by Jeannie Marlin Woods
Glamorous, amorous, provocative, and hilarious—La Cage aux Folles is a not-to-be-missed extravaganza that will make your heart sing! Artistic Director Alan Paul has pulled together a truly amazing creative team to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Barrington Stage Company, setting a very high bar for this theatre season.
The formal premiere was Sunday, June 16th, (appropriately on Father’s Day). From the moment you enter the theatre you can feel the joie de vivre of the St. Tropez nightclub. Spotlights travel across the auditorium and the front row of cabaret tables and chairs. The shimmering gold lamé curtain and the huge movie marquee whose garish lights tell us we are at La Cage aux Folles, a festive nightclub famous for its drag performers. Music blares and the audience is abuzz with anticipation. It feels almost like getting to the top of a massive roller coaster about to plummet.
After a charming welcome from the debonair club owner, Georges, we dive into the first of many tuneful songs—the exuberant “We Are What We Are.” The music and lyrics by the incomparable Jerry Herman keep the show buoyant and immensely entertaining. Georges introduces each of the “girls” and they offer a preview of their idiosyncratic drag specialties. The excitement builds to the entrance of the headline diva, Albin, who performs under the name ZaZa.
The story then shifts from the performative to the personal as we learn that Georges and Albin are facing a crisis in their decades old relationship. It turns out that Georges had a dalliance in his youth—a one night stand with a woman that produced a child, Jean-Michel, who the Georges and Albin happily raised together as their own. But Jean-Michel has arrived to announce that he is getting married—to a young woman! She has stolen his heart and he wants to present her and her parents to Georges. The plot thickens when we learn that Anne’s father is a notoriously conservative politician who despises any departure from his narrow view of familial norms. Worst still, Jean-Michel wants his long absent mother to come and meet the future in-laws, leaving Albin out of the picture.
La Cage is a lively theatrical spectacle chocked full of uproarious song, dance, parody, and in-your-face sexuality. However, it is much more than that. It is at heart a sweet and touching trio of love stories centering on family and commitment. The book of the musical is by Harvey Fierstein and he has masterfully balanced the uproarious chaos of the cabaret downstairs with the very human conflicts of a modern family in the apartment upstairs. And director Mike Donahue has adroitly balanced the show so that the silly, the shocking, the sometimes rude and crude theatre life is second only to the delicate pain and empathy among the very human and emotionally vulnerable characters. Donahue’s choices in building the rival worlds of the play are nothing short of amazing. He has assembled an extraordinary cast and creative team to create a world that we want to explore for the three-hour running time. Yes—three hours, but even then, you will be sorry to have to leave that cabaret in St. Tropez. It is that entertaining and that magical!
The magnificent performance of Alex Michaels (aka Alexis Michelle) as Albin and ZaZa is the primary ingredient in that magic. Fantastically handsome when male-presenting and drop-dead gorgeous in a female persona, Michaels is also an actor of marvelous nuance and emotional depth. She could not be more different than Nathan Lane (the actor who played this character in the movie, The Birdcage, which was based on the play La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret). She is more in touch with Albin’s feelings, especially the deep hurt Albin feels when they are cut out of the family plans. Michaels is also an astounding singer and dancer while juggling the challenges of bangles and beads, towering wigs, super high heels, elaborate makeup, props, and stage business. Michaels is the consummate professional every minute of the show.
Tom Story plays Georges, the stylish and suave cabaret owner whose deep love for Albin is unshakable. Story brings that ineffable yet essential aspect of charm to his role. He also makes the most of every moment. The music is a bit more challenging for him than for others and he reads as older than Albin, not eight years younger, but he is most effective in creating a character we truly care about and with whom we can empathize.
In a glittering cast of 14 actors and 3 actresses, time and space make it impossible to mention them all. But some of the most memorable moments must be shared. Noah Wolfe (seen previously in BSC’s A Little Night Music) plays Jean-Michel with energy and earnestness. He is delightful in his interactions with the sweet, winsome and totally fetching Sally Shaw as his fiancée, Anne. Wolfe also wins us over in his rendition of “With Anne on My Arm.”
