Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Theater Review: La Cage Aux Folles

By John Garcia of John Garcia's The Column

La Cage Aux Folles was the first musical that I ever saw on Broadway (might explain my addiction to glitter). The entire original cast was still intact as I sat there in my orchestra seat completely overwhelmed by the glitz, excitement, glamor, and those jaw-dropping costumes. Not to mention Jerry Herman's score, which I think is much superior to any of his other musicals. In 2004, it was revived for Broadway again, and I immediately made a trip to the Big Apple just to see it again. The sets and costumes were yet again mouth-wateringly beautiful, the Cagelles were sexy & hot, and the cast was impeccable.

Outside of those two Broadway productions, I've only seen two other mountings of La Cage. A so-so version in Florida, and a fantastic one at Casa Manana starring Lee Roy Reams. In fact I went back four more times to catch Casa's version. I still consider Reams portrayal of "ZaZa" the best, way surpassing both George Hearn (who originated the role) and Gary Beach (who originated the role for the 2004 revival).

This musical is extremely difficult to produce and mount for a myriad of reasons. Those costumes and wigs alone would crumble any budget. Then to find eleven men who must know how to dance, tap, can-can, do the splits, sing, act, and look like real, bonafide gorgeous showgirls. Then you have those glitzy, eye-popping sets that have to transport the audience from an elegant nightclub, to a marvelous apartment, to St. Tropez. Those plus many other reasons (like it has two gay men as its central characters!) is why producers steer clear from producing La Cage.

Thus I was completely perplexed and baffled that a small, suburban community theater nestled in Bedford would take on the challenge to bring La Cage to life. And while the production does contain major, glaring problems, it has all heart and a cast determined to give it their all.

Please let me preface by saying this: I completely and totally understand the financial restrictions and tightening of the money belt that all theater companies are going through right now. It's tough out there. I know. You have to go with what you have. I totally get that. But when you mount a production such as La Cage, it is still disheartening and a let down when you don't see what the show is "supposed" to look like. It ruins some of the magic.

The scenic design here is decent, but seems not to connect with the book. Zaza's apartment should be layered in bric-a-brac from Albin and Georges' many travels around the world. It should also be gaudy, glitzy, and weighed down with adult statues. Instead it is practically bare with not a hint of a famous drag queen and nightclub owner living there. Also the butter crème wallpaper does not match the zebra print furniture with pink fringe at all. Trust me, the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy boys would screech in horror if they saw this because a drag queen would never live like that!

However, Chris Blake's lighting design works its magic here wonderfully. There are some lovely hues of blue, pink, and some special gobos bathing the stage that add much color and life into the production. His use of fades, special focus lighting, and color really add a lot to the evening.

As for the costumes, I must confess they were a bit disappointing. I miss those exquisite robes the Cagelles wore for the opening number (for here they wear kimonos). Again, I understand this is a community theater production, but I did still miss them. Also several of the costumes did not fit the bodies of the cast quite well. I was puzzled as to why ZaZa's costumes were not overloaded in glamour. She looked more matronly than the star headliner of a famous nightclub. Her "show" gowns just didn't have that dazzle pizzazz and her wigs were not flattering at all.

This leads me to the Cagelles. Instead of twelve, we have only six here. The major factor and key ingredient that makes the Cagelles the stars of the show is that they look and pass off as real, beautiful, sexy showgirls. That's why in the lyrics several songs there are references to them: "not knowing who is who or what is what"/ "Open your eyes…what do you see? / "We are what we are-and what we are is an illusion". Sadly for ONSTAGE's production, the majority of the men (except for one male) look like men in drag. The audience must be fooled into thinking they are real women. The way when they pull off their wigs and we see that only 1 or 2 are actual real girls has such a great payoff. That's a great moment in La Cage.

Here, sadly the majority of the male Cagelles just don't pass off as feminine, sexy showgirls. Also several of them struggled a lot with the choreography- either being a couple of beats behind, or looking at the others to remember the steps, or completely going blank (as it happened in the opening number at the performance that I saw). ONSTAGE is a small, intimate space, so you see everything. Thus it was a little disappointing to notice that some of the Cagelles did not know some of their lyrics. You could see them mumbling, thereby not understanding the lyrics, losing key laughs in the process. But I do give them a gold star for going through all this. I know it isn't easy whatsoever. Say what you will, but at least these guys had the guts to take on these roles.

Here's where we shift gears. Many community theaters will cut dance music to shreds because they don't want to teach choreography, or do not have the talent to show off the dancing. Not here. Choreographers Eddie Floresca and Chris Robinson created some charming, visually appealing choreography that added a nice layer of enjoyment to the show. Sure, some struggled with the choreography, but I'm just relieved it wasn't simple "jazz square/jazz square/and exit" stuff. These two men forced their cast to up their game and challenged them. I really did like the choreography for several of the numbers, such as "We are what we are", "La Cage", and even the adorable waltz in "Best of Times".

