BWW Reviews: New LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Tour Is More Leather Than Lace

Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Harvey Fierstein; based on the play “La Cage Aux Folles” by Jean Poiret; scenic design, Tim Shortall; costume design, Matthew Wright; lighting design, Nick Richings; sound design, Jonathan Deans; wig and makeup design, Richard Mawbey; orchestrations and dance arrangements, Jason Carr; choreography, Lynne Page; directed by Terry Johnson

Cast in order of appearance:
Georges, George Hamilton; Les Cagelles: Angelique, Matt Anctil, Bitelle, Logan Keslar, Chantal, Donald C. Shorter, Jr., Hanna, Mark Roland, Mercedes, Terry Lavell, Phaedra, Trevor Downey; Francis, Dale Hensley; Babette, SuEllen Estey; Jacob, Jeigh Madjus; Albin, Christopher Seiber; Jean-Michel, Billy Harrigan Tighe; Anne, Allison Blair McDowell; Colette, Ashley Kate Adams; Etienne, Ken Clark; Tabarro, Danny Vaccaro; Jacqueline, Gay Marshall; M. Renaud, Bruce Winant; Mme. Renaud, Cathy Newman; M. Dindon, Bruce Winant; Mme. Dindon, Cathy Newman; Waiter, Todd Thurston

Performances:
Now through December 18, Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre, Tremont Street, Boston. Tickets start at $33 and are available through Telecharge at 866-348-9738, online at www.BroadwayInBoston.com or www.citicenter.org, or at the Box Office at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street, Boston (Tuesday-Saturday, 12 noon to 6 pm).

Something’s lost and something’s gained in the recent Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles now playing its Boston tour stop at the lovely Shubert Theatre on Tremont Street through December 18. This loud, raunchy and slapstick reinvention by Tony Award-winning director Terry Johnson has sacrificed some of its romantic heart for grittier humor. The show is now funnier than other versions I’ve ever seen, but it’s less sentimental, too. I laughed more but cared less.

The boisterous tone is set even before the curtain goes up on Tim Shortall’s shocking-pink St. Tropez nightclub. As patrons enter the theater, a brassy, bawdy drag queen – unquestionably a man whose tall, muscular frame is made even more imposing by four-inch platform heels – taunts and teases the audience in a strident, high-pitched voice that is more annoying than entertaining. The device is part cruise ship and part vaudeville. Its invasive nature makes it very clear that we have taken our seats ringside to a show that is going to be relentlessly “on.”

For the most part that is the case in Johnson’s manic interpretation of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s delightful gender-bending romp on the Riviera that broke new theatrical ground in its 1983 Tony-winning Broadway debut. Johnson has ramped up the farcical elements between middle-aged life partners Georges (George Hamilton) and Albin (Christopher Seiber), the emcee and star, respectively, of the resident drag show that is in permanent residence at Georges’ weather-beaten seaside nightclub known as La Cage Aux Folles. He has also deglamourized and demystified the Cagelles, the (now) six male drag chorus dancers who replace elegance with athleticism and snippy humor with an angry in-your-face edge. Where once it was almost impossible for the audience to tell the difference between the men and women of the chorus, now there is no doubt that these Cagelles are poseurs. There is no longer any “illusion” as suggested in the lyrics of their opening number, “We Are What We Are.”

It is that raw honesty, however, which seems to be the very point in this unapologetically rowdy re-envisioning of La Cage Aux Folles by Johnson and his creative team. There’s no need in 2011 to hide behind the bugle beads and mascara that make the older, insecure Albin feel confident and beautiful. Rather, the young and fit Cagelles wear their bustiers, leather skirts and fishnets as badges. If these dancers tug at their ill-fitting costumes like baseball players adjusting their jock straps, well, so be it. They are who they are!

Amidst all the rousing Apache and Can-Can influenced dance numbers that benefit from Lynne Page’s masculine and acrobatic choreography and the smart, moody new orchestrations by Jason Carr, the show does still celebrate romance and family at its core. Georges’ and Albin’s long-term relationship is put to the test when Georges’ grown son Jean-Michel (Billy Harrigan Tighe) announces that he is engaged to the daughter Anne (Allison Blair McDowell) of conservative parents whose mission is to shut down “depraved” establishments such as La Cage Aux Folles. When the crusading Dindons (Bruce Winant and Cathy Newman) insist on a pre-nuptial family meet-and-greet to assess whether or not Jean-Michel is worthy of their daughter’s hand, what’s a boy to do? Put “mom” back in the closet, of course – and strip Georges’ and Albin’s apartment, inconveniently located above the nightclub, of any “gay accoutrements” that might out them to the in-laws-to-be.

