Riedel: Mandy Patinkin wants to star in LA CAGE- Page 2

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 11:53am

I think Patinkin will be atrocious in this role...but I will be very happy to see him on Broadway.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 12:02pm

Apparently alone in my opinion that he'll be great in this part.

[tazber]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 12:35pm

No, I agreed with you Borstal.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 1:00pm

I could see Patinkin in this role only if the director is strong enough to rein in his excesses and prevent him from providing any of the show-offy "Mandy moments" that have marred many of his performances.

Oh, and only if Mandy gets a proper med evaluation prior to opening night.

[JimCo]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 1:10pm

Mandy is not directable. He does what he wants to do and that is that. He is affected, and his voice drives me up the wall. The way he treats other colleagues is not acceptable behavior. He's a spoiled brat, and I believe that there is a reason that he hasn't been back on Broadway for so long. He can't even hold a job in a TV series. He is nuts!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 1:43pm

Georges is also a master of ceremonies for the club, so he's not exactly a shrinking violet. It could be a good fit for Patinkin, both in the showbizzy aspects of the role, as well as the emotional quotient of such songs as Georges' "Song on the Sand" and "Look Over There" - which in this West End production carried about the same emotional heft as Albin's "I Am What I Am" Act One closer. I also would like to hear him sing these songs.

I've loved Patinkin in some performances and disliked him in others. With the right direction, the role of Georges could really showcase both sides of his performing style. And I thought he was pretty magical the last time he played a character named Georges, so I choose to remain optimistic.

A word too for this production: I recently saw it, with Roger Allam and Philip Quast. I saw and enjoyed (but never really loved) the original production and wondered after the Broadway revival if it was a show that could be successfully revived.

This new production is rather ingenious - being wonderfully intimate for the family drama that is really the center of the show, while still delivering a fun, tawdry glamour for the club numbers, with a pack of Cagelles who truly earn the label, "dangerous". It's a smaller La Cage than we've ever had in NYC, but it still has plenty of sets, costumes, wigs etc., so I felt it managed to have it both ways.

I think it is sensitively directed and conceived and incredibly gay-positive (contrary to what Laurents had to say). La Cage doesn't concern itself with gay marriage, of course, but with that issue remaining a hot button topic in the US, this show, which pleads for tolerance, compassion, and a different notion of what constitutes a family felt suddenly timely.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 1:58pm

So, are we forgiving him for The Wild Party stuff or is he a big enough name that the producers are willing to put up with him?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 2:05pm

Honestly, the only reasons I saw the London revival were that my partner and I both love Graham Norton's show and the fact that my partner had never seen a production of La Cage. While Graham Norton was not a "singer" by any stretch of the imagination, his personality was a good fit for Albin. And after hearing all the fuss over Hodge, I'd love to see his performance. I'm just afraid Patinkin will completely overpower the production. Did anyone see him as Marvin in Falsettos? Even in this clip of "Father to Son", it seems oversung and too deliberate. It's like the song was written by Mamet.

"Kid. Be my. Son. What I've done. To you. Is. Rot. Ten."
Mandy Patinkin sings Father to Son

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 3:37pm

Oy...I just wanna see Hodge's apparently brilliant performance.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 3:43pm

It's like the song was written by Mamet.

Lol

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 6:10pm

If it's not the Golden, then where is it going? Court? Square? Booth (although I don't think Next to Normal is going anywhere before Christmas at the very least).

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 6:30pm

I saw the original & the last revival & had no intention of seeing this one.

The thought of Mandy in it however has me rethinking my decision. The thought of Mandy in this is mind blowing. The latest revival had a problem with one of the lead actors so Mandy would merely be upholding the tradition.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/26/09 at 6:31pm

I'm just not as sure as Harvey that the songs would sound so great. Would they change the keys for Mandy?

[sparrman]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 12:13am

I saw Mandy in Falsettos. He was bad.

In the article, Mandy never says WHICH role he wants to play. Riedel casts him as Georges because he knows Hodge is coming over. But I too figure Mandy has his eye on Albin. Yeesh.

He lost the Tony to George Hearn in that role...he wants his own revenge!

Updated On: 8/27/09 at 12:13 AM

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 2:32am

If Mandy Patinkin is right for the role in La Cage than someone should offer Oliver Platt a role in a production of Guys and...



Wait a minute....

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 10:30am

Toots, that's half, no most of Broadway. That doesn't mean he's right for the role.

Updated On: 8/27/09 at 10:30 AM

[Luscious]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 1:32pm

Having seen the original Broadway production and the most recent revival, I was debating whether or not to spring for tickets for this production. Mandy Patinkin seals the deal (if, in fact, he's cast). I'll pass.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 1:49pm

Come now, D2, you know that there's an edict that when a show is revived the original production has to be slagged for one reason or another.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 2:11pm

It should be mentioned that Riedel's article does not say that Mandy Patinkin will actually be in the production. Just that Riedel and Fierstein think he would be a good choice.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 3:00pm

Maybe he should play Jacqueline?

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 3:16pm

I would like to see Mandy in La Cage. I mean, after the first season of Criminal Minds, I think he would draw more of the tourist demographic.

Also, why is La Cage being revived? It was only 4 years ago since the last one?

[MariusPontmercy]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 3:28pm

Also, why is La Cage being revived? It was only 4 years ago since the last one?

Artistically, the last revival disappointed many people and this production is seen as the one that could "put it right". If it's received on Broadway half as well as it has been in the West End, it will do just that.

Commercially, the timing is very, very risky. They're going to need something to sell it on, and I'm not sure "Oops, sorry, the last version was rubbish, but this one's great!" is going to be enough.

I will be very interesting to see (a) who they cast as Georges, and (b) how they market the show. I think it could work, but they're going to need to be very careful.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/27/09 at 3:38pm

It is indeed a risk to revive a show that was so recently revived. The 2004 revival sold well in advance ... until people saw the production, and then the bottom fell out. Because it sold well initially, I think it indicates that there is interest in the show, but for whatever reason, that production felt decidedly earthbound. A better production might succeed where the last production failed.

Ben Brantley, reviewing the West End production a month ago, said the following: "I was in no hurry to see "La Cage" after the slick and empty Broadway revival of 2004. But this version, directed by Terry Johnson and imported from the Menier Chocolate Factory in the Southwark neighborhood, triumphs by being anti-slick...this "La Cage" is sweet, seedy and affectingly human."

Speaking for myself, I felt that the West End/Menier Chocolate Factory production has much of the heart and fun that the last Broadway revival lacked and really played like a hit when I saw it recently. Coupled with an acclaimed Olivier Award-winning performance from Douglas Hodge, it seems worth another roll of the dice.