La Cage aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse

[rburton66]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 2:18am

I’m so curious to know if anyone else from the board catches this and what they think.

Cheyenne Jackson is the one saving grace here. I missed seeing Kevin Cahoon in Shucked, but I can say, without a doubt, his Albin is the single most grating musical theater performance i have ever witnessed. Based on Oh, Mary!, I expected Sam Pinkleton’s direction to be tight or at least… competent. Not sure I’ve ever gone into a theater with optimism and come out feeling so dead inside. But hey, at least I’ll remember it!

[alovingfan]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 2:52am

It truly is awful.  I felt sorry for Kevin Cahoon.  His voice, his choices, everything he did.  Just awful.  The director is totally to blame.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 10:33am

I watched the little trailer they put out and... I'm not sure what about La Cage made them want to lean into Club Kid/Boy George aesthetics when the show fills a pretty specific Drag niche as written. 

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 10:39am

Disappointing to hear these reports. I actually liked what I've seen of the design - it's very contemporary Brooklyn drag with lots of references to Sasha Velour, House of Yes, etc, which I think certainly could make sense in the show.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 10:40am

I won’t get to see this, but that trailer is awful. The visuals are at odds with the score. If you want to really lean into a more 80s-specific style, that’s totally valid and could be interesting, but it should have been done in conjunction with Harvey and the Herman estate to adjust the musical arrangements.

Pinkleton has self-described as loving a “messy” style of musical theatre, which has tracked with some of his other Pasadena work and seems to be on full display here.

From the start, the supporting cast felt really miscast. A real “just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD.”

[nmartin]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 10:57am

I saw this Tuesday night.

I have rarely seen so many bad choices made by a production team. The direction, the set, the costumes, the choreography, the orchestra (if you can call it that), EVERYTHING is wrong.

Any production that can make a Jerry Herman score sound small and amateurish has a major problem.

If this had been my first exposure to La Cage aux Folles, I would have said that it is an awful musical. Thankfully, I saw the OBC at the Palace and know otherwise.

George Salazar gave the only decent performance.

Driving back to West Hollywood afterwards, I thought, "If Arthur Laurents saw this, his head would explode."

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 10:58am

Casting Cheyenne is pretty great.  

Updated On: 11/21/24 at 10:58 AM

[nealb1]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 1:09pm

Have tickets for Saturday evening, 12/14.  Looking forward to seeing the show.  

[DAME]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 1:23pm

We went Tuesday night as well.  Horrible direction.  Horrible mess of a concept.  Bad casting. And a screeching unbearable Albin.  Someone needs to step in and stop Kevin.  He is going to ruin his voice forever.  Cheyenne has a gorgeous voice.  And George Salazar was fun to watch.  This is a big misfire for the playhouse.  I also want to add in my edit.. I kind of felt mocked watching this show.  It did not serve me well in this ultra sensitive period of time. 

Updated On: 11/21/24 at 01:23 PM

[Ensemble1731716468]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 4:34pm

Echoing all of the thoughts above.  The creative vision here stripped the show of its heart.   I was so looking forward to this show and left so disappointed.  

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 4:48pm

nmartin said: "I saw this Tuesday night.

I have rarely seen so many bad choices made by a production team. The direction, the set, the costumes, the choreography, the orchestra (if you can call it that), EVERYTHING is wrong.

Any production that can make a Jerry Herman score sound small and amateurish has a major problem.

If this had been my first exposure to La Cage aux Folles, I would have said that it is an awful musical. Thankfully, I saw the OBC at the Palace and know otherwise.

George Salazar gave the only decent performance.

Driving back to West Hollywood afterwards, I thought, "If Arthur Laurents saw this, his head would explode.""

 

For the orchestration, the only version licensed now is an 8-piece used for the 2010 revival (which corresponds with the script for that revival, which is Fierstein & Herman’s preferred version of the text now). Size aside, I think it’s a pretty poor orchestration.

To that point: Arthur would probably hate ALL productions of LA CAGE that moved beyond his original vision. Herman & Fierstein continued to tinker with the show through 2011.

[nmartin]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 5:56pm

Response to Ermengarde:

From everything I've read about Arthur Laurents, I'm sure you're right; however, in this case it would be completely justified.

I did not know that about the orchestra. Thanks for the information.

And you are right. It's very poor.

Updated On: 11/21/24 at 05:56 PM

[RichieR2]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 8:42pm

You hit every point that made this show unbearable to watch. After intermission, I stayed in the lobby and read a book, waiting for my 3 car mates, who stayed because they thought it could get better in the second half. It didn't. 

[RichieR2]

Posted: 11/21/24 at 8:50pm

"And a screeching unbearable Albin."

