Review: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES at Palm Canyon Theatre

“La Cage aux Folles” opens at the Palm Canyon Theatre just in time for Greater Palm Springs Pride (not thinking it was a coincidence!) Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, the musical gets the star treatment from composer/lyricist Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein and has become a gay cult classic since it’s Broadway debut in 1983.  “La Cage aux Folles” or "The Cage of Madwomen" in English, is a glamorous, amorous, provocative, and hilarious tale of straight boy meets straight girl who then must gain the blessing to two sets of parents who could not be more diametrically opposite in every way.  Guess who’s coming to dinner?  It’s Ru Paul vs Ken Paxton (or fill in the blank of any other political homophobe).  My money is on sequins and heart!

The joie de vivre of the St. Tropez nightclub permeates the Palm Canyon stage, swathed in lamé and sequin-dot curtains. Musical Director Steven Smith and his band (Larry Holloway on bass and Jim Watson on Drums) sets the tone of a night club trio ready to jam. Nick Edwards’ excellent projections again bring the world of the French Riviera to life, both in substance and movement.  Really nice touches in having those backgrounds “follow” the action from the street or the beach into town as the action dictates.  J.W. Layne’s Set and Lighting Design are on point, as always.  Alternatingly bright and moody, the lighting is clean and effortlessly present. 

At the heart of this piece is a love story, that of La Cage owner and emcee, Georges and his spouse, Albin who comes most to life in his fading star attraction alter-ego, the flamboyant Zaza.  The charismatic Georges, here played by Luke Rainey is the center point of the show’s universe.  With powerful vocals and characterization which runs the gamut between tenderness and frantic insanity, Mr. Rainey enables all the moving parts to run, while his character is frantically trying to catch up to them. Albin, played by Ron Coronado, is the soul of the piece.  Temperamental, egregiously emotional, and painfully insecure, Albin is nonetheless a sympathetic character.  In the hands of Mr. Coronado, the range of emotion through this lens is wide ranging.  Charmingly naughty as Zaza, coquettishly loving with his interactions with Georges and true motherly affection in his relationship with Jean-Michel, Georges’ son through a one-night stand 24 years ago with a showgirl who Albin raised as his own, ranged from henpeckingly fussy to heart-breakingly raw.  The lad-made-man, here played by Ian Ferris, has come home from college with a great surprise: He’s getting married (to a girl!)  Mr. Ferris played the frenetic impatience of self-obsessed youth well here.  Not in a mean-spirited way, but through the single-mindedness we all have fallen prey to in our youth (heck, even now!) in the obsession of a goal. The scenes between “Mother” and son when Albin has shed all his femininity toward a façade of “manliness”, but it is never going to be enough, rips your guts out.  The abject horror and rejection on Mr. Coronado’s face as the son he loves more than life itself berates him is feral and real.  Makes you want to get out of your seat and slap the boy (but that would get you arrested!).

Meeting the fiancée and her parents becomes a world-shifting event, forcing Georges to forgo his own identity to that of a vague French patrician, all conservativism and respectability and, literally, forcing Albin back into the closet as a non-entity in favor of Jean-Michel’s “Mother” (or birth giver to be more accurate in this case) Sybil to lend the sheen of heteronormative, “nothing-to-see-here”!  Anne Dindon, Jean-Michel’s paramour is played by Taylor Graham.  A floating, frothy creature, I would wish that the author had give her an opportunity to be more than a plot device. Miss Graham succeeded in adding youthful vitality and vigor to the role, only getting to let loose in the finale number (which she did!)  Papa Eduard Dindon, the fire and brimstone politician who was particularly virulent toward homosexuals, here played with venom by Donald Kelley, and his milquetoast wife, Marie (played by Erin Shull) were as opposite to the rest of the cast as night and day. They don’t get a lot of stage time, but Mr. Kelley, as usual, makes the most of it.  Ms. Shull’s character suffers a similar fate in the book as her daughter did.  I would have so liked to see them have a “tour-de-force” moment. But, I did appreciate a glimpse of that in her character in the finale, a crack in the façade of normality when she takes that whip!  In Albin’s corner is the never to be underestimated butler/maid Jacob, here played with red hot intensity by Raul Valenzuela.  If Zaza is flamboyant, Jacob is four alarm fire!  Unwaveringly loyal to Albin (unless there is money or a stage role in “her” future), you expect there to be scorch marks on the floor each time he makes an entrance or exit.  You will never look at a French maid the same way again!  Special mention for Jana Giboney as Café owner Jacqueline who belts with Albin “The Best of Times Is Now” with abandon.

