I didn't like La Cage the first time I saw it on Broadway with Hearn and Gene Barry........even though I thought they were both wonderful...........I thought many of the Cagelles numbers were simply toooooo long and I thought the book by Harvey Fierstein was dreadful.
I saw it a couplea years later with Keene Curtis and Peter Marshall, again at the Palace theater, and the second time seeing it, this show worked its magic on me. I loved it. Maybe its simply because I had much better seats the second time???
Anyway, I adore Gary Beach...........but I am a bit surprised they are not going for names with a little more star wattage. Beach is a star in the Broadway community for sure, but I don't think he will add much to the box office.
I was hoping this revival of La Cage might be more in the Jerry Herman tradition of his shows having great well known stars, as did Hello Dolly, Mame and Mack and Mabel throughout their Broadway runs.
Many people have said that La Cage closed prematurely in part because of the AIDS crisis (people simply uneducated about the subject, some say, were literally afraid to go to the Palace theater thinking they might catch AIDS there.)
I think La Cage would have stood a better chance of keeping profits coming in at the Palace theater had it had a continual succession of marquee value stars............
Again, I adore Gary Beach and he will be a great Albin. However, his casting is rather predictable and almost a bit disappointing. Then again, I am glad that Mr. Beach will finally get his name OVER THE TITLE on a Broadway show. He is indeed a star who will twinkle and glow as Albin.
"MAY YOUR LIFE BE AS BRIGHT AS BROADWAY AT NIGHT"
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