A term like “renaissance man” only scratches the surface of Alan Cumming’s singularly diverse résumé. The puckish Scottish-born thespian got his start on the London stage, revealing himself to be a preternatural talent whether performing the work of Shakespeare, Beckett or Kander & Ebb, whose “Cabaret” landed one of Cumming’s defining, Tony-winning roles, as the show’s mischievous Master of Ceremonies.
But Cumming hasn’t just stuck to the boards: He’s embraced all forms of new media and entertainment, appearing in movies both commercial and cultish, directing a podcast series, recording a duet with a Gaellic rapper, and even hosting a “Clue”-like murder-mystery reality series, “The Traitors,” in which his period wardrobes alone have garnered the show an audience. He’s worked with legends from Stanley Kubrick (on “Eyes Wide Shut”) to David Bowie (in the theatrical production of “Lazarus,” during the singer’s twilight years) and even conceived of a dance theatre piece inspired by Scottish bard Robert Burns.
Next weekend, he’ll pool many of his talents—for musical eclecticism, for cheeky humor, for serious storytelling—into his latest cabaret production, “Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age,” which tours the Studio at Mizner Park at 6:30 and 9 p.m. April 22. I spoke with Cumming via phone late last week, fresh off his performances on the Broadway Cruise from New York to Bermuda.
Looking at your recent work, it feels like you’re one of the busiest people in show business. Do you see it that way?
Yeah, it feels like that sometimes. I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire. I’m also good at relaxing—but I have to sort of schedule that.
Tell me about “Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age.” How did you come up with the concept for this show?
It was sort of during the pandemic, during lockdown. I wanted to do a new show, and usually I just wait until there’s something that comes to me, some sort of theme I want to talk about. The one before it was called “Legal Immigrant,” because I’d been a citizen for 10 years, and I wanted to talk about what that felt like. And this one is about aging and exploring the idea that we all have to conform to some idea about how to behave as we grow older, and I’m challenging that notion and saying, surely we should just do what we want and not be dictated to by the aging police.
So it talks about growing older and time passing and the fun parts of getting older, and the not-so-fun parts of getting older. I love that about the form of cabaret—it’s a smorgasbord of genres as well as emotions. I really like that you can be laughing one minute, crying the next, and being provocative the next.
What are some of the songs you chose that fit this theme?
I start with “But Alive,” which is from the musical Applause. I do “Is That All There Is?” I do a mash-up of two songs—“Time,” and “Love and Love Alone.” I do “When We Were Young” by Adele. Like me, it’s an eclectic range of songs.
Is there a cult of personality aspect to these cabaret shows? In other words, is your distinct approach as important or more important than the material you’re singing?
Absolutely. It’s very much me. I’m talking to you as me, and being very personal at some points, especially the sequence where I talk about going to the dermatologist. To do a show like this, to ask people to come see you and to talk to them and connect with them and, yes, entertain them, you’ve got to be prepared to be vulnerable, and to let them in a bit, and really see the real you. And so, yes, it’s very much built around my personality.
Now that you’re in your late 50s, how has aging manifested in your life in ways that might you have surprised you 20, 30 years ago?
In various ways. It’s more about the ways you’re perceived. I’m perceived as a daddy now, and a silver fox, and all those things you start to hear. I also find that you have to get younger friends as you get older, because a lot of your peers just drop by the wayside. They don’t want to go out as much, and they have lifestyles where they have to behave better. And then of course, gravity has an effect on everything. Mostly, I’m quite lucky; maybe it’s genetic, but I’m feeling pretty good, still—not too many complaints.
You strike me as somebody who keeps in shape as well, especially considering some of the roles you’ve played. Have you had workout regimens?
Yes, and I do look after myself. I’m going up to the Carlyle Hotel this week, and I’m going to the gym there before the show. I do try and do yoga and swimming, and I like it, but I also am aware that you’ve got to work at it a little bit. … There’s a space where I feel really good about my body, and I enjoy feeling lean and strong, and in order for that to happen, you have to work at it a bit.
