‘American Idol’ Star’s Biblical Role
Image by GETTY IMAGES
Panned for breaking nearly every theatrical commandment by, uh, everyone, the 2004 musical production “The Ten Commandments,” starring Val Kilmer and performed in Los Angeles, was tucked away where all bad performances go quietly to die: YouTube.
Image by GETTY IMAGES
Until now.
Showering attention on “American Idol” frontrunner Adam Lambert, entertainment Web sites have recently uncovered some potentially embarrassing video clips of the 27-year-old actor’s early days onstage. Bloggers for the Los Angeles Times’ Culture Monster also have been digging, and when they turned to the paper’s own archives, they discovered a scathing review of the biblically inspired musical, with one fleeting mention of praise:
“Few singers or dancers distinguish themselves with a personal sound or style. High notes are calculated to get applause. Adam Lambert, as Joshua, does the best in ‘Is Anybody Listening?’ It is also the best song.”
That’s right. Lambert, the “Idol” season 8 rock star, who received a “standing O” from Judge Simon Cowell for his rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World,” played a Hebrew slave, complete with a dingy brown sackcloth and a ratty wig, earlier in his career.
Though Lambert hung up his rags at the play’s close, he hasn’t let go of his interest in Jewish themes. In 2005, he sang “Shir Lashalom” (“Song for Peace”), at a tribute concert for slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