“La Cage” is a lively theatrical spectacle chocked full of uproarious song, dance, parody, and in-your-face sensuality. At the center of which are “Les Cagelles”, the all singing, all dancing denizens of the night club, the literal “Folles” of this Cage.  Led by the indominable dominatrix with a whip, Hanna (Derik Shopinski), these “madwomen” include Angelique (Alicia Wilson), Bitelle (Jackson Enzler), Chantal (Ian Ferris in a drag turn), Clo-Clo (Sanai Wright), Dermah (Noah Wahlberg), Mercedes (Adam Heiter), Monique (John Rathgeb), Odette (Timothy Rathkey) and Phaedra (Jimmy Ashmore), strut their stuff and put the “grind” in Grindr.  They are to be commended for their split-second costume changes all while staying in step with their corps.  Special shout-out to the “Company” Stage Manager Francis, played by Darin MacLoed.  From a size perspective with his “girlfriend” Hanna, he stole every scene he entered both from the prospective to their “Laurel and Hardy” physicality (yes, I aged myself there) but also that he is more and more injured with every entrance, proof positive that the whip isn’t kept at the club!  I will temper that statement that this isn’t portrayed as abuse, as both seem enamored of each other and unafraid, but rather….being frisky!  The rest of the cast (Kathleen Anderson, David Brooks, Michele Davis, Argenis Espinoza, Terry Huber, Gina Zollman and Lisa Walters) fleshed out this little slice of paradise in a wonderfully “life and let live” ethic.  Remember, this was written in the mid 1970’s, being “out” was still a dangerous move. 

Se Layne’s artistic direction was smooth, accentuating the pathos and allowing the zaniness to find its own ebb and flow.  While quite shocking in its initial runs in 1986, times have definitely changed!  The play isn’t as flagrant as I remember when I last saw it, probably more a realization of the societal changes that make public intimacy less of a shock and more of an everyday reality.  Steven Smith kept the vocal corps solid and energized, with clean crisp voices and a deeper understanding of the lyrical intents of such songs as “Anne on My Arm” and “Song on the Sand” and, of course the unofficial gay national anthem “I Am What I Am”.  Nathan Wilson’s choreography was silky and slinky as each of the dancers have their spotlight moment and milk it for all it is worth.  Derik Shopinski’s costume design was a good six months (at least) in the making on this project and the attention to details and function were obvious.  Undressing three layers of costume and still being able to move is no small feat!

Due to overwhelming demand, “La Cage Aux Folles” has been extended three additional shows, so do not miss your opportunity to “put on a little more mascara” and check it out. The show runs Thursdays October 31 and November 7 at 7pm, Fridays November 1, 8 & 15 at 8pm, Saturdays November 2, 9 &16 at 8pm and Sunday November 3, 10 & 17 at 2pm.  Tickets can be purchased ONLY at palmcanyontheatre.net or by calling the box office at (760) 323-5123.  The theatre is located at 538 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

Next up on Palm Canyon Theatre’s 2024-25 season slate:

Mary Poppins (Nov 29 - Dec 22, 2024) This musical invites us to London, England in 1910 where the magical Mary Poppins flies in on the wind, bringing with her a combination of whimsy and disciplined common sense to the Banks children’s lives. Together, they go on many fantastical and memorable adventures. Mary Poppins teaches all ages that “anything can happen if you let it.”

A Very Sordid Wedding (Jan 17-26, 2025) It's 2015, seventeen years after Sordid Lives and Peggy's unfortunate death, after tripping over G.W.'s wooden legs, and life has now moved on for the residents of Winters, Texas. A Very Sordid Wedding explores the questions, bigotry and the fallout of what happens when gay marriage comes to communities and families that are not quite ready to accept it.

My Fair Lady (Feb 7 - Mar 2 2025) Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady is that rare musical by which all others are measured, featuring one of musical theatre’s greatest scores. This classic tale shows us Eliza Doolittle, a low-class, Cockney, flower girl, transformed into an elegant lady when Professor Henry Higgins decides to teach her how to speak like a proper, upper-class woman. During their lessons, an unlikely friendship begins to flourish.

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