Feature: They Knew Him When: Broadway Stars Cheer On American Idol Hopeful Adam Lambert
by Kimberly Kaye
It’s no longer a secret: we love Adam Lambert, the emo-haired, rock-styled, self-assured Californian with the stratospheric range now making headlines and winning millions of votes as one of the front-runners on hit FOX mega-series American Idol. So why do we dote (besides the obvious talent crush)? The 27-year-old San Diego native is a veteran of the stage, a former community theater kid who’s gone on to play roles in the European tour of Hair, the cast of Los Angeles musical The Ten Commandments (opposite film star Val Kilmer), and the touring and Los Angeles casts of Wicked (“I was the understudy for Fiyero so… basically, I was in the back,” he recently joked to Idol producers). So how did the former super trouper step off the stage and into the AI limelight?
“I decided to audition for American Idol after my castmates at Wicked wouldn’t leave me alone about it. They suggested it, and I thought, ‘Yeah, that would be cool.’ Then everyday they kept going, ‘Well, you’re going to audition.’” And audition he did, sailing through to Hollywood and, most recently, into the show’s Top 11, with the judges crowing their approval.
“From day one that we saw you I loved you, because I think you’re one of the most current artists we’ve ever had on this show. It’s like Stephen Tyler meets Fall Out Boy meets Robert Pattinson from Twilight meets My Chemical Romance. You’ve got it going,” judge Randy Jackson told the competitor after a recent performance.
So what does the theater community think of being repped by the versatile stage veteran (and what is he like offstage)? We talked to the people who know him best, getting the scoop on this rising star and taking personal song requests from a group of stage vets who all have one thing in common: a lot of love for Lambert.
ALISAN PORTER
Porter, known for playing Bebe in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, appeared alongside Lambert in The Ten Commandments.
How did you meet?
I was actually onstage. I was doing The Zodiac Show [in Los Angeles], and there was this guy in the audience screaming for me and making me feel amazing. Best audience member of all time! It happened to be Adam. We hit it off backstage after the show, and soon after that were both cast in The Ten Commandments. We’ve been the best of friends ever since then.
Has he always been so stylish?
I’ve never seen him with the same hair twice or without cutting edge style. He’s a chameleon. He can be or do anything.
Favorite memory?
I remember being backstage at the Kodak Theatre [during The Ten Commandments] and hearing his vocal warm-ups through the air conditioning vents. These loud screams would come through the vents and you’d know Adam was ready to go.
Favorite performance?
He and I do The Upright Cabaret, a local cabaret show, together a lot. Last time he did it he sang “How Come You Don’t Call Me,” the Prince song. People’s shoes were flying onstage they were so excited! Every time I see him I expect him to be brilliant and then he’s a million times better than in my head.