Jamison Stern           Photos by Diane Sobolewski -

                                    by Ed Lieberman

You have to hand it to Executive Director Michael Gennaro and his team at the Goodspeed Opera House, their timing -- intentional or not -- is impeccable: the Goodspeed’s latest  production, La Cage Aux Folles, the first Broadway show about a gay couple, opened the day the Supreme Court rendered its decision legalizing gay marriage! This juxtaposition highlights how far society has moved since 1973, when the play on which this musical is based (also named La Cage aux Folles, by Jean Poirot), opened. The play was followed, in 1983, by the Harvey Fierstein/Jerry Herman musical, which garnered six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for four years. The musical was revived in 2004 and again in 2010. Both revivals won Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, making it the only musical to have won Best Production Tony Awards for each of its Broadway productions. The Goodspeed production is based upon the book of the 2010 revival.

Jamison Stern and James Lloyd Reynolds

La Cage tells the story of Georges, who manages a St. Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his long-time partner and headliner under the name “ZaZa.” Together, they live in an apartment above the club and raised a son, Jean-Michel, the product of a one-night stand between Georges and a show girl. The story turns on a surprise visit by Jean-Michel, during which he tells Georges that he is engaged and that his future in-laws are coming to meet his parents the following day.  One problem: his future father-in-law is head of the arch-conservative “Tradition, Family and Morality Party,” whose platform includes closing gay entertainment venues (Exhibit 1:  the “La Cage aux Folles” nightclub)! Jean-Michel asks Georges to invite his biological mother to meet his fiancée’s parents because he wants his family to come off as “traditional.” Of course, that leaves Albin as the so-called “odd-man out,” and Jean-Michel asks Georges to make sure that Albin does not attend the meeting. The comedy comes when (unlike the movie version) Jean-Michel’s mother does not show up, and Georges consents to have Albin appear, as Uncle Albert! The scene where Georges coaches Albin on how to appear “masculine,” while not quite as funny as the classic Nathan Lane turn in the film version (The Birdcage), was nevertheless hilarious. Since this is a musical, all’s well that ends well and the show, which begins with a performance by the “Cagelles” -- the drag dancers at the nightclub -- ends with Georges and Albin walking off, hand-in-hand.What makes this show special is that the book is more than just a comedy.  Jean-Michel’s rejection of Albin lends a poignancy to the story that both highlights society’s views about homosexuality in the 1970’s-80’s (“In the minds of the masses, a lush is more presentable than a fruit”), and functions as a counterweight to the over-the-top musical numbers of ZaZa and the Cagelles. More importantly, it leads to the emotional highlight of the show: Albin is told that he is not invited to meet Jean-Michel’s future in-laws just before going onstage; his response is to sing the gay anthem: “I Am What I Am.” La Cage was groundbreaking in its depiction of gays: In 1983 the typical gay story line was about closeted gays. And there is some of that in La Cage: Jean-Michel asks that Albin be “hidden away,” along with the trappings of his gay lifestyle, to the point of redecorating the apartment to make it more presentable to his in-laws, and it should be noted that the anthem sung by Albin/ZaZa is “I Am What I Am,” not “I am Who I Am.” But the show also presages future societal movement by highlighting an openly gay couple, in an openly gay community, who cannot fathom how Jean-Michel turned out to be heterosexual (when Georges tells Albin that Jean-Michel is engaged, he exclaims “Our baby is getting married; where did we go wrong?!?”). And when Albin is devastated by being told that he is not invited to the parents’ meeting, the strongest epithet he can think of to throw at Georges is: “Heterosexual!” Those sentiments are so 2015!The cast is up the multiple tasks they are called upon to perform. Goodspeed’s small size lends itself to the intimate scale of the nightclub it depicts.

Jamison Stern is entirely believable as Albin, especially after you see him transform himself onstage into the diva ZaZa (“A Little More Mascara”). His powerful rendition of “I am What I Am” brought the audience to its feet, and reminded this reviewer of the famous “Rose’s Turn,” from Gypsy, in its emotional intensity. Although his role is primarily as straight man (pun not intended) to Albin for much of the show, handsome James Lloyd Reynolds has a smooth, suave rapport with the audience as emcee of the club (“I see so many old friends here tonight . . . with so many new faces!”), and holds up his half of the loving couple with Albin, singing “Song on the Sand.” Rounding out the upstairs “household,” is the wildly flamboyant (read “flaming”) “maid,” Jacob (“I’m not the butler, I’m the maid!”), played by Cedric Leiba, Jr., who steals every scene he’s in with his over-the-top entrances and exits.

The “Cagelles,” played by Darius Barnes, Michael Bullard, Alexander Cruz, Alex Ringler, Nick Silverio, Nic Thompson (and Erin Kernion, a ringer brought in for harmonics), are the drag chorus line in the club. Their ability to sing, dance in high heels, and, most importantly, undergo many quick changes of costume, would do Fire Island proud. The secondary roles were similarly well-cast. Conor Ryan plays the turncoat son, Jean-Michel, without a hint of guilt or apology, as befits a young man who can see nothing beyond the girl he loves; Kristen Martin is perky as Anne, his fiancée; and Mark Zimmerman and Stacey Scotte are appropriately boorish as Anne’s homophobic parents. One other cast member deserves special mention: Sue Mathys, who plays Georges and Albin’s friend, Jacqueline, does a star turn leading the Company (and audience) in “The Best of Times.” 

As usual, the Goodspeed puts on quite a show both on and off-stage.  The sets and proscenium, by Michael Schweikardt, are amazingly . . . pink! . . . and appropriately highlighted by John Lasiter’s lighting. The transitions from the club to the upstairs apartment and back again were handled flawlessly. The costumes, by Michael McDonald (and there are too many to count, just for the Cagelles alone) are full of glitter, sequins, bangles . . . and more glitter. A show about this subject matter requires elaborate hair, wigs and makeup and Mark Rampmeyer does them all justice, in abundance. Music Director Michael O’Flaherty and his assistant F. Wade Russo accomplished the task of making a seven member pit band sound larger while not overpowering the singers.

Kudos to Ralph Perkins for his choreography; every number was choreographed to perfection (including a classic can-can by the Cagelles), which is no small task on Goodspeed’s diminutive stage. Director Rob Ruggiero, in his ninth season at Goodpeed, has done yet another great job coordinating the large cast, the multiple costume and set changes and creating the feel of the gay life on the French Riviera.

La Cage is playing through September 10th. For tickets, call the box office at (860) 873-8668, or go to www.goodspeed.org.

La Cage Aux Folles, an exuberant, glamorous, over-the-top take on a ground-breaking musical.