Singer Adam Lambert explained why he stopped the show to call out laughing audience members during an uncomfortable scene in the Broadway revival of Cabaret.
The American Idol alum made his Broadway debut with Cabaret on September 16, 2024, taking over predecessor Eddie Redmayne's role as the Emcee.
The show, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, premiered in 1966.
It takes place during the Jazz Age in Berlin, Germany, against the backdrop of the Nazi party's rise to power, and it centers on the lives of various eccentrics who come and go, seeking solace from reality inside the Kit Kat Club.
During one of the performances days after Republican President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th, Lambert reportedly reprimanded some audience members for laughing at a moment they found humorous.
It happened towards the end of his character's solo number, "If You Could See Her." The Emcee sings to a girl in a gorilla costume and delivers the final chilling line: “She wouldn’t look Jewish at all.”
Social media user David Rigano was in the audience when he witnessed the reaction from those who found the line "legitimately funny."
Rigano penned the following "open letter to Adam Lambert," to praise the actor's response to the uncomfortable moment.
"[Adam was] cut off by people in the audience laughing at the joke. Not nervous laughter, not shocked laughter, but people who found the surprise...legitimately funny."
Rigano said he was shaking his head "that we live in a world that didn't get the point of that joke."
He continued addressing Lambert, writing:
"You turned to them and - without dropping character, without dropping the accent - said, 'No. This is not comedy. Pay attention.' "
Lambert recently appeared on The View and touched on the spontaneous audience interaction.
When he was asked to weigh in on the praise he received for his handling of the response to "If You Could See Her," he first explained the contradictory nature of Cabaret's dark comedy.
"The first act of the show is really fun and naughty…with dirty humor, and it's a good time," he said and continued:
"When we get to act two, we talk about the reality of the Nazis coming into power and what that means to people that are 'alternative' and 'other' " in a society that once embraced them and are quickly vilifying them."
"It's not that dissimilar to what we're seeing in the world right now," said Lambert and he emphasized how the show was relevant today more than ever.
Lamber, who is Jewish, noted how "eerie" it was in today's uneasy political climate "to be talking about things that are happening again in our country."
He mentioned how the scene with the gorilla conveyed the theme of antisemitism, and that it followed a previous number featuring a couple, one of whom is Jewish, and the challenges they're up against being together in Nazi Germany.
"It's satire, it's supposed to be like, 'Yeah, we're back in the nightclub, and we're doing a cute little number,' but it's actually about a really dark, sad thing about how society sees people," he explained, adding:
"They make it into a gorilla being a Jewish person."
Lambert was touching on the notion that the gorilla in Cabaret has come to symbolize how the Nazis, who viewed themselves as a "master race," perceived Jews as animals.
The singer continued:
"Sometimes people in the audience, there were a few people here and there, they've had a few too many to drink during the intermission, and they're not listening."
"They're not getting the message of the show, because the beginning is so permissive and fun and free. And sometimes it gets a laugh as if it were a joke."
"There have been a few shows—one in particular, where this person commented, and I stopped, and I just looked at the audience, and said, 'No, no, no, no, this isn't comedy. Pay attention."
Here's the clip from The View.
Social media users admired Lambert's fortitude in tackling challenging topics so openly.
Lambert also performed "I Don't Care Much" from the show, which you watch in the clip below.
Fans remain blown away by Lambert's powerhouse, yet soul-stirring, vocals.
In a separate interview in November, Lambert talked about "If You Could See Her" and its satirical punchline at the end.
“It's a really intense statement to make. It’s a loaded punchline that is meant to illustrate all the double standards and antisemitism that was going on at the time, and sometimes, people actually laugh," he told Playbill.
"That's hard for me, because I know how unfunny it actually is. I tend to find the person in the audience that's laughing and look right at them."
"I can see everyone in that theatre. It is very confrontational.”
“If someone laughs, I stare them down until they realize what they’re laughing at.”
Lambert stars in Cabaret alongside Moana actor Auli'i Cravalho as Sally Bowles and will continue performing seven shows per week through March 29, 2025.
They will be succeeded by country singer Orville Peck as the Emcee and Hadestown actor Eva Noblezada as Sally Bowles starting on March 31, 2025
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