Review Roundup: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES by 9 Works Theatrical

Manila, Philippines--9 Works Theatrical's production of one of Broadway's all-time biggest musical comedy hits, "La Cage aux Folles," which features book by Harvey Fierstein ("Kinky Boots," "Newsies") and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman ("Hello, Dolly!" "Mame"), opened Saturday, February 28, and will run through Sunday, March 29, at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City.

"La Cage aux Folles" (La Cage means "a cage of mad women"; folles means "effeminate homosexuals"), which was based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, tells the story of a gay couple: Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub that stages drag entertainment, and Albin, Georges' romantic partner and star attraction at the nightclub. Georges and Albin's farcical adventures ensue when the former's son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet the young lad's not-so-conventional family.

Directed by Robbie Guevara ("Grease," "The Last 5 Years"), this production of "La Cage aux Folles" stars Michael De Mesa (Georges), Audie Gemora (Albin), Noel Rayos (Jacob), Steven Silva (Jean-Michel), Missy Macuja-Elizalde (Jean-Michel's fiancée), Raul Montesa (Monsieur Edouard Dindon), Sheila Francisco (Madame Marie Dindon), Analin Bantug (Jacqueline), Rafa Siguion-Reyna (Mercedes), Joni Galeste (Ann Dindon) and Les Cagelles James Stacey, Chesko Rodrigues, Cheeno Macaraig, Dindo Divinagracia, Randie Guzman, Carlos Deriada, Mara Celine Javier, and JP Basco.

The creative and production teams include Mio Infante (set and costume design), Arnold Trinidad, PJ Rebullida, and Yek Barlongay (choreography), Joseph Tolentino and Sweet Plantado-Tiongson (musical direction), Martin Esteva (lighting design), Dong Calingacion (technical direction), Myrene Santos (hair and makeup), Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines' Edgar San Diego, John Abdul, Danilo Franco, Gener Gozum, Edgar Madamba, Ole Morabe, Oscar Peralta, Lito Perez, Nholie Pilapil, Rholand Roxas, Edgar San Diego, Fanny Serrano (costume design and execution during the finale), and Twinkle Zamora (costume execution).

Let's hear what the critics had to say:

Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBNNews.com: Director Guevara found the right balance of extravagance and emotion in staging what is essentially a rather campy, corny story. (The resolution, for instance, was straight farce but enlivened with gay pageantry - and haute couture created by the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines.)

There are plenty of crowd-pleasing numbers, many of them involving the scene-stealing maid Jacob, played with wild abandon by Noel Rayos, in a near-reprise of his similar role in "The Producers."

There was also loud approval for the men in drag playing the Les Cagelles even if their dance numbers were still lacking in polish and precision and some of their lines were delivered with very awkward accents.

The musical's riotous plot provided the perfect backdrop for Gemora and De Mesa to shine as the two veteran actors wore their characters' pink triangles as a badge of honor and not just as a mere fashion accessory.

De Mesa, with his mestizo features, provided an elegant presence to the costumey proceedings. His Georges isn't effete or even foppish but a refined gentleman who just happens to be in love with another man. De Mesa, who was touching as Collins who lost his lover to AIDS in New Voice Company's "Rent," is even more effortless and believable in "La Cage Aux Folles."

Gemora has the showier role, however, and he was thoroughly believable as the aging cabaret diva. Although he also played drag in "The Producers" as a delusional no-talent theater director, Gemora portrayed Albin with both the necessary flamboyance but more importantly with so much heart.

Jullie Yap Daza, Manila Bulletin: La Cage has been around for decades - the first stage version I saw starred Bernardo Bernardo - but in the 20th or 21st century, such themes as same-sex unions, foster children, and the hypocrisies of the so-called elite are as timely as ever. Audie Gemora as a man occupying a woman's soul with maternal instincts steals the show, as expected, eliciting giggles that he must have heard all the way from the last row to the first. Michael de Mesa, who looks great on stage from any angle, is a revelation as the man who loves the other man who has replaced the real wife, the woman who has left her husband and their son. Now the son is engaged to be married, so how to introduce his unusual parents to his fiancee's strait-laced parents? It's a hilarious problem that cries for a more hilarious solution.

La Cage and its Cagelles get the luxe treatment from 9Works Theatrical, and this latest production gladlly incorporates the most showy elements - out-of-this-world makeup and hairstyles, flamboyant gowns, from the light and airy pirouettes of a solitary ballerina to the lusty moves of can-can and tap dancers. Shows every weekend of March at RCBC Romulo Theater, but if they're this good, shouldn't an extended run be in the offing?

AA Patawaran, Manila Bulletin: Even if you still have vivid memories of the 1996 American comedy Birdcage starring the late Robin Williams and, to me, the more memorable Nathan Lane, don't even consider that you can skip 9 Works Theatrical's production of the Tony Awards-winning musical La Cage aux Folles, now showing weekends at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater at the RCBC Plaza. It sure is going to be quite a different experience on stage and live (the movie, after all, was based on this beloved musical that was based on the 1973 French farce of the same title), but with Michael de Mesa playing the role Williams played in the film adaptation and Audie Gemora playing Lane's role in a story about family regardless of which genders make it up, you're going to find yourself laughing again, tearing again, see-sawing between frivolity and emotional depths, between love's ecstasy and heartache, between loyalty and betrayal (and, at the end, days after the marquee closes, LSS-ing on the play's anthem "I Am What I Am"). With all the personality of a cabaret dancer or showgirl, actually a chorus line of drag queens, La Cage in three words is rip-roaring fun and the performances no doubt will throw you on your feet at the end of the show to applaud its cast...

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