Is there a wisdom that comes with age; are you making wiser choices as an actor?
Wisdom is a huge, great, positive thing, because it’s basically life lessons. For me, I realized that life is just the same thing, it keeps happening—it’s like the same show with different costumes. So it’s really about, when the same thing comes around again, what’s wisdom? What wisdom is is how you deal with it this time around, based on your experiences from the past.
So I certainly see wisdom as a very positive thing, and something you should share with other people. Your experience should be something you want to help other people with. And I definitely think it has made me a better actor, because again, you have more experience to draw from. In some way, you could say you know your shtick, but actually you know what works, and you know how to connect with people. As I got older, I take more chances. I’m not scared. I haven’t got conservative in the way that sometimes people don’t try out as many new things. I think I’ve stayed as adventurous and perhaps even more so in terms of trying out different kinds of work. Last year I did a solo dance theatre piece about Robert Burns, which was an insane thing to do for a 57-year-old man who’s not a dancer. I thought I’d give it a go.
How was that different than, say, learning enough steps to get through “Cabaret?”
That’s hard too; I’m not a trained dancer in that way, so I don’t have that mind of being able to retain things very well. This was more just the stamina of, when you are onstage on your own, there’s an extra layer of energy that you need, because you have to command every second. I was speaking a lot as well as moving, but just the fact that it’s very draining on your body to do that sort of thing; I would have to really look after myself. It was a lot. I was aching—my body was so sore. It took me months to recover, actually. And every morning I’d be this gnarly old man; the soles of my feel were swollen and hurting. It was so intense. And then you kind of warm up and get going, and you do the show, and the adrenaline kicks in, then you have to un-warm-up, and then you have to do it again. It was an ordeal. And I definitely noticed my body took longer to recover.
I don’t know if that’s keeping you young, or the opposite.
When I was doing it, I felt young. But at either end of it, I felt like an ancient old man. But I was able to fake it, I suppose.
Are there other projects recently that have landed you in new ground—maybe uncertain ground?
I just did that TV series “The Traitors,” where I was basically the host of a reality competition show. Which is so left-field from what I thought I’d be doing in my life. And I really enjoyed it. I felt I was being very subversive, acting a character as a reality host. I really enjoyed that, and it was one of these things that on paper it makes no sense, and when I spoke to them I realized that what they were offering me was a chance to do something kind of crazy and to help write the scripts and wear these insane clothes. I really enjoyed it, and I’m going to do another one of those. I like how life just offers you these sort of weird sidelines, and you grab them.
You also did a solo Shakespeare production recently, right?
Yes, a few years ago I did a version of Macbeth in which I played all the parts. There were two other people in the show; they were the nurse and the doctor, and I played everyone else.
Did you come up with that idea?
Yes. It was an incredible experience, something I look back on as a highlight in terms of my challenges as an actor. And it was a really good show. But I don’t want to do it again.
Is there anything particular you look for in a project that you take on?
No, it’s nothing specific—just something that connects with me, something that tickles my fancy, or scares me, or challenges me. It’s very much a gut thing.
Do you decline as much work as you accept?
Oh, much more. I say no to lots of things.
That must feel good, to be in a position to be discerning—to not need the work.
That’s one of the things about the pandemic; I realized, I don’t have to work. I enjoy puttering around and doing the odd thing now and then. When I do take something, it’s because I’m really excited about it, or have a new experience.
You collaborated with David Bowie; I wonder if you could share any recollections of that time, because we all miss him.
I loved him. I knew him a little bit, just by seeing him out and about. I was going to be a bigger part of the musical “Lazarus.” It turns out my days didn’t work out. So I shot a little scene that was on video in the theatre show. And then I went to see it, and that was the last time I saw David, because he came onstage at the curtain call, and waved. It was so shocking to everyone—it was so quick after that.
“Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age” comes to the Studio at Mizner Park at 6:30 and 9 p.m. April 22. Tickets cost $99-$150. For information or tickets, call 561/203-3742 or visit thestudioatmiznerpark.com.
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