Former “American Idol” singer and current Broadway performer Adam Lambert suggested the pre-World War II-set play “Cabaret,” which he currently stars in, is now a “cautionary tale” for audiences during “the current administration.”
Lambert discussed being part of the award-winning show’s revival cast with Variety on Wednesday and how its “anti-fascist” themes still apply today.
“Few who enter this Kit Kat Club will leave without thinking a little or a lot about real-life worries they’ve brought in from the outside [of] the theater. And no one is less likely to ignore them than Lambert, who as a gay, Jewish man, embraces both the mirth of his part and the show’s ‘it could happen here’ topical undertones,” the article read.
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“Cabaret” is a 1966 musical set in 1929–1930 Berlin against the backdrop of the Nazi Party rising into prominence and power and the effects it has on the characters in a fictional nightclub. Lambert remarked on how the show’s setting and themes have evolved for him since joining the show in September, particularly after the election and President Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris.
“One hundred percent,” Lambert said in “Variety.” “And with the state of the world and all the things that are going on in our country, it’s so meta. Even more so than in rehearsals, which were before the current administration had gone into office and before the election went south, in my opinion.”
“You know, it’s scary what’s going on, and in a way there’s a catharsis in telling the story every night as sort of a cautionary tale to audiences — like, ‘Hey, this can happen. It can get out of control,'” he continued. “I think we’re seeing that now. So there are moments in the second act now where I think the audience is more keyed into the themes than they were even at the beginning of the run. It’s wild, how relevant it is.”
Lambert previously attacked the Republican Party in 2023 over laws that sought to limit drag performances around children or near a public area with children.
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“Drag is a joy. It’s a celebration of all things that make queer people who we are. Drag is an amazing way to bring light to the world. And these lawmakers are terrified of just how brightly we’re shining. They’re using children as an excuse to take one more thing away from us. Well, they’re clearly threatened that we are living our truth, that we aren’t apologizing for it anymore,” Lambert said in a video for the “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” telethon.
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