Alan Cumming Blends Humor, Music and Sentimentality in Cabaret Show ‘Sappy Songs’

Sandra Miska

Multi-talented Scottish performer Alan Cumming brought his cabaret show, “Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs,” to the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Jan. 29. Entertainment Voice was there to take part in this special evening of music and humor.

It’s been almost two years since Cumming first premiered “Sappy Songs” at the Café Carlyle. Since then, he has taken the show all over the U.S., Canada, Australia and his native U.K. With so many performances under his belt, one would think the Tony winner would be on autopilot at this point, but this was hardly the case that night.

Cumming opened the show with a stirring rendition of Annie Lennox’s “Why,” before proceeding to sing an equal emotional version of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know.” In between numbers, he entertained the audience with stories connected to his song choices. Some anecdotes were lighthearted and at times, even bawdy. He followed up his rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” by talking about how his previous experience working with Cyrus. Cummings regaled the audience with the story of how a short but passionate romantic entanglement led to his ill-advised decision to get a tattoo of his lover’s name on his inner thigh.

It wasn’t all laughs, however. The show is called “Sappy Songs,” after all. The moments that stuck out the most are the ones in which Cumming bared his soul. He dedicated Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon” to the soldier grandfather he never met, whose tragic fate he recalled discovering on camera during a taping for the British version of,  “Who Do You Think You Are?” The most emotional moment of the evening came when he discussed his abusive father and performed Rufus Wainwright’s “Dinner at Eight,” a song about a turbulent father/son relationship. No doubt this wasn’t the first, fifth, or even 30th time Cumming performed this number in public, but that didn’t stop him from becoming choked up during and after the performance.

No cabaret is complete without special guests. Joining him onstage was actress, and former talk show host Ricki Lake, with whom he worked on, of all things, a condom commercial. The two performed the 30-second ditty they sang in the condom ad, which was for the aptly called “Ecstasy.” Other special appearances include The Los Angeles Gay Man Men’s Chorus, who backed up Cumming during his final numbers which included a rousing mash-up of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” and Katy Perry‘s “Firework.”

What also made this particular “Sappy Songs” unique was listening to Cumming’s commentary on the current political situation affecting the U.S.. His thoughts were best summed up in an explosive poem he read, written by Steve Siddle in the style of Scotland’s own national poet, Robert Burns. While it may be impossible to completely forget about the horrible things currently going on in the world, it is possible to briefly escape – as long as there are entertainers like Cumming around.

Alan Cumming performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Jan. 29.