Front Pages

(page 1 of 4)

A Modern-day Elvis?

DURING HIS JOURNEY on American Idol, Adam Lambert was likened to The King himself, Elvis Presley. He’s certainly tall, dark and has the bad-boy good looks of the young Presley. But it’s his charismatic, smoldering stage presence and versatile vocals that really warrant the comparison.

Time will tell if Lambert ever reaches such an iconic stature. What’s more certain, though, is the role a handful of San Diegans played in getting Lambert this far.

“Adam was always a chameleon!” says Kathie Bretches-Urban, executive producer of the Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (MET2), a nonprofit arts program Adam began at 9 and stayed with until 17. She remembers that even as a child, Adam’s creative energy was undeniable. “He worked hard behind the scenes as well as onstage, always gracious and eager to help,” she says. “He played in many of our shows, in leads or as part of the ensemble. Musical theater was his whole life.”

Adam’s parents were always supportive of his ambitions, says Bretches-Urban, never the stereotypical “stage parents.” With MET2, Adam played Linus in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. As a student at Mount Carmel High School, he appeared in the musicals Wicked and The Secret Garden.

It was in his role as Archibald in The Secret Garden that Lambert really shined. Nancy Gray, the school’s former choir director, recalls that after Adam and another singer finished the duet “Lily’s Eyes,” the audience reacted with a standing ovation. “It happened every single night — very unusual for a high school production,” she says. In more than 30 years directing choirs, Gray says, she’s “nev er had a student with a voice like Adam’s. He has a God-given talent. And most of all, Adam always had the ‘it factor.’ ”

Adam’s high school drama teacher, Doug Smith, was impressed with his versatility and says he’s a fast visual learner with a great ear for all things musical. Adam performed with the school’s Classical Vocal Ensemble and sang occasional gigs with a jazz band. “He also had a great flair for comedy,” says Smith, recalling his student’s success in the comic role of Bottom in Shake speare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Adam’s vocal coach during those years was Lynne Broyles, who later formed the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, with which Adam also performed. He credits Broyles with training him in the vocal techniques that had Idol fans cheering for so many weeks.

Following the results episode, on which he was named runner-up to Kris Allen in what’s been called a major upset, Lambert said that in addition to launching a singing career, he’s eager to return to the stage. “Those people are my family,” he says of the Broadway acting community.

Lambert also spoke of the possibility of acting in movies. And the cinematic genre? “The sort of films that Elvis Presley made,” he says.

By Amy Albani

Do you like what you read? Subscribe to San Diego Magazine »