Okay as someone recommended to me, La Cage should be the dream show for me, and in it's style it so is, but in it's subtance...not so much.La Cage Aux Folles, 'Glitz, muscles and tits', the best nightclub in St Tropez, is owned by Georges (Denis Lawson) whose partner is also their leading lady Zaza (Douglas Hodge). Douglas Hodge brings the house down with the assistance of his infamous Cagelles. Men have never looked so good in tights - Cagelles legs are to die for! Not to mention the dresses and shoes, they must be breaking inumerable safety hazards by letting them dance in such high heels. Their choreography showcases the talent of some of the best dancers in the West End, and I have never laughed in a theatre so much as when watching their backstage antics.
At the centre of the story is a big heart. Georges' son is going to get married, but he has to introduce his parents to the soon to be inlaws, everything must go perfectly, and the family must appear...normal. Which is harder than you'd think.
The extravagant set, with it's glamour and silks are as utterly gorgeous as the costumes. The music let's the show down a little with it's lack of drama, although the actors put everything into the lyrics. The acting is unfallible, Douglas Hodge's heartrending rendition of 'I am what I am' hitting hard at the hearts of the audience. However, Stuart Neal steals moments of the show with his youthful charm.
La Cage still remains a landmark production in so many ways as it tackles opinions of homosexuality, as reverent today as when it first opened but this is the time for this show to blossom and be embraced by theatregoers in this second showing in the West End, as they weren't ready to accept it first time round. It was somewhat sickeningly sweet, bordering on cheesey, but a show so made for me I can do nothing but love it. Especially that dominatrix Cagelle...
Veronica Grubb
No comments:
Post a Comment