RIALTO CHATTER: Will It Be The 'Best of Times' For Kelsey Grammer & LA CAGE AUX FOLLES?

According to the The New York Times, Kelsey Grammer is in talks to play Georges in the upcoming Broadway revival of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.

Show executives, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because no contract had been signed at present, said they were optimistic that Grammer would be on board in the role.

Grammer starred on Broadway in Macbeth and My Fair Lady with the NY Philharmonic.

Producers Sonia Friedman, David Babani for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Fran and Barry Weissler and Robert Bartner / Norman Tulchin will bring London's critically acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy LA CAGE AUX FOLLES to Broadway, opening on April 18, 2010 at the Longacre Theatre (which is currently home to the limited run of BURN THE FLOOR). To read the full report in The New York Times click here.

This freshly reconceived production opened to unanimous rave reviews and won the 2009 Olivier Awards for Best Musical Revival and Best Actor in a Musical for star Douglas Hodge, who will make his Broadway debut as Albin.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play, La Cage aux Folles, by Jean Poiret. The production is choreographed by Lynne Page and directed by Terry Johnson.

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 is still selling out and delighting audiences.

"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."

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 effable 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, 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".

Terry Johnson 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, including 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.

Choreographer Lynne Page's credits include: 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.

Further casting and production information will be announced soon.