Tuesday, October 18, 2011

They Are What They Are - La Cage Aux Folles

Just got back from seeing the national tour of "La Cage Aux Folles" at the State Theater. It was a rare event for me - going out "on the town" on a school night - but when you get the chance to live your life a little outside the box, why not do it. Right? (Which, really, is kind of the point of the show - isn't it?)

(poster image borrowed from
Civic Center of Greater Des Moines website)

By now, most people know the basics of the plot of the show, since it's been around for almost 30 years (or, if you don't know the musical, then you probably at least know the movie "The Birdcage"). It's a show about a gay male couple (Georges and Albin) who run a nightclub where one of them is the master of ceremonies and the other is the star attraction - in drag. They've been together for 20 years, and their son (there was a dalliance with a woman 4 years before the two met and Georges got custody) shows up wanting to introduce them to his fiance and her highly conservative parents. Of course, hilarity ensues.

But the thing is that - while in the movie you mainly get the glitz and glam of it all - in the musical you also get the nuances of the non-hilarious moments. The times when the relationships all come to the foreground while the camp fades away. When Jean-Michel (the son) speaks and sings of falling in love with Anne, you believe it. When Georges reminisces with Albin about their time together, you really understand how they feel about each other. The first act, especially, is loaded with emotion which doesn't need to be spangled and glittered because it's beautiful just the way it is. (Hint: That's a good reason to go see the musical.)

I think, unfortunately, that's a little bit of where the production lost me - when the second act rolls in and the camp (of the "farce") takes over from the beauty of songs like "Song on the Sand" or even "The Best of Times."

Don't get me wrong - I *love* the show. I think the songs are incredible. And the romances - young and old - truly do tug at your heart. And - holy crap - the "Cagelles" have got to be six of the most athletic dancers you'll ever see. But there comes a time when the camp factor can get to be just a little too much.

Here's the thing: Christopher Sieber is absolutely show-stoppingly blow-you-out-of-the-theater amazing as Albin and his alter-ego Zaza (the larger-than-life performer who has to try to hide who he is for the sake of his son). When you see him on stage - whether in drag or as "himself" (for lack of a better phrase) - you are drawn to him. From his first number ("A Little More Mascara") you want to hear him sing more. You want to see him do more. You want the spotlight to stay on him (as does he in one funny little throw-away moment in the second act). And, yep, you really come to care about him and all his eccentricities. When he belts out "I Am What I Am" at the end of Act I, you can't help cheering and applauding.

On the other hand, George Hamilton... well... he's George Hamilton. He's tan. He's distinguished looking. He's not the best singer, and he seemed to lose a few lines along the way. He was great in scenes where he was truly acting with someone else, but on his own... well... I wasn't blown away. And the "maid," Jacob, was played so broadly that I couldn't figure out whether the director was trying to cover all of the bases of every possible aspect of gay life, or whether he threw in an extra over-the-top stereotype so that the homophobes in the audience (who most likely got dragged there by their wives) could walk away from the show saying "See? I told you so."

Even so, the production made for a great night out. Beautiful sets. Beautiful people. Beautiful music. And, yes, aspects of both darkness (any nightclub called "The Cage of the Crazies" has to have a dark side), and light (after all, it's an old-fashioned Broadway musical, so there has to be a happy ending, right?). A heck of a lot better than an evening in frong of the TV.

So... Where does that leave us? Let's tally it up: for Christopher Sieber - A+; for un-needed Campiness - C; for a great supporting cast (especially Billy Harrigan Tighe and Allison Blair McDowell as the young lovers; and, again, those Cagelles) - A; for relying on George Hamilton just a bit too much in promotion and on stage - C-.

Overall score, then: B+, although if you want to go to it simply to see George Hamilton in all his tan-ness, then I'd probably bump it up to an A-.

Would I recommend you go see it? Definitely. (Although I'd leave any youngsters at home.) Christopher Sieber alone is worth it, but I suspect that you'll find plenty of other good reasons to like it. And, heck, it's going to be a chilly week in Minnesota - so why not get in a little warm-up before the weather really turns?

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