Pearl-clutching, glissando-loving Chantal is the girl I get to inhabit! Georges introduces her as "the Songbird of Avignon, the Nightingale of Nice, the Triller from Manila. When she opens her throat to sing, the swallows return to Capistrano in shame!" It's a tall order to fill... but after playing Fruma-Sarah on the North American tour of Fiddler on the Roof for the past year, and singing high A's while flying around the stage on someone's shoulders, I'm delighted that I get to sing my little aria while STANDING... in one place! Chantal's a product of her privileged family, and of Avignon's long-standing Catholic tradition (it was, after all, once the seat of the Papacy) but somewhere along the line, she strayed a little from that righteous path. Still, her ambition trumps that of the other girls, whose tardiness and lack of professionalism grate on her. La Cage aux Folles is merely a stop en route to countertenor roles at Théâtre du Châtelet and Teatro alla Scala. The self-deprecating humor in La Cage's acts may not be her cup of tea, but she's willing to play along... for now.
Swings Todd Lattimore and Christophe Caballero have been up on their heels in the rehearsal room, and bring their bold personalities to the tall tracks and short tracks, respectively (At 5'10", I'm a short track. Well, I never!). No matter what assortment of gals you catch when you come, you certainly won't see a Rockette-like army of glamorous clones. I hope we'll be burned into your memory like hot coals on snow. Au revoir... 'till next time!
Sean Patrick Doyle makes his broadway debut as Chantal the Songbird in the West End transfer of La Cage Aux Folles! He recently broke "tradition" as the first countertenor to portray Fruma-Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof, opposite Chaim Topol, Harvey Fierstein, and Theodore Bikel in an extensive North American tour. Off-Broadway: Loki in Tarell McCraney's Wig Out! at the Vineyard Theatre, directed by Tina Landau. International: Baby John in the Asian and European tours of West Side Story, Asian tour of Fame: the Musical. Regional: Emcee in Cabaret, Carmen Ghia in The Producers, Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats, Starkey in Peter Pan, and numerous operas and concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. TV: "Law and Order," "Young Lincoln," and "The Kennedy Center Honors". Sean Patrick is also a published playwright (Smith and Kraus) and travel photographer (Lonely Planet, et al.). For more information, visit www.seanpatrickdoyle.com. To purchase tickets to La Cage Aux Folles at Broadway's Longacre, go to www.lacage.com.