Within the large company, there was some charming work provided by the following:

As "George", Tom DeWester provided some fun laughs with his endearing performance as the owner of La Cage. One of the best vocal numbers of the evening was the melodic "Songs on the Sand" sung by DeWester. DeWester's baritone voice covered the song with honey-layered vocal tones that made the song such a stand out. He also had some terrific facial expressions and comedic delivery that cemented his performance.

Lon Barrera portrayed "ZaZa", and while vocally he did struggle with the score, he did achieve success with the book. The role requires a big, booming voice that has to sustain long measures of music. One of Herman's traditions is big crescendos that last forever within his scores. Barrera alas did not have the capable vocals to truly belt out or sustain long notes. However, his diction was pristine. Within his characterization I did miss the bigger-than-life personality that ZaZa has, as well as the over the top histrionics that are so embedded in the character make up that is ZaZa.

Where Barrera really shines was in the book scenes, in particular the second Act. From his very funny "being butch in a suit", to the meeting of the Dindons, to the soothing reconnection with his son, Barrera does a solid, outstanding job with those and other scenes.

Barrera and DeWester both display believable, enchanting chemistry that warms the entire theater. Both actors play off each other like a real life couple and keep the connection strong throughout the evening.

In the Cagelles, it is Ryan Cowles who delivers superbly the look, voice, and dance finesse of a Cagelle. A tall, thin actor who looks sexy and gorgeous as "Phaedra". The "gimmick" of Phaedra was her face. In the original Broadway version, the actor playing that role had a massive, green ruffled collar beaded to death, so when she was introduced, she would flip it up to frame her lovely face. Cowles has no collar to work with but here's where a true, talented actor knows what to do.

Cowles instead would create these hilarious facial expressions that made his characterization sparkle and receive loud laughter. Plus, any actor that wears eye-popping glitter within their make up earns my approval in a heartbeat! Cowles also has a strong tenor voice that carried the vocals for the Cagelles in several numbers. Even when they were singing underneath the leads, Cowles tenor voice added much weight and polish to the ensemble numbers. Finally, he was hands down the best dancer on the stage. Cowles radiates in this production.

Another entertaining performance was provided by Keith Warren as "Jean-Michel". A tall, handsome thespian that possesses the best singing voice within the company. He gives a soothing tone to the number "Anne in My Arms".

Barrera and Warren have a sweet, touching scene with the reprise of "Look over There". That number will tug at your heart as their eyes well up in tears as a son sings to his father/mother. Trust me; you too will get a little verklempt watching this moving scene.

Walter Cunningham doesn't merely steal the show, he holds the audience hostage till the very end. Looking every inch like a sexy feline diva, Cunningham possesses some gorgeous gams in pumps that would make many of the ladies in the audience steam up with jealousy. This audience favorite achieved the loudest, strongest laughs of the night with his razor sharp comedic timing, pace, and delivery. But then add those hysterical facial expressions and some killer ad-libs; you have a dazzling, comedic, scene-stealing performance. Every time Cunningham came on stage, your eyes never left him because you wanted to see what he would do or say next. He was a comedic tornado in this production of La Cage.

Chris Robinson's direction should be applauded here. He simply would not allow the constrictions of the space or the loss of budget hinder him. By using a silver Mylar curtain and a black curtain, he moved the scenes effortlessly. There were no long blackouts, everything moved and changed with swift speed. He did not allow for basic staging. Instead he added nice, entertaining staging throughout the piece. Also to have George and Albin kiss at the end (they did not in the Original Broadway version, but for the revival they did) – well that shows how committed Robinson was to make this production show real heart.

Sure, the production is weighed with some problems but here's what touched me deeply. I was seated in the back row dead center, so I could easily see the entire audience. I would look at them for response and see how they reacted. There was no uneasy shuffling in seats, no whispers or gasps, no walk outs. When the second act started, not one audience member left in protest over a musical that dealt with such "hot button issues". Instead they were respectful and truly enjoyed themselves. There wasn't even a single gasp of horror at the end with the kiss.

Times have changed. I'd never thought I would live to see the day that a small community theater company in a suburb from a "red state" would produce a musical about a gay couple, drag queens, and family values - and not show a hint of homophobia or have knee jerk reactions to what was developing on stage. They instead cheered and followed with compassion and support for the story unfolding on stage. It truly shows how much our world has changed, and for the better I think.

Say what you will about the flaws of this show, I still give ONSTAGE in Bedford and the entire La Cage company a standing ovation. Because they had the guts and determination that no other theater company in this metroplex would attempt (that includes the equity houses) -- and that is to produce and mount a production of La Cage Aux Folles. They may not have a glitzy, glittery polished production, but they at least had the guts to do it. Bravo ONSTAGE and La Cage Company - Bravo!

Purchase tickets online or by calling 817-354-6444.

Pegasus News content partner - John Garcia's The Column

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