I love La Cage...but why again so soon?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 1:45pm

Anyone knows the exact reason why is this revival opening so soon after a recent revival that flopped? I wish them the best and the show is very entertaining, but I can't help but asking myself why opening this show when there are so many jewels that haven't been revived in decades?

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 1:47pm

Because this revival has been called "brilliant" and reinvents the play.

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:27pm

Because there are people who think this revival could be successful and profitable.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:36pm

It's one thing to revive GYPSY twice in five years.

It's another thing to revive LA CAGE twice in five years. Or fifty.

Unless they get Arthur to "re-imagine" it ala WSS and have the Cagelles speak only Gaysian.

P
Updated On: 9/14/09 at 02:36 PM

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:40pm

Because its a million times better than the rubbish that hit New York recently.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:41pm

Because it's a hundred million times better than the rubbish that hit New York recently.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:42pm

Its even better than that!

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:48pm

EVERY show gets produced because someone put their money where their mouth is. The producers of Glory Days did it because they thought it could be a hit. These guys think so too.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 3:22pm

I enjoyed, but never really loved, the original Broadway production in 1983, but was more of a Sunday in the Park fan that season. The 2004 revival made me wonder if the show could even be successfully revived. But this London revival is so ingratiating, that I gave into it and had a wonderful time, and found the show a much more moving experience than I ever had before.

There are a few reasons that make a difference. With its intimate size and the tables and chairs in the front row, an atmosphere is created that makes you feel you are in the club, with a degree of fun, playful interaction between those patrons at the front tables and Georges, Zaza and the Cagelles. It's a bit like the atmosphere at the Cabaret revival, but without the hard edge of that production though these drag queens are clearly drag queens and not the androgynous beauties of the original Broadway production.

The club production numbers are not the extravaganzas of the original Broadway production or the revival, but they are more akin to something you might actually see in a drag club (but still with plenty of wigs, costumes and set pieces).

More importantly, because of the intimacy, there is an immediacy to the story of Albin, Georges and Jean-Michel. The show is served better as a play than I feel it has been before.

The relationship between George and Albin feels more authentic here. I bought them as a long-term couple and there are some wonderful touches in how they behave in public, with a trepidation about public displays of affection that ring true about gay men of a certain age.

And - at last - it's the first time that the final kiss between George and Albin is downstage center - for which the audience cheered when I saw it.

Another reason for the revival coming here is Douglas Hodge, who is apparently wonderful, based on reviews and his Olivier Award win for Best Actor in a Musical. I saw Roger Allam (with the great Philip Quast) and enjoyed him very much, though I can't wait to see Douglas Hodge's celebrated performance.

And as I posted in another thread, La Cage will come to Broadway at an interesting time in this country. It's a show that pleads for tolerance, compassion and a wider definition of what constitutes a family, a parent and a marriage.

Updated On: 9/14/09 at 03:22 PM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 3:35pm

I think Smaxie's points in the last paragraph above, and about the show as a play are vital to understanding this production's success.

The intimate atmosphere and the interaction with the audience make it a very involving piece and emphasise how good Harvey Fierstein's book is.

And I haven't seen such big balls since Slava's Snowshow.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 3:46pm

Was in London a few weeks ago and loved it. It was a wonderful production - very different. Smaxie, I couldn't agree more with you on your take on the current London version.

It is very soon to revive it again, with the recent revival from a few years back. Loved the revival.....saw it twice and loved it!
Updated On: 9/14/09 at 03:46 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 3:54pm

Hodge is wonderful.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 6:31pm

I've seen this twice with Douglas Hodge and Roger Allam and it was wonderful each other. It's nothing like the Original Broadway production or the revival and IMO is one of the best reinventions of a show after the Donmar/Roundabout production of Cabaret and Chicago.
Updated On: 9/14/09 at 06:31 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 7:00pm

" is one of the best reinventions of a show after the Donmar/Roundabout production of Cabaret and Chicago"

What???

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 8:54pm

It's never to soon to revive a show if the new production is a good one.

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 8:57pm

Smaxie, I had the exact same question as the OP and you answered it perfectly. Thank you.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 9:01pm

I'm not saying anything new here, but I feel the revival is perfectly fine because: 1) Anyone whose knowledge of the show began with the last revival has NO idea of how wonderful a show it really is; 2) It sounds like the British version is innovative and, by adopting a smaller-scaled take on the show, it will reveal how very good a show La Cage is without needing the fancy sets, costumes, etc. of the original (which I saw severl times and thoroughly enjoyed); and 3) the Albin sounds like a real find.

Here's hoping that it will have the same effect in 2010 that it did in 1983 -- and good luck to all involved!!

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 8:05am

From the Royal Variety Performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtGj7mydVwQ

[Kalimba]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 8:14am

I love La Cage, but I think that photo of Douglas Hodge on the announcement page is hideous.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 8:34am

That photo is rather intensely cropped from the full image. Here's what it looks like in context. This is part of "A Little More Mascara" when it moves from the dressing room to an onstage number.



And even though it's a much smaller production than the two Broadway productions, it's not exactly bare bones either. Here are a few Cagelles shots.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 10:10am

Looks like it would be great ... Off-Broadway.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 10:35am

My sentiments echo Smaxie's. This production has much more honesty and authenticity than I've ever seen in the show and turned me into a fan of La Cage for the very first time. The real key will be the theatre. This production needs a smaller Broadway house (I was hoping it would take the Golden, which is close in size to the Playhouse in London) and it sounds like the Longacre might be a good fit, though I've never been in the theatre myself. I didn't have the chance to see Douglas Hodge, but I thought Graham Norton, though not a singer (which actually worked in his favor a bit), was a great fit for Albin. I was worried that he wouldn't be able to pull off the warmth needed for the role, but he surprised me. I honestly loved everything about it though I walked in expecting it to be the usual yawn I had witnessed time and again. I would highly recommend this to La Cage skeptics and I'd definitely go see this production again.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 11:22am

The Longacre and the Playhouse are not dissimilar. Both theatres have two balconies. Like the Playhouse, the Longacre is most frequently used for small-cast plays (like recent tenants Boeing-Boeing, Talk Radio, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) or the occasional musical revue, such as the original Ain't Misbehavin'. The orchestra level for both theatres has the same amount of rows, so it should be as intimate an experience at the Longacre as it is at the Playhouse, even with the larger seating capacity of the Longacre. The Longacre is also gorgeous now, following its 2008 renovation, and with its exuberant peach, pink, gold and teal color scheme, might perhaps out-gay the Cagelles.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 11:29am

I wonder if club seats will be installed in the front rows of the Longacre. They don't technically need a pit, as the band's on stage.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 11:34am

I imagine they will. It's such a factor in the staging. And the stage at the Longacre is very low, so the sight lines for the front tables would be excellent.