Well, I guess I get to be the voice of dissent on this one, but I absolutely loathed nearly every minute of this messy production. I won't even mention the shoddy book and the fact that no character beyond Georges and Albin are the least bit developed, or the fact that the ending doesn't really resolve the main issue, because neither of those things is the fault of this particular production.
The problems begin before you even enter the theater, where you're greeted outside by an obnoxious sounding drag queen, standing on a pink carpet under a disco ball and glowing pink lights. It's campy and trashy to the extreme. Oh, and the cell phone announcement was made by having several of the drag queens walk up and down the aisles telling the audience, "It's the 1970's, bitches! Shut off the phones!"
The much ballyhooed Doug Hodge can't sing one little bit, and this is the most unpleasant, irritating version of I Am What I Am I've ever heard that he croaks out. It sounds like a dying squirrel. His acting didn't seem like anything special, I don't get what all the hoopla over this performance is. He's not very convincing as a woman, and you really wonder how he is able to fool the Dindons as long as he is.
Grammer actually fared much better, in my opinion. His role may not be as showy, but I felt he gave a stronger performance and I had much more sympathy for his character than I did Albin. I also found his voice much more pleasant to listen to than Hodge.
DeJesus was ridiculously over the top and I wanted to scream every time he pranced on the stage- a complete caricature. Andreas, Applegate, and Cox are all wasted in tiny roles. A.J. Shively is about the most unlikable Jean-Michel you could possibly have. He comes across as far too much of a brat, you don't even feel like he's asking for this because he's madly in love. He doesn't get past the spoiled brat bit, and I really wanted Georges to just smack some sense into him at one point. Elena Shaddow gets perhaps the worst, most underwritten role in the show and does absolutely nothing with it.
The Cagelles aren't the least bit "notorious" or "dangerous", and there was never any moment where anyone seemed the least bit concerned about what they might do.
Much has been made about the thin orchestra of the revival playing across the street from this one, but the La Cage orchestra has exactly 8 pieces in it, and the whole thing sounds like tin. Very thin sound throughout, worse, in fact, that Night Music's.
Also, is there a reason these accents are so all over the place? Andreas and Grammer both attempt a French accent, Hodge speaks with a British one, Shively, Shaddow, and the Dindons use an American accent, and DeJesus thinks the show is set in Mexico. Shouldn't they all be speaking with French accents? Did no one think this through?
I know I'm in the minority on this one, but a couple of catchy tunes couldn't salvage the evening for me, and I frankly couldn't wait for it to end.
Updated On: 4/10/10 at 01:01 AM
