Review - La Cage aux Folles: Yeah... Chemistry

Advanced chemistry lessons are now being held eight times a week at the Longacre Theatre, where newly-added stars Harvey Fierstein and Christopher Sieber not only score individual triumphs as drag entertainer Albin and his dapper committed partner Georges in the Terry Johnson-directed revival of La Cage aux Folles, but combine to make the kind of irresistibly fun couple you want to invite to every dinner party, go in on a summer share with and, in a more perfect world, watch on television hosting the Tony Awards.

I do have witnesses to my observation, immediately after watching this mounting with its original stars Douglas Hodge and Kelsey Grammer, that this production would be a perfect opportunity for Fierstein, who wrote the musical's clever and heart-tugging book, to finally play the role of the French Riviera nightclub star that looks at the world on an angle. Whereas the original Broadway production was too pastel pretty and the previous revival was too darkly sensual to match his unique presence, this is La Cage as it might have been directed by Charles Ludlum, if that genius of downtown's Theatre of the Ridiculous wasn't taken from us at such a young age.

Though the characters insist on seeing themselves, as expressed in a Jerry Herman score that is every bit as good as his classics Hello, Dolly! and Mame, as glamorous and sensual with the male chorus of "Notorious Cagelles" promising, "You'll find it hard guessing our gender," Johnson's show palace, which features hunky boys in dresses who ain't fooling anybody, is a divier joint bent on playing the role of high class decadence, much like a night of neo-burlesque in Williamsburg or a Coney Island Side Show.

As Albin's on-stage persona, Zaza, Fierstein presents his rotund physique, lumbering stride and gravelly voice as the ideal of ravishing femininity, and because he believes it so passionately, we can take a moment to see the world through his eyes, too. The score has certainly been sung better, but Fierstein is an actor who seems perfectly aware of his vocal limitations and, as someone who obviously knows these songs inside and out, can use them to his advantage in interpreting the lyrics with wit and empathy. And given his pre-Broadway background as a female impersonator, it's doubtful anyone can play the role with more authenticity.

Sieber is of that rare breed of handsome, fine-singing musical actors with the comic chops to turn leading men parts into juicy character roles. Crisp and wickedly sexy as he emcees his club's floor shows, he makes Georges' "ad-libs" to audience members seem legitimately off-the-cuff. As expected, his singing of the ballads "Song on the Sand" and "Look Over There" is gorgeous, but the beautiful surprise is how lovely he and Fierstein sound when the two seemingly mismatched voices blend together.

But that's not the only way the two new stars blend. Sieber's Georges' is the amused foundation of his relationship with Fierstein's high-maintenance, eccentric Albin. Watch the adoring glances between them as they work through the family crisis that crops up when Georges' biological son, Jean-Michel, who Albin co-fathered as his own, is afraid to introduce them as they are to his fiancée's conservative parents. There is no doubt that this is a healthy, functional couple and that the boys are madly in love with each other.

Some noticeable changes include a brief exchange that addresses the age gap between them; unnecessary, but funny nevertheless. The outdoor scenes, played by Grammer and Hodge as though the couple was afraid to be publically affectionate, are now played for laughs as Fierstein emphasizes Albin's desire not to be stared at during private moments. This interpretation takes something away from a scene in the second act, when the plot has Albin disguised as their son's mother, granting an opportunity for the couple to feel safe dancing together in public.

Also new to the cast is Wilson Jermaine Heredia, sweetly silly as the maid who is desperate to break into show business and the pairing of Mike McShane and Allyce Beasley, perfect foils as Jean-Michel's in-law-to-be. Original cast members Elena Shadow and A.J. Shively remain charming as the young lovers and Christine Andreas continues to tear the stage apart in her relatively small role of a media-hungry restaurant owner.

The current ensemble of Cagelles (Matt Anctil, Logan Keslar, Sean Patrick Doyle, Karl Warden, Terry Lavell and Yurel Echezarreta) joyously sing and dance with gusto, helping to keep this nearly year-old revival fresh, fun and fabulous.

Photo of Harvey Fierstein and Christopher Sieber by Joan Marcus.

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