Video of the London LA CAGE that I've raved about

agree - a brilliant performance especially in the theatre.

Hodge is very good, and Norton doesn't seem as bad as you said. I love him so much from his talk show, I may be biased.

But I don't like that the Cagelles all look like ugly drag queens. In first NY production, the point was that they looked good enough to trick the straight men in the audience and in the second NY production, they were pretty stunning.

Here they all seem like they're in British pantomime travesty drag.

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That's the kind of I AM WHAT I AM that every Albin should bring to the show.

Far, far, far better than Beach's rendition.

I agree with paljoey they do look like trashy drags with ill fitting wigs and poor costumes. I prefer the original approach.

I just saw this in London. Graham Norton was wonderful, as was his co-star. The second act had real sparkle. But why, oh, why did Jerry Herman not write a second verse for The Best Of Times? It couldn't have been that difficult. Hey, I volunteer. It's a great number, especially as staged in this production, but they must sing the same lyrics about 10 times during the course of the song.

"I agree that Hodge was outstanding. He carried the show - and he had to. No one else was in his class, especially Denis Lawson, a very seedy and uninspired Georges."

Yes - it's such a shame that Philip Quast was not able to repeat his performance as Georges from the Menier Chocolate Factory (where this West End production originated). Quast was terrific, especially vocally. But I agree that in the West End staging, Douglas Hodge really stood out above everyone.

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Updated On: 2/2/09 at 06:36 AM

"The Best of Times" didn't need a 2nd verse during the original production. It was perfect, just the way it was.

The song was an anthem for enjoying every single damn moment of life that we have. The modulations between choruses and the gradual joining in of the rest of the cast and the simple arm-linking staging made the song overwhelmingly emotional.

It was 1983 and people were starting to get sick and die all around us. The words So make this moment last...as for tomorrow, well, who knows? took on a strange combination of desperation and joy that I hope the rest of you never know.

Five years later, many of those beautiful Cagelles were gone. And those handsome Aggies. And those Jets. And those Cats....

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Yeah they Playhouse is not the biggest of theatres

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I really hope a great production of this show surfaces in NYC in upcoming years. I haven't seen a production of it, but I always like what I see.

How was the set design for the London production? Was it what it was in the video?

Is there something I'm missing? From watching that clip, I don't think that Hodge's interpretation of "I am What I am" comes anywhere near George Hearn's.

Updated On: 2/4/09 at 12:52 AM

Congratulations to the production on its 7 Olivier award nominations.

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Saw the show Friday night and we LOVED it. While not a singer, Graham Norton's performance was delightful. This smaller production plays to the show's strengths in its book. And it opens the door for a non-singer to shine believably in the role almost like Sally Bowles in Cabaret. It is a sparkling production. I also saw Oliver and Zorro over the weekend (and thoroughly enjoyed both), but my partner and I agree that La Cage was the best. And it was the best production of La Cage I've seen thus far. I was not a fan of the show before, but I am definitely a fan of this revival.

One interesting curiosity about the night we went: loads of drags queens dolled up in the audience. It was almost like attending Rocky Horror. It was quite amusing with the exception of one or two who believed they were the show, rather than the production occurring on stage. One in particular kept squealing loudly at every opportunity, waving to people in the audience, getting up to leave and coming back throughout the performance in her ridiculously noisy beaded frock, and mugging and posing on the steps of the balcony during the interval. She was unbelievably disrespectful and obnoxious.

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