when albin is tucked away, and, ZAZA IS BACK! "Douglas Hodge sings joyously in the revival of La Cage Aux Folles".
"Hodge deserves all the accolades he earned in England".
Toronto Star
"Especially when mother is a quixotic, neurotic but undeniably goodhearted drag queen played by Douglas Hodge, who, by the way, is giving the most exuberant musical-comedy performance of the season".
"Flamboyant may be too mild an adjective. One of the delights of Hodge's performance is his joyous, music-hall rowdy portrayal of Albin's on-stage drag persona, Zaza."
Assosiated Press
"Albin responds with "I Am What I Am," an act-ender to end all act-enders that's always made up what it lacks in musical and lyrical complexity with an intense and wounded sincerity. Hodge adds something new: a touch of sputtering rage that's neither heroic nor pathetic. Too agitated to hold stage center, he jerks himself around, looking for release, but finding only an audience. And for once, the performer delivering this fight-song doesn't seem to assume his listeners share his feelings or his fight. For all the spittle and vibrato on display, Hodge's number feels strangely like a private moment. This Albin is not articulating a credo. He's simply furious."
The New York Magazine
"The producers are fortunate to have imported Hodge, who won an Olivier for this role. He comes on looking and acting like Colleen Dewhurst playing farce, and proceeds to offer a performance at once grandly over-the-top (in the first act) and emotionally grabbing (in the second)."
Variety
"Credible as needing or wearing Albin’s sequined feminine skin, during that scene or any other, however, Hodge is not. You’re always aware of his underlying insecurity—precisely what the drag is supposed to alleviate: Albin must come alive while performing, and Hodge doesn’t. An acclaimed Pinter interpreter, Hodge delves perhaps too deep into the character’s anguish. This has payoffs in the confrontation scenes, but the role also has hefty, glitzy show-biz requirements and Hodge simply cannot fill them. This is most noticeable when bitter betrayal and audience appeasement must blend at the end of the first act, in Albin’s titanic “I Am What I Am,” and Hodge can’t connect the pieces, which sends you into intermission with a whimper rather than a bang."
Talkin' Broadway - Talkin' Bollocks
"Less of a question mark is Hodge, certainly not to anyone who saw him hone the role in London (where he took home the Olivier Award). An actor of broad capabilities, he's more than capable at being a robust broad (aided by Matthew Wright's sparkling gowns and Richard Mawbey's confectionary wigs). Here, his Albin/Zaza exhibits effeminate flourishes that reach their peak in the seafront scene where he attempts to duplicate John Wayne's walk. Along the way Hodge also does knee-slapping send-ups of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich. But the performance's peak is -- as it should be -- his emotional delivery of the first-act closer "I Am What I Am." His rendition brims with vocal nuances, and Hodge eventually nails it to the rafters."
Theatremania
"Why mount another Broadway production of “La Cage aux Folles” when we just had one in 2004? The answer is that Terry Johnson’s London staging and its Olivier Award–winning star, Douglas Hodge, inject this 1983 Jerry Herman–Harvey Fierstein musical version of the 1978 French film with ingenious razzmatazz and a heartbreaking humanity that its immediate predecessor lacked."
"Every transvestite cabaret revue needs a diva, and Hodge more than fulfills that requirement as Zaza, Albin’s onstage alter ego. George Hearn, the original Albin, and Gary Beach, the 2004 star, did not throw themselves into the Zaza aspect of the part the way Hodge does. He doesn’t have much of a voice, delivering his songs and dialogue in a nasal Cockney, but Hodge is a master comic and devilish mimic. He shifts from Marilyn Monroe to Marlene Dietrich to Zaza, his “own special creation,” with amazing ease. Not only is Hodge at home in the glittering make-believe world of “La Cage,” he makes Albin a loving partner for Georges and caring parent to Georges’ son, Jean-Michel."
"When the onstage and backstage worlds collide in “I Am What I Am,” Albin’s anthem of self-expression, Hodge shows us both a consummate performer and a betrayed husband defiantly holding on to his identity."
"That’s not the fault of these two performers. With a Tony-worthy performance from Hodge, few could steal the spotlight."
Backstage
"Delivering that show-stopper is Douglas Hodge, a transplant from Johnson's 2008 London revival of La Cage. Hodge is practically perfect as the fey Albin, a tricky role in which an actor could easily slip into caricature or sentimentality. Hodge manages a careful balance, delivering a performance that is both hilarious and heartfelt; his character is admittedly over the top, but he always feels real."
"Hodge and Grammer provide a solid grounding for the show."
Entertainment Weekly
"Less of a question mark is Hodge, certainly not to anyone who saw him hone the role in London (where he took home the Olivier Award). An actor of broad capabilities, he's more than capable at being a robust broad (aided by Matthew Wright's sparkling gowns and Richard Mawbey's confectionary wigs). Here, his Albin/Zaza exhibits effeminate flourishes that reach their peak in the seafront scene where he attempts to duplicate John Wayne's walk. Along the way Hodge also does knee-slapping send-ups of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich. But the performance's peak is -- as it should be -- his emotional delivery of the first-act closer "I Am What I Am." His rendition brims with vocal nuances, and Hodge eventually nails it to the rafters."
Theatremania
"But if Hodge has some beautifully nuanced moments, he can also milk Zaza's camp value, and that of the show, to distraction."
USA Today
"Douglas Hodge (in a bravura Broadway debut), delivers the unexpected lesson that in theater, shabby can be not just chic but redemptive."
"But Mr. Hodge, who originated the part in the London revival, brings a fluttery hyperintensity to the role that recharges it."
"But Mr. Hodge, who originated the part in the London revival, brings a fluttery hyperintensity to the role that recharges it."
"And when Albin leads the company in a beaming version of “The Best of Times,” a song that usually gives me hives, you’re likely to feel that a cramped, decrepit nightclub has become the coziest sanctuary in the world."
New York Times
"True, the production originated in London. But let’s not hold that against it, especially when its crown jewel—the wonderful Douglas Hodge as Albin, also known as ZaZa, star of the drag revue, chief peacock and mother hen—shines so brightly. Making the most of the lines afforded to him by Harvey Fierstein, who knows from drag queens, Hodge’s Albin is an extravagant fussbudget: at once self-dramatizing and generous, vulnerable and impossible."
Time Out
"Olivier-winning star Douglas Hodge in action, we'll take it. Kelsey Grammer may be the draw for local audiences, but the show is Hodge's alone."
"Hodge is all the more spectacular because he isn't getting much from his co-star."
" When Albin powers through the anthemic "I Am What I Am," he turns pride into a shield, but also a weapon. And it's an absolute thrill."
New York Post
I love to introduce Derek to Tony soon.
