Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Florida - Southern

La Cage aux Folles
The Wick Theatre

Also see John's review of The Lion King


Lee Roy Reams
The Wick Theatre presents the award winning musical La Cage aux Folles starring Lee Roy Reams and Walter Charles. Featuring music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, the musical is based on the 1973 French play La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret. A French-Italian film of the same name was made in 1978 and an American film adaptation of the play called The Birdcage was made in 1996 starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. The musical opened on Broadway on August 21, 1983, at the Palace Theatre where it ran for 1,761 performances, and received six Tony Awards.

Les Cage aux Folles focuses on same sex couple Georges and Albin, who live in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. Georges is the manager of a nightclub called "La Cage aux Folles" featuring the very finest in drag entertainment. His star attraction is Zaza, who is also his long-time love and life partner Albin. Their lives are filled with the busy club, its many customers, and its flamboyant chorus of performers called "Les Cagelles." Conflict begins in their personal lives when Georges' twenty-four-year-old son Jean-Michel brings home his fiancée Anne. While Georges and Albin, who have raised Jean-Michel as father and mother, welcome Anne into their hearts, they fear there will be a problem with Anne's ultra-conservative parents. Her father is a politician running for office using a moral platform solidly against the way of life shared by Georges and Albin and everyone around them. With the prospective in-laws coming to meet them, they scramble to disguise the colorful lives they have created for ones which they hope will be "acceptable" to Anne's parents. In the end they are able to celebrate with pride, who and what they are, as is exemplified in the most famous song in the show, "I Am What I Am."

Though Lee Roy Reams is a bit too deliberate in his first two scenes, he gradually relaxes into a lovably neurotic and big-hearted Albin. He is wonderful at working the audience, and channeling Mae West and Tallulah Bankhead as Zaza. Swathed in sequins and feathers, His Zaza looks like a cross between Ethel Merman and Molly Sugden (Mrs. Slocombe from the BritCom "Are You Being Served"). His strong second act performance is highlighted by some memorable physical comedy in the "Masculinity" scene, and the overall feeling of great warmth he brings to the role.

Walter Charles has a rich baritone singing voice, but is not well suited to the role of Georges. He is sedate rather than suave, and despite Reams' best efforts to establish the warmth of a relationship between them, Charles gives nothing back to Reams in their scene work. He shows a concerning lack of facial expression in his performance, sometimes failing to react to other people's jokes or correctly set up his own. He also had problems remembering his lyrics during "Song on the Sand" on the night attended.

Aaron Young as Jean-Michael and Christina Laschuk as Anne have just enough chemistry to be believable (though during the "With Anne on My Arm" scene Young inexplicably sings the word "Papa" with the accent on the second syllable—which is correct—but repeatedly speaks "Papa" with the accent on the first syllable). Other stand-outs in this large cast are Angie Radosh who is funny as the repressed Mme. Dindon, though her stage time is brief, and Jodie Dixon-Mears who is charming as the very French restaurant owner Jacqueline. Phil Young as Jacob is too loud, too high-pitched, and too rushed with his line delivery. Though his bits remain funny because they are outrageous, his character does not. Speaking of too fast—though one always appreciates a director keeping a brisk pace, the first few scenes are directed so fast that some of the funny lines are lost, and it interferes with the establishment of the characters.

Scenic design makes good use of the space while creating the right feel for the piece. Some minor microphone issues were present on the night attended. As the many repeats of "The Best of Times" progressed, Albin's mic was left turned up loudly though he was singing a harmony line, which drowned out the melody. Issues also made it nearly impossible to pick out the individual melodies during the last part of the song "Cocktail Counterpoint." One minor scenic note: In the second act Mme. Dindon says "My, what a beautiful crucifix!" as she indicates a four foot tall cross hung on the wall. Crucifixes and crosses are two different things. A crucifix is an image of Jesus on the cross, different from a bare cross. Her character, being religious, would never have made that mistake. Having seen the show several times, I recall it has always been a crucifix on the wall, just as the script calls for, not a cross.

The appeal of this production of La Cage aux Folles is its lavish and campy costuming, glamorous Cagelles, impressive choreography, and a Jerry Herman score filled with memorable songs. The Wick has provided all these things and more. With the resources of the Costume World Theatrical at their fingertips, they have the richest array of sequins, feathers and beads one could ask for. A live, seven-piece orchestra plays the score so smoothly one forgets they are even there. And, oh, the tireless energy of our Cagelles, as they crowd-pleasingly tap, twirl, kick and sing their way through countless costume and scene changes. I found myself waiting for their next entrance with happy anticipation.

Jerry Herman was the first composer-lyricist in history to have three musicals run more than 1,500 performances on Broadway with Hello, Dolly! (2,844), Mame (1,508) and La Cage aux Folles (1,761). He received Tony Awards for Hello, Dolly!, and La Cage aux Folles and a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2009. His other musicals include Milk and Honey (1961), Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1979), and A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (1980). His many honors include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, named after him by his alma mater the University of Miami, in Miami, Florida.

La Cage aux Folles will be appearing at the Wick Theatre through February 15, 2015. The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum is located at 7901 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton, Florida. It houses a professional, 330-seat theatre company hiring local and non-local Equity and non-Equity actors, the Broadway Collection Costume Museum, and the Wick Tavern - open for lunch or dinner. For more information you may contact them by phone at 561-955-2333 or online at www.thewick.org.

Cast:
Albin: Lee Roy Reams*
Georges: Walter Charles*
Jacob: Phil Young
Jean-Michel: Aaron Young*
Anne: Christina Laschuk
Edouard Dindon: Troy Stanley
Mme. Dindon: Angie Radosh*
Mme. Renaud: Abby Perkins
M. Renaud: Justin Schneyer
Jacqueline: Jodie Dixon-Mears
Francis: Shane Tanner
"Les Cagelles":
Chantal: Stephen Petrovich*
Monique: Ramaad Morris
Hanna: Cameron Benda*
Bitelle: Ashley Klinger
Angelique: Jessica Ernest
Phaedra: Tony d'Alelio
Clo-Clo: Sam Rohloff
Odette: Jacob Paulson
Ensemble: Wesley Slade, Alexander Zenoz, Casey Weems

Crew:
Director: Norb Joerder
Music Director: Michael Ursua*
Scenic Design: Eric Harriz
Lighting Design: Jose Santiago
Sound Design: Justin Thompson
Costume Design: Costume World Theatrical
Stage Manager: Eric Harazi*

*Designates a member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.


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-- John Lariviere