Only twice in the last 10 years have I walked out of a show and this was one of them and it was Albin that drove me to stay in the lobby through the second half waiting for my friends, who thought it might get better. It didn't. The drag performers looked like they hated being there. 

 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/2/24 at 12:35pm

Sorry to say I can only echo the critiques the above posters have written. If the sets, costumes, lights, staging and choreography are ALL deliberately ugly, trashy and amateur, one has to conclude this must be the very deliberate choice of director Sam Pinkleton. In a show about the glamor and gorgeousness of the art of drag, with lyrics like: "What we are is an illusion", where in God's name was the illusion, the Shalimar, the Maribou? Would one gorgeously designed wig or feminine peignoir have been too much to ask?

We grew to feel sorry for Cheyenne Jackson, who's Georges was indeed the one shining light onstage --gorgeous man, gorgeous voice, easygoing delivery-- on a stage crowded with nonstop shrieking, mugging and caterwauling. Is the script a masterpiece of nuance and subtlety? Not by a long shot. But that's no excuse for Madame Dindon to rival the worst Cagelle in overacting up a storm. And for Albin/Zaza to be treated the way Kevin Calhoun is forced to treat her is frankly a crime against one of the great ladies in the Jerry Herman canon. Why does he speak like a Tennessee hillbilly and dress like a sister-wife when he isn't done up as a drowned Grizabelda for the show numbers? Where is the love for this character which the whole story hinges on? Lose that and you've got a very bleak show.

Am I a little biased? I admit I am-- I spent most of 1982, '83 and '84 as first assistant set designer to the great David Mitchell on the OBC, 1st and 2nd National Tours. Still, there are 100 new ways to present La Cage with joy and love and respect. This production found none of them.

 

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 12/2/24 at 6:15pm

It's not that I don't believe you all, but you're making me want to see this very badly. 

[Idiot]

Posted: 12/3/24 at 2:14am

I can't remember ever leaving a live performance at intermission before.  When my friend, who I didn't think would want to leave, turned to me and said, "you done?" - we fled amongst a stream of other audience members.

I know how much goes into even a bad production and I don't relish bashing shows in a public way at all - but this was infuriatingly bad.  Other than casting Cheyenne, every other choice was just wrong.  Contemporizing the gender expressions in the show doesn't work and actually felt disrespectful to the material.  Cahoon's I AM WHAT I AM was so mis-delivered I felt guilty even watching it.  Pasadena's Sondheim program was fantastic - I guess they wanted to take a big swing here.  They missed this time. 

[Dan6]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 1:29am

Got tickets for this as soon as they went on sale...it's one of my favorite shows, I love Cheyenne, and have seen many great productions at the Pasadena Playhouse. After reading the above reviews, I thought about donating the tickets, but decided to give it a chance. Really, it couldn't be that bad, could it? Turns out yes, it could. Even these reviews didn't prepare me for what a complete calamity this was. My wife and I barely made it to intermission and fled (we would have been gone sooner had we been closer to the aisle). I was embarrassed for everyone on stage...and in the audience. Probably the worst "professional" production I've ever seen. 

Believe me, it gives me no pleasure to bash anything. But if I can save one person from this experience, it's worth it. 

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 01:29 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 2:46am

I wasn’t even wowed by the clips of Cheyenne’s two big songs (though I haven’t seen the show in full). Amazing that what seemed like a slam dunk on paper turned out this poorly. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 9:55am

Didn't this get pretty good reviews though?

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 10:13am

Owen22 said: "Didn't this get pretty good reviews though?"

Oh honey, no.

Theatremania:

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-cheyenne-jackson-and-kevin-cahoon-in-la-cage-aux-folles-at-pasadena-playhouse_1757971/
 

BWW: 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Review-LA-CAGE-AUX-FOLLES-at-Pasadena-Playhouse-20241118

Other reviews seem to be more of a basic summary of the show itself than any substantial review 

[inception]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 12:14pm

I guess it could have been better if everyone was dressed in black and performed to hand held cameras without looking at each other. 

This kind of makes the Robin Williams film look OK.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 12:36pm

inception said: "
This kind of makes the Robin Williams film look OK."

The Birdcage, a movie that became a beloved classic? 

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 12:36 PM

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 12:43pm

inception said: "I guess it could have been better if everyone was dressed in black and performed to hand held cameras withoutlooking at each other.

This kind of makes the Robin Williams film look OK."

 No.  Nothing would have made this better.  

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 1:04pm

I can't speak to the performances or staging. But to be fair to the concept, Harvey Fierstein wrote in his 2022 memoir that he always wanted La Cage Aux Folles to resemble the run down drag clubs he used to frequent. He found the Arthur Laurents and Jerry Zaks production designs overblown. He felt the Terry Johnson production was closer to his original vision.