"La Cage" at City Center — Page 5

Wasn’t WILD PARTY also, conceptually, already in the can? They just needed to find a new director and cast, but I feel like a bunch of legwork had to have been done

Pinkins is one the MVPs of the production and makes an absolute meal out of Jacqueline, but it is nevertheless a pretty small role.


McElroy is fine. He gets some laughs and to show off his body, but his role is even smaller than Pinkins’ with probably less than ten lines in total.

MemorableUserName said: "UWS10023 said: "There have been other Encore shows where leads have carried books and it has not faced as much criticism as this production seems to be getting on this board. So it makes me think that this is more about the production in general."

I remember High Spirits earlier this year getting a lot of complaints about the binders, especially when it came to Andrea Martin. A quick check of that thread shows it only takes untilthe fourth post for a, "They sure like holding their scripts in this production."

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/thread/HIGH-SPIRITS-at-Encores"

In my mind I was referencing either or Dear World and Light in the Piazza but my memory could be failing me.

Updated On: 6/20/26 at 07:40 PM

She doesn't have much to do as Anne but she's lovely dancing and singing a line or two.

EricMontreal22 said: "UWS10023 said: "There have been other Encore shows where leads have carried books and it has not faced as much criticism as this production seems to be getting on this board. So it makes me think that this is more about the production in general. I was thinking of getting a ticket but now I’m not so sure. I have a feeling I might be huffing and sighing through. It."

I was gonna say--how quick we forget? Weren't a number of leads basically on book for the recent High Spirits?"

For Light in the Piazza Ruthie was definitely on book but at least at the performance I saw it didn’t really effect her scene work. There was one song where she started and then asked to stop and restart but I felt like she did it very professionally. It felt to me like Billy was reading the script without actually having familiarity with the text. And then saying “10 days bitches” just felt completely distracting to me.

Speaking only as an audience member, I'd happily support a lower-priced series of productions with very limited staging, especially if the shows were more in line with Encores original mission and unlikely to otherwise be produced. A bit more than a one-night concert, much less than a semi-staged show.

Those here with insider knowledge about production costs can probably comment on whether or not this is financially viable. Maybe it isn't a full series or maybe they experiment initially with one more bare bones production to gauge interest. Or as someone noted earlier, maybe the gala is the show that gets a more fully realized version and everything else reverts to something more lightly staged.

Depends on where you sit and your eligibility for access programs.

Melissa25 said: "FANtomFollies:Ensemble1698878795 said: "I dunno when we started expecting Encores to be a Broadway show."

Haven't the ticket prices also been climbing to almost match Broadway prices?

Usually higher than Broadway prices."

yup. There’s never any rush opportunities, even for the shows that are selling terribly in the orchestra and mezz. If you want a decent seat it’ll cost over $100. When I visit the city I try to not pay more than $70-80 for a seat, prefer to pay 40-60 though and usually do. They need to figure something out because there is an entire audience that is shut out because of this.

EricMontreal22 said:
I was gonna say--how quick we forget? Weren't a number of leads basically on book for the recent High Spirits?"

When I saw Dear World in 2023 the cast, including Donna Murphy, were carrying scripts for book scenes. It didn't take anything away from the show. It was actually one of the highlights of my theatre going life to see finally a live presentation of that show. I think people just like to pick on Billy Porter. Just saw a clip of his "I am What I am" & he made it his own. Also I thought they gave him a very elegant costume. It's not like he's going to sing it like frigging Shirley Bassey. But I think he does s better job than what the clips show of Fierstein in 2011.

Edit: fixed my typos

Updated On: 6/20/26 at 10:51 AM

The issue at the dress rehearsal (which was played to an almost entirely full house, all 3 levels of seating aside from the front center orchestra area cleared for the creatives) wasn't that Porter was holding a binder, it was that he was largely looking down and reading from it the entire time. He will obviously get better with it with time, but there was a startling lack of familiarity with the text even under the constraints of the process and that will hold him back even with more performances under his belt.

Updated On: 6/20/26 at 11:26 AM

RippedMan said: "I haven't been since the pandemic, but I'd always get a great seat up in the Balcony for fairly cheap? But maybe that's changed. I guess their whole model needs to be updated. Longer rehearsal process, etc."

I got a front row balcony seat for La Cage for $38. Great view. No discount, that’s the regular price of $35 plus $3 fee. There are tons of cheap options to see Encores, just not in the orchestra.

Cape Twirl of Doom said: "RippedMan said: "I haven't been since the pandemic, but I'd always get a great seat up in the Balcony for fairly cheap? But maybe that's changed. I guess their whole model needs to be updated. Longer rehearsal process, etc."

I got a front row balcony seat for La Cage for $38. Great view. No discount, that’s the regular price of $35 plus $3 fee. There are tons of cheap options to see Encores, just not in the orchestra."



I sadly can't sit up there without getting full blown vertigo. I had to walk out of Annie Get Your Gun about twenty minutes in. Well... stumble out and kind of crawl up the stairs to the balcony exit.

What the hell was that.

I know some felt the 04 revival was “soulless but entertaining”, but this one isn’t entertaining, and its soul feels misguided.

Mascara is sort of the encapsulation of everything wrong with this revival. It’s the original “get ready with me!” sequence and a gift to a showman - yet here Billy stands there while other people pretend to get him ready. (He’s already ready.) Then, when it’s time for the number to transition to “on stage,” the Cagelles mostly just stand around and the lighting barely changes. I LOVED Robert O’hara’s production of JELLY’S LAST JAM and a lot of his other shows, but this misses the mark.

This is some of the worst choreography I’ve ever seen at Encores. Lifeless musical numbers with no build, and a too-large ensemble that feels like those Public Works or Master Voices productions where a big group of amateurs come onstage costumed from their own closet and just stand there.

The pacing is slow, and this production emphasizes the weaknesses in Fierstein's book. Especially everything that follows Best Of Times -- just wrap up the show already.

Credit where it’s due, there are about 30 GREAT minutes: I Am What I Am, then intermission where I could gossip with the girls, then the Entr’acte with full orchestra, and then Masculinity and the surrounding scene. Masculinity is the one moment with some life, some direction, and some comic timing. Billy as Mother is also quite good (maybe more convincing than other Albins I’ve seen), and Wayne Brady and James Jackson are almost great.