This sets the stage for some of Herman’s most romantic songs in his considerable canon. “With You on My Arm” is a playful reprise of Jean-Michel’s testament of love for Anne that Georges sings to Albin when informing him of their son’s engagement. What turns the number on its ear, however, is director Johnson’s hilarious slapstick staging of Georges and Albin trying to recapture their more physically demonstrative youth. Hamilton and Seiber’s joie de vivre as they try to execute a pas de deux is reminiscent of Edna and Wilbur’s “Timeless to Me” from Hairspray. Their chemistry here makes the number one of the highlights of the show.

The more affecting “Song on the Sand” which precedes Georges’ delivery of what will inevitably be hurtful news to Albin is less successful, however, primarily because Hamilton simply can’t sing the song well enough to convey all of its ardor, adoration and heartbreak. The same is true for “Look over There” in which Georges tries to make Jean-Michel understand the sacrifice he is asking Albin to make for him, after all he’s done to raise him as his own. Instead of feeling Georges’ anguish at choosing the needs of his son over those of his lover, what we feel is Hamilton’s pain at trying to stay on pitch. It’s too bad, because Hamilton does have a gentle, twinkling suavity that otherwise makes him an appealing Georges – even if his 72 years do make his slower pace a little out of sync with the rest of the full-throttle show.

Of course, La Cage Aux Folles ultimately lives or dies on the padded shoulders of aging drag queen Zaza, aka Albin. In the estimable Broadway trouper Christopher Seiber, this touring production has a gem. Seiber is burly and basso and oh so tragique, switching from exaggerated effeminate martyrdom one minute to child-like self-satisfaction the next. He pushes the boundaries of Albin’s mincing manipulations and eye-rolling double-takes to the limit without ever crossing over into unwelcomed shtick, and he nestles a vulnerable and utterly adorable ingénue inside the lumbering hulk of a self-deprecating gay man. When he transforms before our very eyes while singing “A Little More Mascara,” he does so like a shy wallflower coming into full bloom. His Act I closing anthem “I Am What I Am” moves from a tentative apology to a booming declaration. If Seiber fails to generate the full measure of sympathy for Albin that others have in the past, however, it is partly because of Johnson’s insistently ironic tone. Even when Albin is moved to tears by Jean-Michel’s sincere turnaround, Seiber adds a hand-waving flounce that mocks the very moment.

A uniformly strong supporting cast features eye-popping dance numbers by the Cagelles and strong singing by Billy Harrigan Tighe as Jean-Michel, Allison Blair McDowell as Anne, and Gay Marshall as renowned restauranteur Jacqueline. Cathy Newman as Mme. Dindon also turns in a delightfully nuanced performance. Newman gains tremendous sympathy as the brow-beaten wife of an officious and hypocritical do-gooder only to seize her own giddy moment in the spotlight when the tables are turned on her husband by the paparazzi. She makes what could be a throw-away character truly memorable. Only Jeigh Madjus as Jacob misfires as Georges’ butler who would rather be a maid. He, too, seems to suffer from Johnson’s ramped up direction, undermining his own wry comic moments with broad defiance and incessant flouncing and bouncing. His delivery is always over-the-top and to the audience as if to say, “Look at me, I’m the smart-mouthed hired help.”

Set designer Shortall’s onstage, backstage, seaside and upstairs apartment settings morph seamlessly from one to the other, revealing the blemished reality beneath the showbiz paint and glitter. Costumes by Matthew Wright are lavish and often humorous, alternating between leather and feather for the Cagelles and overindulgent shimmer for Georges and Albin. Jean-Michel’s bell bottomed jeans suggest the 1970s, but otherwise both Shortall and Wright exhibit welcomed restraint in fixing us in any particular time period.

The four touring musicians (two synthesizers, percussion and trumpet) create a big sound with the addition of locals who flesh out the rich orchestrations. An accordion is an especially welcomed dash of French seasoning that adds a hint of romance – and some unexpected humor – to “Song on the Sand.”

This touring production of La Cage Aux Folles is a worthwhile holiday treat. Despite a somewhat Heavy Directorial hand and an imperfect turn by George Hamilton as Georges, there is still a lot to savor in this Tony-winning revival. With Harvey Fierstein’s sharp book and Jerry Herman’s most memorable score still intact, La Cage is a theatrical gift that’s both naughty and nice.

PHOTOS BY Paul Kolnik:  George Hamilton as George and the ensemble as Les Cagelles; George Hamilton and Christopher Seiber as Albin; Les Cagelles; Christopher Seiber and George Hamilton; Christopher Seiber as Albin as Zaza; George Hamilton, Christopher Seiber and the Company of La Cage Aux Folles

 

 

 

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