La Cage Aux Folles
22/11/2008 - 21/02/2009
Production Details
The epitome of extravagant showtime, The Press Summer Season of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES loudly and proudly explodes onto The Court Theatre’s stage on November 22. This multiple award-winning show, with its combination of farce and fabulous production numbers, is an iconic musical comedy filled with glitz, glamour, drag queens and family values.
Director Sandra Rasmussen cast many performers from 2007’s smash hit THE PRODUCERS and recruited veteran performers including Rima Te Wiata, Paul Barrett and recent Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate George Henare to create a company she describes as "one of the best musical casts in the country."
"People often tell me that the musicals at The Court are as good – or better – than anything they’ve seen overseas, on Broadway and the West End," says Rasmussen. "I think the main factor is the intimacy of the theatre and the quality of the cast – you can see what the characters are thinking and feeling as much as the singing and dancing."
Musical Director Richard Marrett has a high regard for LA CAGE AUX FOLLES’ music. "Jerry Herman (who also composed the scores for Mame and Hello, Dolly!) has an unparalleled gift for melody that shines through in this show" says Marrett. The Court’s production uses a mixture of live and pre-recorded local musicians to match live performance and create the "big sound" essential for production numbers. The result is "the best of both worlds" according to Marrett.
Based on Jean Poiret’s 1973 play, the musical’s debut production in 1983 – staged during "the last great Broadway season", according to theatre historian John Kenrick – overcame strong competition to win six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. A 2004 revival earned LA CAGE AUX FOLLES another two Tonys. One of the show’s songs enjoyed mainstream success when a single of I Am What I Am by Gloria Gaynor became a commercial hit and pride anthem.
"When the musical was released AIDS was a major issue and homosexuality much more marginalised, so LA CAGE was very brave," says Rasmussen. "In a ‘post-Priscilla’ world I want to show the cracks in the make-up – glimpses into darker aspects of the world LA CAGE portrays". The costumes, designed by Elizabeth Whiting and constructed by a team of ten wardrobe staff, promise a visual spectacle rarely seen on stage.
Rasmussen is quick to point out that "beneath the frills and feathers, this is a love story about a relationship that anyone would want to have." In LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Georges (Paul Barrett) and Albin (George Henare) have lived happily together for years as the proprietors of the titular cabaret club, with Albin performing nightly as Zaza, the star drag act. When Georges’ son, Jean-Michel (Jonathan Martin), announces his engagement to Anne (Zara Cormack) – the daughter of a politician and moral crusader who wants to shut down their club – the efforts by Georges to "play it straight" leads to farcical comedy with a message: that "we are what we are and what we are needs no excuses".
With The Court Theatre’s Musicals regularly selling out, The Press Summer Season of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES has an extended 13-week run – with heavy advance sales, patrons are urged to book early. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES plays until Valentine’s Day 2009 – audiences are invited to bring their significant others to enjoy a musical that celebrates love in all its forms.
Venue: The Court Theatre, Christchurch
Production Dates: 22 November 2008 – 14 February 2009
Performances:
6pm Monday / Thursday; 7:30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (no show Sundays).
2pm matinee Saturday 29 November
Tickets:
Adults $49, Senior Citizens $41, Tertiary Students $29, School Children $25, Group discount $39
Bookings:
The Court Theatre, 20 Worcester Boulevard; 963 0870 or www.courttheatre.org.nz
Emotional riches ping a nerve ending
Review by Lindsay Clark 23rd Nov 2008
It is very tempting to launch directly into a catalogue of superlatives for this production – ‘fabulous’ and ‘ravishing’ come straight from the show itself. The Court’s annual launch into lush musical theatre for the holiday season, sponsored by The Press, has become a highlight of the year’s entertainment for the city.
Applause will be long and heartfelt for this choice if the standing ovation that erupted on the opening night is anything to go by. The team of Rasmussen and Marrett has done it again, with a cherry on top!
The plot line has not moved far from the original play, though there is less surprise at seeing a homosexual relationship at the heart of the story. La Cage is a nightclub in the South of France where gorgeous transvestites light up the works. Its manager, Georges and his long term partner, its star, Albin, find their world seriously threatened when ‘their’ son Jean-Michel becomes engaged to the daughter of a bigwig in the Traditional Family Morality Party, who with his wife in tow comes to visit.
Panicky redecoration and the attempted temporary removal of Albin are not enough to avoid the inevitable clash of world views. There is, of course, resolution, albeit somewhat patched-up in the nature of the genre.
Nevertheless, like all good theatre, the story offers more than mere happenings. The real cage is wider than the club and involves blinkered mindsets. A mixed up world of gender, identity crises and illusion is engagingly explored and out of all the pain, the healing, undeniable power of love is celebrated. In our times it is probably the how rather than the what that audiences carry away, smiling.
The Court’s creative team, especially indefatigable Tony Geddes, responsible for the multi-functioning set, and Elizabeth Whiting, creator of glorious costumes, are called on to support a large, diverse cast and their collective imagination is irresistible. The vibrant studio orchestra matches them all the way.
Which brings us to the actors. All the vitality needed to carry the show musically, and as characters in such striking costumes, is there. The director, in her notes, voices the intention to go beyond the sequins and her principals certainly measure up.
In the focal pair, as Georges and Albin, the experience, art and musical instincts of Paul Barrett and George Henare are a joy to witness. The relationship is beautifully established to underpin developments without sacrificing the razzmatazz or, for that matter, the wash of sentiment we expect and enjoy in musicals. Henare has truly moving moments of triumphant defiance and vulnerability which catch the breath before the smile can start.
Jonathan Martin as the cataclysmic son goes from strength to strength on this stage and Keith Adams has all the physicality and style to endow Jacob (who wants to dress up for real on the stage as well as behind the scenes, with more than comic function.
"Open your eyes," is the message. Presented as it is with a hefty dose of Gallic charm, we can hardly fail to do so, nor to relish the ‘here and now’. Emotional riches are what saw the audience surge to its feet. This musical pings a nerve ending. The laughter and nonsense of its froth and bubble only emphasise the enduring significance of its humanity.
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