Especially when that 2. Tony Awards) was stronger than the material.
Grammer is a revelation as Georges, the host of a Riviera nightclub, La Cage aux Folles which specializes in transvestite shows. He’s the life partner of the star of the club, drag queen “Zaza.” (That, he says. Review of the April 14 matinee preview performance. At the Longacre Theatre on Broadway, New York City. 2 hours, 40 minutes, with an intermission. Starring Kelsey Grammer, Douglas Hodge, A.J. Shively, Robin de Jesus. Buy La Cage Aux Folles (Chicago) tickets from the official Ticketmaster.com site. Find La Cage Aux Folles. WELCOME TO LA CAGE AUX FOLLES! Winner of three 2010 Tony Awards
Here are the nominations for the 2010 annual Tony Awards, which honor Broadway productions that opened during the 2009-10 season. The awards show will air June 13 on CBS. Check back with Culture Monster throughout the day for. Buy La Cage Aux Folles. WELCOME TO LA CAGE AUX FOLLES! Winner of three 2010 Tony Awards. LA CAGE starring George Hamilton and Christopher Sieber tells the story of.
The producers of this new edition, which premiered at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in 2. It’s funny, heartwarming and terrific.“La Cage” is the Jerry Herman- Harvey Fierstein musical in which one of the stars memorably confesses that when the going gets tough he simply puts on a little more mascara. Director Terry Johnson succeeds so well here by putting on both more and less mascara simultaneously. More mascara by letting Douglas Hodge, in the guise of the flamboyant drag- queen Albin (aka Zaza), play the role like, well, more of a flamboyant drag- queen than in prior major productions. Less mascara in that this is a stripped- down, mid- budget production; all those sequins and all that glitz that characterized Broadway’s prior visits to St. Tropez have been toned down, allowing the audience to concentrate more on the tender and relatively simple story at the heart of the piece. The original — acknowledging the socio- political temper of the times — seemed to go to great lengths to present its leading men as not actually a (sexual) couple.
The first revival, for offstage reasons, seemed to feature leading men who actively hated each other. Here, finally, we have a realistic and believable pair who have been devotedly living with each other for a quarter century. And that makes “La Cage” more emotionally effective than before. The producers are fortunate to have imported Hodge, who won an Olivier for this role. He comes on looking and acting like Colleen Dewhurst playing farce, and proceeds to offer a performance at once grandly over- the- top (in the first act) and emotionally grabbing (in the second). The surprise of the evening comes from Kelsey Grammer as Georges. He plays the comedy and acts the host perfectly well, but in “Song on the Sand” and “Look Over There” he gets to the heart: Here is a man earnestly and enduringly in love.
Supporting cast is almost uniformly excellent, led by fine comedians Fred Applegate (as the right- wing zealot of a prospective in- law) and Veanne Cox (as his not- so- straightlaced wife). Shively plays the son Jean- Michel with more spirit and less plasticity than usual, as does Elena Shaddow (Fanny to Applegate’s Panisse in the recent Encores production of that other French Mediterranean musical, “Fanny”).
The big- voiced Christine Andreas is all but invisible in the role of restaurateur Jacqueline, while Robin De Jesus — who was a prime asset in “In the Heights” — seems to have wandered into the wrong musical as the maid- butler Jacob. Les Cagelles of the affair make a prime sextuplet; each and every one of them enhances the evening’s entertainment value. Choreographer Lynne Page keeps those Cagelles amusingly busy, whipping the title song to a delightful frenzy, while the U. K. Musical director Todd Ellison capably leads his eight- piece band from a pair of balconies flanking the set. Jason Carr did the reorchestration, which is considerably more successful than his reduction of “A Little Night Music” across the street. So chalk up this almost- too- soon revival as a victory for its producers. Director Johnson, last here in 2.
Kathleen Turner and that ill- begotten “The Graduate,” is warmly welcomed back to Broadway. But mostly one should raise a glass of champagne — not the watered- down stuff — to Herman and Fierstein. Their big, glitzy musical comedy hit of 1. Longacre Theater; 1,0.
Production. A Sonia Friedman Prods., David Babani, Fran and Barry Weissler, Edwin W. Schloss, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise the Roof 4, Richard Winkler/Bensinger Taylor/Laudenslager Bergere, Arlene Scanlan/John O'Boyle, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Allen Spivak, Jerry Frankel/Bat- Barry Prods., Nederlander Presentations/Harvey Weinstein, Menier Chocolate Factory presentation of a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Harvey Fierstein. Directed by Terry Johnson.
Musical director, Todd Ellison, choreography, Lynne Page. Creative. Sets, Tim Shortall; costumes, Matthew Wright; lighting, Nick Richings; sound, Jonathan Deans; hair and make- up, Richard Mawbey; orchestrations, music supervision and dance arrangements, Jason Carr; production stage manager, Kristen Harris.
Opened April 1. 8, 2. April 1. 5. Running time: 2 HOURS, 3. MIN. Cast. Georges - Kelsey Grammer. Francis - Chris Hoch. Jacob - Robin De Jesus.
Albin - Douglas Hodge. Jean- Michel - A. J. Shively. Anne - Elena Shaddow. Jacqueline - Christine Andreas. M. Dindon - Fred Applegate. Mme. Dindon - Veanne Cox.
With: Dale Hensley, Heather Lindell, Caitlin Mundth, Bill Nolte, David Nathan Perlow, Cheryl Stern.
JK's Theatre. Scene: REVIEW: La Cage aux Folles. Review of the April 1. At the Longacre Theatre on Broadway, New York City. Starring Kelsey Grammer, Douglas Hodge, A. J. Shively, Robin de Jesus, Veanne Cox, Fred Applegate, Christine Andreas, Chris Hoch, Elena Shaddow and the Notorious Les Cagelles. Choreography by Lynne Page. Directed by Terry Johnson.
You know you've been going to theatre a long time when you can still remember seeing the original production of a show that is currently being revived! I think that special connection to the original is what kept me from the previous revival a few years ago. Tropez and the ultra- conservative poltician and wife determined to get rid of anything that doesn't reek of moral fortitude and family values.
Hoch, there is no way this La Cage would be . Tropez and most importantly more of the home of Albin and Georges. Cox proves again why she is such a respected, versatile actress - her timing, slow burn and physicality are impeccable, and she takes what could be a lame duck role and makes it thrive even as bigger chaos goes on around her.
Applegate, who is a hiss- inducing villain of the first order, as he blusters about, shoving his agenda down everyone's throat, and maniacally taking perverse joy in cowing his wife and daughter (the lovely, but largely bland Elena Shaddow). Shively, who is too likeable to get too mad at, but not likeable enough to really root for, either.