"La Cage" at City Center — Page 3

forgetmenotnyc said: "Disappointing misfire.Cast Trans/Black ¬ even 1token white cast member.

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 thatgrand sounding.

That isn’t even a valid criticism - that’s just blatantly racist/transphobic. It’s not like SHUFFLE ALONG where, in a whole black cast, they needed on token white to be the character who represents everything bad that happens to the leads.

As for being on book and the minimal set - that is literally the point of Encores. You are not supposed to be getting fully polished production in 10-14 days like it’s summer stock. I’ve said before in other areas that the whole goal of this season was stated to have been a return to that as opposed to the mounting pressure to churn out fully developed hit revivals resulting from the post-pandemic hot streak they had with Broadway transfers.

Kad said: "The issue is there is quite a bit of set, but isn’t consistently or well used.

as for not being off-book… Porter was deeply reliant on his script the entire dress rehearsal yesterday and he was the only one in the cast for whom this was the case. It was absolute murder on the pacing."

Yes. Pacing murder - the direction as a whole is extremely misguided as is the staging. Shockingly so. Most of it was a head scratcher.

CoffeeBreak said: "Kad said: "The issue is there is quite a bit of set, but isn’t consistently or well used.

as for not being off-book… Porter was deeply reliant on his script the entire dress rehearsal yesterday and he was the only one in the cast for whom this was the case. It was absolute murder on the pacing."

Yes. Pacing murder - the direction as a whole is extremely misguided as is the staging. Shockingly so. Most of it was a head scratcher."

Surprise, surprise CoffeeBreak hating something. Call anyone shocked.

I saw this tonight. Perfect, no. Worth a rush ticket, absolutely. Brady is charming. James Jackson kinda steals the show. Billy is giving a raw and committed performance. His voice isn’t in the best shape, but he acts the hell out of this. He has star power, flaws and all.

Encores was never suppose to be off-book. Gavin Creel actually stood his ground when they tried to force the ITW company to be off-book and thus it didn’t happen. This production is a wild swing. It’s not your grandmother’s La Cage. It’s very Black coded, but also hilarious. I have questions on wigs and costumes. Overall a good time in the theater.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The man almost died of sepsis last year and spoke of continued brain fog in a recent interview. I’d much rather him be on book for a concert performance than be struggling for lines."

Yep. He’s giving it his all and it’s jaw dropping.

Updated On: 6/18/26 at 12:05 AM

Unfortunately this was a huge disappointment for me and my group this evening. Love the show but this was just so unredeemable in my eyes. I didn’t buy anything Billy was doing (and I was so excited when this casting was announced) and found the vocals all around pretty rough. The orchestra was even wonky in places and the staging was bizarre. Feels like such a wasted opportunity.

There was almost no sound projected into balcony at wild party, so I want to know where everyone sat before they're allowed to say its bad

The 1996 Encores! Concert Series production of CHICAGO had binders being used quite a bit.

Theatermania review. Unfortunately it's not just "accelerated timeline" causing O'Hara's issues here ...

"But many of O’Hara’s additions feel more like accoutrements than anything else. The Cagelles are expanded into a wide array of gay, trans, and genderqueer performers (as opposed to simply being men in drag), executing contemporary choreography by Edgar Godineaux and costumed by Clint Ramos and Michelle Ridley as a kaleidoscope of homages to Beyoncé, Mariah, Rihanna, Whitney, Tina, Donna, Janet, and Grace. The concepts are fun but messily executed, especially the dancing. You can’t look at it without thinking that Cats: The Jellicle Ball has already successfully achieved what this production is still trying to work out.

The ultimate takeaway from Robert O’Hara’s La Cage aux Folles is that there are a lot of intriguing thoughts that have been prevented from cohering by the accelerated timeline. That’s why “The Best of Times” lands with such force. It’s not just a second-act showstopper, it’s a reminder of how glorious La Cage aux Folles can be when everything clicks. For five minutes, it truly does, and they really are the best of times."

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-wayne-brady-and-billy-porter-in-a-la-cage-aux-folles-thats-still-finding-the-best-of-times

Updated On: 6/18/26 at 12:03 PM

TheatreFan4 said: "So... I'm a bit confused after watching the little promo video they put out. Does this still take place in the French Riviera, because I feel things like the Eartha Kitt Catwoman reference is a little weirdly American? And why did they modernise it with their references so they could include Beyonce? I feel like La Cage echos a time long ago that it feels misplaced to try and bring it to today so literally...

Like I know the message of La Cage is still relevant (especially now), but I feel like that's still apparent without dragging the actual plot to today."

You won't be confused when you see it. It's a big swing. It makes sense in the context of what Robert is doing.

I too found this very disappointing. This was my first time seeing the show and I went in very excited to see it but found myself feeling pretty detached. It sorta felt like a museum piece and almost too happy for the content of the story. I thought Wayne did a fine job but Billy was not it for me. I kept thinking to myself THIS is what beat Sunday in the Park with George???

Jordan Catalano said: "Oh my. This was…not good. “La Cage” is truly one of the all-time great contributions to musical theater, so to see the show done like this, ultimately made me sad. There were more than a few moments we burst out laughing at some things that were just so jaw droppingly bizarre but this production misses basically every single mark. Billy forgot a line tonight and while trying to find it in his script he looked at the audience and yelled “Ten Days, Bitches!” and yes of course the audience screamed with delight but it just really struck a nerve with me, for some reason.

One review I think said “The Best of Times” is a highlight and reminds you of why the show is great (or something like that) but god it was directed so flat I was bored out of my mind and counting the minutes until the Dindon’s would be in drag so I could go home. Just another truly unfortunate entry in the Encores book."

In Best of times I was hyper aware of how often they repeated the same lyric. I also don’t think having it be the encore really works. Like the best of times are not now lol