La Cage-Substandard? Just to me?

Did anyone else but me dislike this La Cage Revival?

To me it felt like a bad dinner theatre production. 7 musicians made the music sound very thin at $132 per ticket. (Okay I paid 74)

Douglas Hodge to me was over the top, shticky, unconvincing, annoying and swishy in a very irritating way. He did not compare to the other Albin;s I saw: George Hearn, Keene Curtis and of couse Nathan Lane in Birdcage.For the first time watching a La Cage, I found his performance offensive.


The maid (Robin de Jesus) was the least funny of any other maid I have seen in the role.

The curtains-omnipresent at all times could not make me forget I was at the theatre
and ruined all of the son-father scenes.

The Cagelles- who normally make the show had really horrific choreography that pailed to the original. I found myself yearning for a real Broadway Production. Maybe the one from the 80's

Lest you think I hated everything-- I thought Kelsey fine in the role, Veanne Cox and Fred Applegate and the look of the Cagelles-------- but to me-- this was a substandard La CAge that belonged in dinner theatre.

The audience all around me of course loved it and gave it a standing ovation.
I don't get it.

No, you aren't alone, though certainly a minority.

I loathed this revival, with the exception of Kelsey Grammer and Christine Andreas.

I too hated this production, and not because it 'went over my head'. I thought they only half-committed to the directorial vision, and the cast seemed to be performing in different shows, some cast members playing like farce, some playing like it was Pinter, and I'm not entirely sure what Kelsey Grammer was doing.

The problem with a 'stripped down' show is that the material has to be incredible, and lend itself to the smallness. "La Cage" is a big, campy farce with a heart, and that can be very enjoyable when done right. "A Little Night Music" works when you take it down to its bear essentials, but there just isn't enough to prop up "La Cage" when you take away the glitz and glamour--it's just a mediocre show left standing there in bad drag.

Concept-wise, it’s not really stripped down (which reminds me, we need obviously need a black box La Cage!). It’s trashy trying to pass off as glamorous and glitzy, and it succeeds remarkably, not too much unlike the musical itself. As vodkastinger said, the material is far from perfect. But I think that this production is pretty damn close to being a perfectly realized vision. I really can’t say it better than Brantley did in his review: “What makes this version work — transforming a less-than-great musical into greatly affecting entertainment — is its insistence on the saving graces of the characters’ illusions about themselves and, by extension, the illusions of the production in which they appear.”

I feel like some people are over-looking Kelsey’s performance because it’s not flashy and some are over-looking Hodge’s because it’s too flashy. I didn’t find Hodge too over the top at all, especially since there’s a real heartbreaking and emotionally engaging core to it. After all, “what we are is an illusion.”

But you are right, La Cage is a “big, campy farce with a heart.” I guess I just don’t understand how this production isn’t exactly that.

I found myself emotionally engaged but laughing harder than I had at anything else all season. I can’t wait to go back.

i felt the same. i thought, if this was supposed to be "fabulous" i must not be in the right frame of mind.

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But when the clip they put on national television is that, what is one supposed to think? Especially if this is supposed to get people to want to see the show (which it did the exact opposite for me).

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You are not alone, although yes I think we are in the minority. I saw the show last night and left thinking, hmmm... what's all the fuss about.

However, I did adore Hodge's performance. It was the only reason to see this production for me.

I feel it lacked the right energy. The audience seemed to adore it though.

The revival is brilliant because it taps into the atmosphere of the show. The show is about a trashy drag club whose star is an over-the-top mega-queen. That's exactly what this production gives the audience. But the cast also taps into the humanity at its core. If Douglas Hodge wasn't over-the-top, he wouldn't be Zaza. And the Les Cagelles are perfection. If the dancing were sleek and perfectly executed/choreographed, it wouldn't be fitting. It's all about atmosphere. I was 100% engaged in the story and I also got the nightclub feel. I think this production is absolutely remarkable.

Well, this was my first time seeing La Cage in any shape or form and I adored it!

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And the love that went back and forth between audience and cast was palpable.

I agree! I've never felt that kind of energy shared between performer and audience member. Magical.

but If i wanted to see a substandard drag show.. I would go to a substandard drag show....
Not a Broadway Show with seven instruments and an offensive lead
in a dinner theatre production at 132. at ticket

Douglas Hodge was the worst albin I have ever seen.

The main point, I think is that it isn't a $132 a ticket show. For $132 you want all the trappings that come with that price tag - full orchestra, full chorus...

Updated On: 5/1/10 at 10:43 PM

"Did anyone else but me dislike this La Cage Revival?"


I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I was certainly disappointed after hearing all the hype about it. I'd call it ok, but uninspired. I definitely preferred the original production, and the first revival as well.

"To me it felt like a bad dinner theatre production. 7 musicians made the music sound very thin at $132 per ticket. (Okay I paid 74)"


The music didn't sound nearly as good as it should, and the overture was woeful.

"Douglas Hodge to me was over the top, shticky, unconvincing, annoying and swishy in a very irritating way."

I had mixed feelings about his perfomance. There were things he did well, but I agree with you that at other moments he was quite irritating.


"The maid (Robin de Jesus) was the least funny of any other maid I have seen in the role."

Here I agree with you 100%.


The main problem with this production is that the comedy didn't work. It's supposed to be funny, and this was only mildly amusing.