The seven performers who play the drag queens at the Cabaret are all simply marvelous. They include an impressive opera singer (Gabe Friedman as Chantal), a sylphlike and astonishingly proficient ballerina (Drew Minard as Giselle), and a mischievous Pierrot (Jules Geiss as Clo-Clo). Tanesha Gary is outstanding as Jacqueline, the owner of a posh restaurant and friends to Georges and Albin.
Two other performers in smaller roles nearly stop the show. Philip Taratula is puckish and devilish as Jacob, ZaZa’s butler or maid. Reminiscent of Uncle Fester (from The Addams Family), Jacob is frustrated that Georges won’t put him in the cabaret show, so he teeters between faithful servant and wily adversary. This actor really understands comic timing and doesn’t miss a beat.
Finally, Michele Ragusa, plays the petite, sexually repressed mother of Anne. Her entrance, in a Margaret Thatcher style wig and perfect little suit, tells her whole story. Her large eyes and sweet bland smile define her character completely. Her characterization is a delight as, confronted with the outrageous situation of her daughter following a much different path, she quickly evolves into a modern woman, and she provokes thrills and cheers as she literally finds her extraordinary new voice in a moment of operatic splendor.
Director Donahue has so thoroughly and creatively re-invented the La Cage that it transcends the earlier plays and movies on which it is based. His design team combined their efforts to imagine a specific time and place. It feels like it might be the 1970’s or 1980’s—contemporary pronouns are not in use in the script and the street clothes are definitely retro. The terrific Boyd-Quinson stage easily morphs from onstage to backstage to upstairs to Jaqueline’s supper club. Scenic designer Alexander Woodward has made excellent choices to keep the action moving and always keep us within the theatrical framework.
Bobbie Zlotnik (Hair and Wig Design), Kyle Krueger (Makeup Design), and Rodrigo Munoz and Benjamin Weigell (Costume Design) are clearly a formidable, talented creative team. There were dozens and dozens of costumes as the chorus changed for each act in the club and ZaZa appeared in stunning sparkly dresses and altitudinous wigs—each one more dazzling than the one before. When Albin changes to men’s clothes and takes off the garish runway makeup, he was debonair and elegant. And in his final persona as a seemingly conservative mature woman, he was equally polished and just perfect in the moment. All this was enhanced with Phillip S. Rosenberg’s beautiful and effective lighting.
Paul McGill’s choreography was wonderful—from the mesmerizing ballet of the caged ballerina to the raucous and showstopping Can Can dance that epitomized the French cabaret—this was delicious staging and choreography that amazed and amused. Last, but not least, Angela Stiener’s musical direction gave buoyancy and wild energy to that roller coaster ride that is La Cage aux Folles.
In short, La Cage aux Folles is a wonder and not to be missed. Barrington Stage continues to astonish us. Call the box office today, as this is sure to be one hot ticket.
Credits
Playwright/Libretto: Harvey Fierstein
Music and Lyrics: Jerry Herman
Director: Mike Donahue
Choreographer: Paul McGill
Musical Director: Angela Steiner
Scenic Design: Alexander Woodward
Lighting Design: Philip S. Rosenberg
Costume Design: Rodrigo Munoz and Benjamin Weigell
Makeup Design: Kyle Kreuger
Hair & Wig Design: Bobbie Zlotnik
Sound Design: Ken Travis
Whip Consultant: Robert Aronowitz
Cast in order of appearance:
Georges Tom Story
Angelique Aaron Graham
Clo Clo Jules Geiss
Bitelle Jonté Jaurel Culpepper
Giselle Drew Minard
Mercedes Kevin Murakami
Chantal Gabe Friedman
Hanna Kyle White
Phaedra Raphe Gilliam
Francis Drae Campbell
Jacob Phillip Taratula
Albin Alex Michaels
Jean-Michel Noah Wolfe
Anne Sally Shaw
Jaqueline Tanesha Gary
Edouard Dindon Don Noble
Mme. Dindon Michele Ragusa
Information
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES will play June 11 through July 6 on the Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Stage, 30 Union Street in Pittsfield, MA. For specific performance dates and times and to arrange tickets, visit BarringtonStageCo.org.
Running time: 3 hours with one intermission