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David C. Nichols Special to the Times
It's Always A Good Time at 'La Cage'
One could, as ever, find fault with LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, which opens Musical Theatre West's 51st season. But why bother? This joyus revival of Jery Herman's 1983 Tony-winning transvestite toe-tapper is a triumph of sentimental showmanship.
Adapted from the blockbuster 1978 film (remade in 1996 as "The Birdcage"), LA CAGE's premise concerns life partners Georges (Norman Large), owner of the titular St. Tropez nightclub, and Albin (David Engel), its tempremental headliner. Together, these happy campers have raised Jean-Michel, the product of Georges' collision with a showgir. Jean-Michel, engaged to a homophobic politician's daughter, invites her parents to dinner, banning Albin. Pansexual pandemonium transpires.
The proficient ensemble
boasts two revelatory stars. Ovation winner and FOREVER PLAID fixture Engel,
who originated LA CAGE's whip-wielding Hanna from Hamburg, has become a
prodigious triple threat. His fluttering Albin, who conjoins Juliet Prowse
and Charles Busch as alter ego ZaZa, invests his Act 1 manifesto with hair
raising conviction in a benchmark performance.
Georges isn't as splashy, but that doesnŐt faze Large. His attunement to Engel sends things skyward at "With You on My Arm," and his glorious baritone imbues the ballads with infinite feeling. The muscle behind next year's Broadway revisit should be appraised of this memorable teaming.
Supporting notables include David Burnham's Jean-Michel, who outstrips his pasteboard role; Ralph Cole Jr."s uproarious "maid"; Kathryn Skatula's bistro doyenne; and all 10 tireless "Cagelles."
The reviewed Sunday matinee performance found director Nick DeGruccio and choreographer lee Martino sleekly countering slender content, barring a marathon title number short on accelerating oomph. Overall, though, the AquaNet effect of Gary Wissmann's sets, Todd Proto's costumes, Michael Gilliam's lighting and Anthony Gagliardi's wigs is hallucinatory.
Herman's surefire score retains its trumps
and musical director Michael Borth elicits lush sounds. Another asset is
the inadvertent topicality that Harvey Fierstein's uninspired, formulaic
libretto acquires in today's political climate. LA CAGE won't convert Sondheim
supplicants or Falwell followers, but this heartfelt confection creates
the best of times for audiences.
11/7/2003
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