Scottish native is now based in New York.
He was on the press-tour whirlwind the other day, given a strict time limit of 20 minutes over the phone.
Q: Where are you now? On the road?
A: At home in New York. I fly out for the shows. The tour is weirdly broken up but I prefer it like this. Vocally, it's hard. I did two shows at Toronto and that was hard.
Q: Do you get a better appreciation for doing eight shows a week?
A: Well, of course I've done that. This isn't my first time at a rodeo.
Q: No, sorry. Of course it isn't.
A: It's different when you're doing it with no one else on stage. In "Cabaret" I had time between scenes. In this show, you have no time on stage to dab your forehead or get a glass of water. It's much more concentrated.
Q: Do you get back to Edinburgh much?
A: Last year was four to five times. This year I'm taking this show to the [Edinburgh] International Festival for a month. I'm looking forward to it. I did cabaret shows in drama school at the Fringe. But this is the International Festival.
Q: Will this be your first time back to Minnesota since you worked on "Sweet Land?"
A: Yes, it will.
Q: Do you still know your way around town?
A: I don't really know Minneapolis much at all. We were in Montevideo, which is what, north or west of there? "Monte." We had a great time in Monte. I'm proud of that film and we had a good time doing it. My dog came along and got to run around. I look back and it was such fun.
Q: "Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs" sounds similar to your earlier show, "Alan Cumming: Uncut." Is it a different version of the same show?
A: No, it's very different. "Uncut" was a hybrid of a show. This is a whole different thing, of songs that I feel I have an emotional connection to. Some are well-known songs that people are surprised to hear me sing. It makes people listen to them differently.
Q: Is it a spoofy show, or do you take the songs pretty seriously?
A: Completely serious. There's a lot of laughs in the patter between songs, but I commit to the songs 100 percent. I believe in authenticity. I tell stories about my grandfather, my father, a former lover. Then the songs complement the stories. When it comes to the songs, though, it's intense.
Q: In "Cabaret," you redefined the role of the Emcee, or at least you have given people a face different from Joel Grey to conjure in their mind. That's quite an accomplishment.
A: I am aware that people think that. I've done it on Broadway more recently than Joel. People say that I made a conscious effort to do it differently. I didn't. I did it the way I did in London because I thought that's the way it was most authentic for me. It wasn't until we got to New York that the comparisons with Joel came up. It's such a good role because you can do a lot with it. Someone else will come along in 10 years and interpret it differently.
Q: You often get rolled into the same sentence as Liza Minnelli, one of the few people who has done in her career what you've done in yours. Does that give you a cozy feeling, to be mentioned with her?
A: Yeah. That's an amazing kind of comparison. At Carnegie, there was a picture of her I saw before I went on. I liked that. I love Liza. She is this incredibly authentic performer.
Q: Hugh Jackman is similarly versatile.
A: I love Hugh. Very much.
Q: Talk about working with Stanley Kubrick in "Eyes Wide Shut."
A: It was great. I was so nervous. I was terrified, really, but he turned out to be a sweetheart. In a way, he rejuvenated my interest in acting. He was so nuanced and every beat of the scene was treated seriously.
Q: You had some deal of confusion when you first met, right?
A: When I arrived — because I had never met him — he said, "You're not American." I said, "No, I'm Scottish." And he said, "But you're an American on the tape, your accent." And I said, "I'm an actor." I gave it right back to him and that helped us get on so well.
Q: You just did "Sappy Songs" at Carnegie Hall. Orchestra Hall here is a pretty big room — 2,100 seats. Does the intimacy of your show hold up?
A: I've played it in so many different places. Listen, it's not about the size of the room, it's about connecting. Just two weeks ago I got a new tattoo on my arm and it says, "Only Connect." It's nice to be reminded of that. That's the most important thing. Connect.
Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299
