I wrote this Op-Ed about scottish independence on the eve of the referendum in 2014
Toronto Film Festival
Scottish National Portrait Gallery portrait
I am truly honoured to tell you the above portrait of me by Christian Hook now hangs at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
Christian won the Portrait Artist of the Year award, and the competition was filmed by Sky Arts and shown in the UK, including the final episode when I went to Edinburgh for the unveiling. It is a huge honour to be in the SNPG,. especially painted by someone I admire so much, and someone with whom I got to know and collaborated with. I am wearing a kilt that is made of the official YES Campaign for Independence tartan, and by my side is a jar of Honey in honour of my dog who died last summer.
The portrait below is a gift to me from Christian. Then you can see them both in his studio.
And now here's a video of one of the sessions Christian and I had on the stage of Studio 54 in NYC, when he came to meet me and begin the process of the portrait.
And finally, a little film of us talking on the night of the unveiling in Edinburgh...
Talk Shows
To promote my book, Not MY Father's Son, and also The Good Wife and Cabaret, I did a lot of pres this year.
Here I am on BBC World's Hard Talk
New Yorker Presents
The New Yorker made a TV version of the magazine, and in the pilot I played God in a short film.
Web Therapy
Web Therapy returned for another hilarious season.
Not My Father's Son
Not My Father's Son is a memoir I wrote about my experiences during the summer of 2010, when I took part in the BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are? At the same time as discovering the secrets of a family mystery about my maternal grandfather, Tommy Darling, I was also sideswiped by the revelation of my father telling me I was not his son.
The book was released in the US in October 2014, and in the UK a month later. It entered the New York Times Best Seller list in its first week of issue, and eventually made number one on the charts!
The book won the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize, The Attitude Magazine Book of the Year, was nominated for Lambda Literary Award and a Bisexual Book Award and the audiobook (which I read) won two Audie awards in the Autobiography/Memoir and Narration by the Author categories.
It was also Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4
The Good Wife: Season 6
Season 6 of The Good Wife saw Eli helping Alicia with her bid to become State's Attorney as well as managing Peter as the Governor's Chief of Staff. It was also a tough year for Alan, juggling The Good Wife, being on Broadway every night in Cabaret and my book tour. Also it was tough for the make up and hair people, as I often had remnants of the Master of Ceremonies' eye make up on when I came to set, and my dyed black hair had to be greyed up using a silver Sharpie!
In Concert
The only concerts I gave in 2014 were in Provincetown. They were originally supposed to be Liza and Alan shows, but unfortunately due to her back injury she had to pull out so it was just The Alan Show. In fact there were two of them, in one night, with profits going to the Trevor Project.
I don't normally put reviews on this website, but this one is pretty special.
Masterpiece Mystery
Kenneth Cole Fashion Show
I shot this little video with Rachel Dratch which was played at the beginning of the Kenneth Cole Fashion Show at NYFW Feb 2014. Rachel and I then appeared at the end of the show and walked the runway with the models.
Cabaret
I decided to return to the role of the EmCee one more time...
I was filming Any Day Now in Los Angeles in the summer of 2011 when I got a phone call from Sam Mendes. He asked me if I'd be game to put my dancing shoes back on one more time. I agreed.
It is weird to have played a role three times at three very different times in my life. The sad thing is that the messages in Cabaret are still as important and as necessary to be heard as when the show first premiered - accept and embrace difference, and be vigilant about the rise of extremism. The good thing is that this time round I felt I served the production best. The Master of Ceremonies is a star turn in this production and in 2014 people were coming to see me do the thing they'd either seen before or heard about, and I felt I was ready and complete in the role.
One of the other great things about this run of Cabaret was the creation of Club Cumming, my dressing room after party and, thought I hate this word, brand! Much fun was had there and there is much fun to come.