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

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?

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

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

Its even better than that!

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.

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

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

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

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

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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!!

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

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

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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.

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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.

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