"La Cage" at City Center — Page 2

Dolly80 said: "I presume Billy Porter is insufferable in this?"

I’ll venture out and just say “yes.” If anything, that’s one trait he’s been consistent with once he won his Tony Award in 2013 then raised it to the stratosphere when he won his Emmy Award in 2019. 😎

rosscoe(au) said: "Why is Billy dressed as a man during the encore of The Best Of Times?"

The clips online of the cast singing it from the dress last night are clearly the curtain call. Albin doesn’t appear in drag at the end of the show.

Updated On: 6/17/26 at 10:49 AM

Dolly80 said: "I presume Billy Porter is insufferable in this?"

Albin is an extravagant character with good story arc, but knows when to be subdued - especially during the first half of Act II.

Considering this is a production many years in the making and this might be only shot for a production like this, I can assume that Harvey and Robert O’Hara created enough space for Porter to show off, but enough guardrails to prevent him from going into his overboard schtick. He’s been a lot more chilled out as a person since his potentially lethal sepsis diagnosis.

Considering this was announced around the same time as he was taking a hacksaw to CABARET, I understand the apprehension though.

How much riffing was done during “I Am What I Am”?

I am what I am is the best part (but when is not?). The rest though ...

Updated On: 6/17/26 at 11:47 AM

Interesting to hear Wayne Brady say that the idea years ago was for him and Tituss Burgess to do it together, that I can see very easily.

Kad said: "I really hesitate to fully counter what you're saying, quizking, because what I saw last night was very much in progress and things will likely settle and change over the next several days. But I would say: temper your assumptions, just to be safe."

Exactly. This is always why I keep my subscription on the first Sunday evening of the run because, if they don’t have most of their marbles in the bag by then…well…we got trouble in St. Tropez

The only production I saw of this was at Pasadena Playhouse a few years ago. It was one of the worst productions of anything I've ever seen

rosscoe(au) said: "Thank you. It’s been years since I’ve seen a production, I had no idea that Albinisn’t in drag."

In the original version and the 3 revivals, Albin wore men's suits when he wasn't in character as Zaza. ("Fruity suits", in the words of Harvey, but still suits.) Which never made sense to Harvey because it lessened the impact of Albin showing up in a conservative suit when he acquiesces to George and the son's wishes. So when Harvey replaced Doug Hodge, he had Albin wear more androgynous clothing when out of character as Zaza.

The book being used when the last revival closed on Broadway is also what Harvey and Jerry viewed as "definitive", and which stripped some of Arthur's influences away from of the show. Which is why the original orchestrations haven't been available to rent since ~2012 because the (terrible) 8-piece orchestration is what corresponded to the tweaked book. I gather that was part of the reason why the originals were restored to match the current version of the book for the Encores production, and hopefully they can get licensed now.

It's nice, though to see phrases like "absolutely nails this" in regards to Porter. I was concerned about Porter's stamina, and vocal fry (as have been criticized in the past).

That was a sarcastic remark when they asked they hoped Porter wasn’t going all over the place with his trademark over-riffing. In other words, if you were expecting his over-riffing, then he absolutely nails it. 🤣🤣🤣

Kingfan011, please don't let the atrocious Pasadena Playhouse production turn you off to this beautiful show. I saw the original and the revival and loved both. At Pasadena, I left at intermission. (Though I'm happy to say Pasadena Playhouse has fully redeemed itself this year with its productions of Amadeus and Brigadoon... with Mexodus coming up next!)

Updated On: 6/17/26 at 02:55 PM

Disappointing misfire. Cast Trans/Black & not even 1 token white cast member.

Wanted experience of being amongst a swell group but my seat was fronted by 2 levels of lean forwarders. Does no one care that blocking stage views for others behind you comes with leaning forward & not resting your back fully against your seat back? To one side a Black male couple seemed to be refusing to applaud, so maybe I'm too sensitive to my environment?

Wayne was best but sings flat for most song endings. Billy on book more than anyone else. Even on the title song! Ridiculous to have 'Ann on My Arm' be a tap number. Very little set which became more of a prob. when actors refer to the surroundings as having changed. Orch. was billed as being a return to a lushness not heard in later revivals - but their presence wasn't all that grand sounding.

Hopefully this will get better during it's 2 week run.