Both are part of the LGBT community, though Grey is a more recent addition, having publicly come out last January.
Both own small dogs — Grey, a Chihauhua named Nicky and Cumming, a Chihuahua-Rat Terrier mix named Jerry.
Both have written memoirs. Cumming’s — Not My Father’s Son — was published in 2014 while Grey’s — Master of Ceremonies — reaches Amazon in a few weeks.
Both have found success on television. Grey has enjoyed almost 60 years of television appearances, including guest arcs on both Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Cumming has brought to life, with brilliant, vivid nuance, the Emmy-nominated role of Eli Gold on CBS hit The Good Wife.
Both have had astonishing stage careers. Grey originated the role of The Wizard of Oz in Wicked and Amos Hart in Chicago, while Cumming has played in everything from Hamlet to Bent to The Threepenny Opera. But their Broadway link lies with Kander and Ebb’s classic Cabaret: Each won a Tony Award for playing The Emcee. Grey originated the showy — and show-stopping — part in the original Broadway production in the ’60s (and later in the 1972 film, for which he took home an Oscar). Years later, in 1998, Cumming won a Tony for darker, more sexualized take on the part.
And both are coming to our city: Cumming, 51, will be at Strathmore on Valentine’s Day — Sunday, Feb. 14 — with his critically heralded cabaret, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, while the 83-year-old Grey will settle into the Historic Sixth & I Synagogue on Feb. 23, for an in-depth conversation about his book, his life, and his remarkable career.
A scintillating take on an enduringly modern musical, Signature Theatre’s Pippin succeeds as the sum of bold and exciting choices in every detail.
The lighting, the costumes, cast and orchestra, makeup, wigs, choreography, and, of course, the staging by Signature artistic director Matthew Gardiner, all appear designed and executed to realize a singular, sensual vision for the 1972 musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson.
A completeness covers the whole shimmering production from top to bottom. Even the stage is aglow, an in-the-round light installation from scenic designers Christopher and Justin Swader serving as center of the action.
"I feel like I am at my best communicating with people through performance when I'm on stage, when I'm in the spotlight, when I have that safety of the costume and the wig and the actual performance," says Ginger Minj, the 41-year-old drag queen who is one of the main characters in Adam Shankman's nutball comedy Stop! That! Train!, pulling into theaters Friday, June 12.
Minj, a child actor with roots in the live theater world, shot to fame after her top-three finish on Season 7 of the Emmy Award-winning reality show RuPaul's Drag Race. She finds solace in completely inhabiting a character and bringing them to life. By comparison, Minj feels much more discomfort when asked to share details of her personal life or history, and doesn't easily make friends.
Art imitates life making art in GALA Hispanic Theatre's disappointing world-premiere musical Aguardiente: Where Magic Transcends Borders. Presenting a show within the show, Aguardiente burrows into the creative process of friends and collaborators Alberto (Samuel Garnica) and Alejandro (Sebastián Treviño), struggling to create a musical that draws from and celebrates their Latino roots and culture.
Their struggle to define what they want to say is perhaps too aptly reflected in the scattered script and production of this show, directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado (GALA's Helen Hayes Award-winning In the Heights).
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