Off-B'way Review: La Cage Aux Folles

Billy Porter and Wayne Brady in
La Cage Aux Folles.
Credit: Joan Marcus

The mission of Encores! is to give obscure or forgotten musicals with some worthy elements—either a witty score, a fun book, or an opportunity for a contemporary performer to stretch themselves—another look. La Cage Aux Folles doesn’t really fit any of these criteria. The original 1983 production ran for over five years and there have been two revivals (2004 and 2010). The show has not slipped beneath notice and holds a place in the cultural memory for its trailblazing depiction of a loving gay couple humorously challenging bigotry. Jerry Herman’s spritely score contains many tunes which remain on the short-list for Favorite Broadway songs. Harvey Fierstein’s book retains its sitcom-y punch, with only a few dated spots.

However, Robert O’Hara’s new concert staging does give us chance to “see things from a different angle” as the lyrics to “I Am What I Am,” the show’s hit anthem of gay rights, suggests. With an all-black cast and an infusion of transgender imagery, O’Hara brings La Cage up to the present moment. David Zinn’s set and Clint Ramos and Michelle Ridley’s costumes evoke black, gay icons from Sylvester to Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman.

When the original production opened, stars George Hearn and Gene Barry made it abundantly clear in interviews they were both big, strapping straight guys only playing at being queer. (I even recall one feature article on the show in a national magazine telling of a straight chorus boy in drag harshly rejecting the flirtatious advances of a male stagehand.) I don’t recall any kissing between the two leads and I believe they only went as far as handing hands. Here, Wayne Brady and Billy Porter—the former has identified as “pansexual” and the latter as gay—are entirely believable as a married couple of many years. They aren’t afraid to display intimacy. At one point, Porter’s extravagant Albin recoils from a public display of affection from his husband Georges (Brady). This is the only moment that rings false. 

Porter is blazingly flamboyant and touching, unashamedly proclaiming his identity. His rendition of “I Am What I Am” at the first act finale brings down the house. He’s entirely at home as the top-billed drag entertainer and loving maternal figure in his family. Brady is equally professional and commanding as the—you should excuse the expression—straight man to Porter’s flashier role. He provides a solid anchor for Porter to take off from. 

As Jean-Michele, the son who requests Albin get tucked away in a closet to please his prospective conservative in-laws, Alaman Diadhiou gets an impressive dance solo. Tonya Pinkins is a delight in the beefed-up role of Jacqueline, the world-weary restauranteur as is James Jackson Jr. as the sassy servant Jacob. Peter Francis James overplays the stuffy right-wing leader, emerging as a straw bogey man.

The staging can be rough at times. The lack of prep time shows. At one point, Porter flubbed a line and ad-libbed, “Only ten days, bitches,” referring to the abbreviated Encores! rehearsal period. The design elements are uneven, particularly Adam Honore’s harsh lighting which sometimes causes glare and audience members have to shield their eyes. Some Encores products have been so polished they could open on Broadway with little transition, but this one would require additional work. However, the choreography by Edgar Godineaux and Dormeshia is brilliantly executed and is a highlight. 

Despite the rough patches, this La Cage is a fun frolic and a bracing reminder of how far we’ve come in 40 years. Gay couples are now regularly in TV commercials and game shows (like Brady’s Let’s Make a Deal.) Musicals like this one were there first, making it a fitting way to end Gay Pride month.

June 18—28. Encores! at City Center, 131 W. 55th St., NYC. Running time: two hours and 30 mins. including intermission. nycityenter.org.

Billy Porter and cast
in La Cage Aux Folles
Credit: Joan Marcus

B'way Update: Good Night Sets Dates and Theater, Etc.

George Clooney in the 2005 film of
Good Night and Good Luck.

The spring sprint to the Tonys is almost totally set. The previously announced Good Night and Good Luck, starring and co-written by Oscar winner George Clooney has announced dates and a theater. The play about legendary broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow's battles against McCarthyism in the 1950s will begin previews at the Winter Garden Theater on March 12 with an April 3 opening. The script is based on the 2005 screenplay by Clooney and Grant Heslov. Clooney will play Murrow in the Broadway version but played a different role in the film. Tony winner David Cromer, currently represented Off-Broadway by The Counter at Roundabout's Laura Pels, directs.

The Winter Garden is an unusual choice for this straight play since it has mostly housed large-scale musicals such as Funny Girl, Mame, Pacific Overtures, Cats and most recently Rocky, The Music Man, and the current tenant Back to the Future which closes on Jan. 5, 2025. The last non-musical to play the Winter Garden was Wolf Hall, the two-evening stage version of Hilary Mandel's expansive novel of Thomas Cromwell and his role in the ill-fated marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne Boelyn.

This announcement means only one previously announced spring Broadway production has yet to find a home or performance dates--the latest revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.  

B'way Update: The Wiz Sets Dates and Theater

Melody A, Betts as Evillene (center)
in the revival of The Wiz, headed for Broadway.
Credit: Jeremy Daniel

The new production of The Wiz has found a Broadway theater and announced dates. The all-African-American cast will ease on down the road to the Marquis Theater after a national tour which just began at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater on Sept. 23. Previews at the Marquis begin March 29, 2024 for an April 17 opening. The touring cast will continue onto Broadway with Nellie Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox (Jekyll and Hyde) as Glinda, Melody A. Betts (Waitress) as Aunt Em and Evillene, Kyle Lamar Freedman (A Strange Loop) as the Lion, Philip Johnson Richardson as the Tin Man, and Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow. Wayne Brady (Let's Make a Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Kinky Boots) will play the Wiz on Broadway with Alan Mingo, Jr. taking on the title role for most of the tour.

Schele Williams directs this revival of the 1975 version of L. Frank Baum's beloved classic. (She will also be directing the Broadway production of the musical version of The Notebook.) Tony nominee Amber Ruffin (Some Like It Hot) writes additional material to William F. Brown's original book.  (I wonder if Ruffin will work in Brady's game-show background. Will the Wiz say, "Okay Dorothy, you brought me Evillene's broomstick. You can trade it in for the big box or what's behind the curtain.") Charlie Smalls' score won one of the show's seven 1975 Tony Awards and one of five Drama Desk Awards.

B'way Update: Cabaret, Purlie, Second Stage, Cats, etc.

Eddie Redmayne in the
London revival of Cabaret which
may be transferring to Broadway in 2024.
Credit: Marc Brenner

It's not official, but according to a report by Philip Boroff in Broadway Journal, the hit London revival of Cabaret will transfer to Broadway with previews beginning in March of 2024 ahead of an April opening. According to Boroff, Oscar, Tony and Olivier winner Eddie Redmayne is slated to repeat his award-winning performance as the Emcee in this immersive staging. Rebecca Franknell will repeat her staging which included an immersive experience in the world of the Kit Kat Klub in 1930s Berlin. This will be the fifth Broadway production of the musical based on John Van Druten's I Am a Camera which was in turn derived from Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories about the reckless Sally Bowles in the decadent German capital before the rise of the Third Reich. Harold Prince's original 1966 production starred Jill Haworth, Joel Grey, Jack Gilford, Lotte Lenya and ran for 1,165 performances. The 1972 movie version directed by Bob Fosse won 8 Oscars including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Supporting Actor for Grey. Grey returned to the Emcee role for a 1987 revival. Alan Cumming and Natasha Richardson headlined a 1998 revival which also originated in London and ran for 2,377 performances. This staging was revived in 2014 also with Cumming and ran for 388 performances.