Five-time Emmy Award-winning star Kelsey Grammer will make his Broadway musical debut opposite Olivier Award-winner Douglas Hodge in the Tony Award and Oliver Award-winning musical comedy, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. The acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production that dazzled London will begin previews on April 6, 2010 and open on April 18, 2010 at Broadway's Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street).
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play by Jean Poiret. This freshly reconceived production is choreographed by Lynne Page and directed by Terry Johnson. Rehearsals will begin on Monday, March 1.
"I had a wonderful experience playing Henry Higgins in the New York Philharmonic's My Fair Lady in 2007, which made me long to perform in a musical on Broadway," Grammer commented. "Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's wonderfully funny and touching show is about being true to yourself and the challenges you face as a parent, as a spouse and as a family. I cannot wait to work with Douglas Hodge and to sing these magnificent songs every night."
Grammer will play Georges, the owner/emcee of the St. Tropez nightclub where his partner, Albin (Hodge), stars as the drag queen headliner, Zaza. Grammer has previously appeared on Broadway in Macbeth and Othello, but LA CAGE AUX FOLLES will mark his Broadway musical debut. Grammer's musical credits include the title role in Sweeney Todd at LA's Reprise Series and Henry Higgins in the New York Philharmonic's critically acclaimed My Fair Lady. His Off-Broadway roles include Sunday in the Park with George (Playwrights Horizons), Plenty (Public), A Month in the Country (Roundabout) and Quartermaine's Terms. His regional credits include Lucio in Measure for Measure and the title role of Richard II at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
An initial six-episode role as Dr. Frasier Crane on "Cheers" developed into the cornerstone of Grammer's career. He continued playing the celebrated character in two additional TV series ("Wings" and "Frasier") over a span of 20 years, tying the record for longest-running television character. For the role, Grammer won four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and received an unparalleled 16 Emmy nominations, eight Golden Globe nominations and 16 SAG nominations. Grammer won a fifth Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his recurring role of Sideshow Bob on "The Simpsons". He has also lent his voice to the films Toy Story 2, Anastasia and Teacher's Pet and the television series "Father of the Pride," "Gary the Rat" and the Emmy-nominated "Animal Farm".
Grammer's film credits include X-Men: The Last Stand, Fifteen Minutes, Down Periscope, Even Money, Fame and the upcoming Crazy on the Outside and Bunyan and Babe, among others. Grammer starred in and served as executive producer of the ABC comedy, "Hank". Other TV credits include "Back to You," "A Christmas Carol," "Benedict Arnold," "Mr. St. Nick," "Kennedy," and "George Washington". With his TV production company, Grammnet, he has produced such hit television shows as the Emmy-winning "Medium" for NBC and "The Game" and "Girlfriends" for CW. He has directed single episodes of "Everybody Hates Chris," "My Ex Life" and "Out of Practice". He also directed several episodes of "Frasier," one of which earned him a DGA nomination.
Douglas Hodge earned the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Albin, who with his partner Georges owns the eponymous St. Tropez nightclub where he stars as his glamorous drag persona, Zaza. "It is impossible to praise Hodge's wonderfully, deeply touching performance too highly. This is one of those thrilling, high-definition performances that will linger long in the memory of all who see it," wrote Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph. "Douglas Hodge is simply wonderful in a spangled frock and a hilarious and adorable blend of burliness and ineffable sweetness," hailed Kate Bassett, Independent on Sunday. "His softly smiling relationship with the audience is enchanting."
Hodge will make his Broadway debut with LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. His theatre credits also include Guys and Dolls, Titus Andronicus and Dumb Show (Olivier nomination). His film work includes Vanity Fair, Scenes of a Sexual Nature and the upcoming The Descent 2. His television work has included roles in "Mansfield Park," "Middlemarch," "Men of The Month," "True Love," "Red Cap," "It Could Be You," "The Way We Live Now" and "Spooks".
Douglas Hodge is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance to this production.
The original production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES was one of Broadway's biggest hits of the 1980s. It opened August 21, 1983 at the Palace Theatre, where it played for over four years and 1,761 performances. The show won six Tony Awards in 1984, including Best Musical, Best Score (Jerry Herman) and Best Book (Harvey Fierstein).
The Menier Chocolate Factory production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES played from November 23, 2007 to March 8, 2008, earning across the board raves and moving to the West End's Playhouse Theatre on October 30, 2008, where it won the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and will continue to delight audiences through January 2, 2010.
"A glorious night of showbiz razzle dazzle!" exclaimed Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph. "At last a musical to sweep away those credit-crunch blues. This joyous show deserves every hurrah and standing ovation it receives." "Suddenly, the West End sparkles," cheered Sam Marlowe, The Times. "Sew on a sequin, slip into some heels and go."
Terry Johnson (Director) is a multi-award winning playwright and director and is Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre. He has been honored with nine major British Theatre awards, including two Olivier Awards and two Evening Standard Theatre Awards. In recent years, he has had 10 productions running in London's West End: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Rain Man, Whipping It Up, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Hitchcock Blonde, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, The Graduate, Dead Funny, Hysteria, Elton John's Glasses and The Memory of Water. He has worked with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, directing John Malkovich in The Libertine (nominated for five Jeff Awards, including Best Production) and Lost Land, both plays by Stephen Jeffries. He has written and directed for international television, most recently "The Man Who Lost His Head" for ITV and "Not Only But Always" for Channel Four, which won five International Award nominations, Best Film at Banff, and a BAFTA for Rhys Ifans. He wrote and directed "‘Cor Blimey!" for ITV.
Lynne Page (Choreographer) Credits include: A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory, West End and Broadway), Never So Good (National Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Menier Chocolate Factory and West End), Bad Girls the Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Assassins (Crucible, Sheffield), There Came a Gypsy Riding and The Late Henry Moss (Almeida), Fabulation (Tricycle Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC), Bat Boy - the Musical (West End), Blonde Bombshells of 1943 (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Tell Me on a Sunday (West End), The Merchant of Venice (National Theatre), Meat (Theatre Royal, Plymouth) and Jesus Christ Superstar (European tour). Film: Hippie Hippie Shake (Working Title), Fred Claus (Warner Brothers). TV: "Phoo Action," "Billy Goat," "Brazen Hussies," "The History of Tom Jones" (BBC), "The Last Detective" (ITV), "That's So Graham Norton" (Channel Four).
The production features set design by Tim Shortall, costume design by Matthew Wright and lighting design by Nick Richings. Orchestrations are by Jason Carr. Wig and makeup design is by Richard Mawbey.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES will be produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Fran and Barry Weissler and Robert Bartner / Norman Tulchin.
Full casting will be announced soon.
