La Cage Aux Folles - Regent's Park 2023

[Being Alive]

Can't we just have really strong actors as Albin and Georges and can we not try to update it?

Get solid, musical theatre names who will be excellent - this is one of the times I really just want a traditional production. No need to reinvent the wheel here.

[Jon]

The Menier Production is going to be hard to beat.

[kyvai]

Ooh I love La Cage, well the movie and the 2009 production, I saw it with John Barrowman and thought he was fantastic, not surprising as “I Am What I Am” has basically been his lifelong theme song.

I think we can fully expect that a real-life drag queen or possibly non-binary male performer is quite likely to be cast. Anything else would induce a backlash from certain quarters. As long as the actor can do the role I really don’t care that much and will remain open minded. I don’t know any of the “celebrity” drag queens, but are they generally people who can really act/sing, or just people who perform “as themselves”?

[robertb213]

Would they consider Divina DiCampo after her Hedwig run maybe? Not sure what her reviews were like.

[richey]

Divina was my first thought. She was amazing in Hedwig but not sure she'd be suited for Albin.

[oxfordsimon]

The most successful Albins have been older and very much of the old school in terms of their drag/presentation

It isn't a role that calls for the modern style of drag. It would be really jarring to try to force it in that direction.

It is a period piece in so many ways and doesn't sit easily with contemporary gender theories.

Better to play it for what it is than to seek to make it something that it was never designed to be.

[kyvai]

I don’t disagree oxfordsimon, and I think you phrased that really well, but could a modern drag performer play the role as written, rather than just play themselves/their drag persona, that’s the question surely. I really am uninterested in an actor’s personal feelings or beliefs on gender identity, just interested in how they play the role I’m watching them in on stage.

I’ve just thought who I’d want to dreamcast…..Giles Terera

[oxfordsimon]

If a known queen was cast, audiences would be expecting to see the queen rather than Zsa-Zsa. This might be problematic if their style was at odds with the tone of the material/character.

So for it to work, it would have to be one of the old school queens who have done well in the DR franchise.

Bendelacreme, Jinxx Monsoon and Ginger Minj would all be on my list. Bianca Del Rio has done a musical in the UK and can act the role.

Of the UK queens, Vinegar Strokes is currently playing Lady Bracknell and has musicals experience. But I don't see her as having the fragility to capture Albin.

We shall see.

[Jay]

I would love to see someone such as Cedric Neal as Albin. He was just fantastic in the Kinky Boots concert at Drury Lane in August. He’s the right age as well.

[TallPaul]

Welcome to the Board, Jay. Good choice of username. CedricNeale1 would have given the game away! 🙂

[Jay]

Oct 18, 2022 16:14:12 GMT TallPaul said:

Welcome to the Board, Jay. Good choice of username. CedricNeale1 would have given the game away! 🙂

👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻😁

[bimse]

Oct 17, 2022 22:20:11 GMT oxfordsimon said:

If a known queen was cast, audiences would be expecting to see the queen rather than Zsa-Zsa. This might be problematic if their style was at odds with the tone of the material/character.

So for it to work, it would have to be one of the old school queens who have done well in the DR franchise.

Bendelacreme, Jinxx Monsoon and Ginger Minj would all be on my list. Bianca Del Rio has done a musical in the UK and can act the role.

Of the UK queens, Vinegar Strokes is currently playing Lady Bracknell and has musicals experience. But I don't see her as having the fragility to capture Albin.

We shall see.

The late Danny La Rue played Albin, briefly. I didn’t see the performance myself, but I’ve read that it wasn’t a big success. Danny’s drag persona seemed at odds with the role, plus he wasn’t the greatest actor, and it seems he couldn’t carry it off. His legions of fans didn’t take to him playing one of them there gays either and stayed away in droves. Similarly when he did Privates on Parade, it was not a success. His appearance in full drag (gowns supplied by Mr La Rue himself) supposedly in the middle of the jungle, interrupted the production rather than enhanced it.
(As a side note, I saw him on tv in Charley’s Aunt, and again the role isn’t right for an established drag performer. The character he played is supposed to be reluctant to don the disguise of Charley’s Aunt , whereas Danny came into his own at this point, making it appear as if the character couldn’t wait to get the frock on, no surprise value, as per the plot, in fact it was expected. John Inman was a great farceur, and had more success with Charley’s Aunt , but was still not entirely convincing).
I guess my musings here are making me feel an established drag performer would have to be an excellent actor to carry off the role of Albin . I saw George Hearn as Albin at the London Palladium. He was totally heartbreaking, so memorable .
We’re overdue a production of the original play, La Cage aux Folles. That would require interesting casting. Ian McKellan would be great, but he’s tied up giving his Mother Goose.

[n1david]

Oct 18, 2022 17:06:06 GMT bimse said:

We’re overdue a production of the original play, La Cage aux Folles.

We had one at the Park Theatre just before 2010 lockdown, in a new translation by Simon Callow and directed by Jez Bond. It wasn't great, even with an awareness of the plot having seen the musical and the original and US film versions, it got very messy and I struggled to work out exactly what was going on. Sir Ian gave it his vote of approval but I was disappointed. But I saw it not long before everything shut down, the sense of impending doom may have affected everyone's mood.
parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/la-cage-aux-folles-the-play/about
Theatreboard opinions: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/7385/la-cage-aux-folles-london

[Jon]

Oct 17, 2022 20:29:55 GMT oxfordsimon said:

The most successful Albins have been older and very much of the old school in terms of their drag/presentation

It isn't a role that calls for the modern style of drag. It would be really jarring to try to force it in that direction.

It is a period piece in so many ways and doesn't sit easily with contemporary gender theories.

Better to play it for what it is than to seek to make it something that it was never designed to be.

I don't think Albin is cast particularly young. The likes of Douglas Hodge, Roger Allam etc were all in their late 40s or early 50s, it wouldn't really work with someone who is in their 30s. 

[Being Alive]

Cedric Neal wouldnt do it for me personally - I don't consider him a strong actor (that's just me) and Albin needs one

[inthenose]

Oct 18, 2022 22:59:05 GMT Being Alive said:

Cedric Neal wouldnt do it for me personally - I don't consider him a strong actor (that's just me) and Albin needs one

And I’ve never heard of him… I don’t watch the talent/reality shows on TV (except Judge Judy!) so I haven’t heard of most of the suggestions on this thread.

As Roger Allam decisively proved, the plan should be to get an excellent actor to, you know, act. Pretend to be the character. They could be gay/straight/trans or any background, it doesn’t matter. What they should be is good enough to be there based on talent, not whether they already are close to the character in real life traits.

Graham Norton at the Playhouse Menier transfer was actually embarrassing.

Just cast Judge Judy.

[Being Alive]

Cedric Neal was a West End performer before he was on The Voice, I just don't particularly find him a good actor, which Albin needs to be.

[Mark]

Oct 19, 2022 11:27:28 GMT inthenose said:

As Roger Allam decisively proved, the plan should be to get an excellent actor to, you know, act. Pretend to be the character. They could be gay/straight/trans or any background, it doesn’t matter. What they should be is good enough to be there based on talent, not whether they already are close to the character in real life traits.

Agreed. I couldn’t give a damn about whether the actor playing Albin (or indeed anyone) is gay/straight/bi/whatever. If we had a rule of exclusively gay actors for gay roles and straight actors for straight roles, we’d struggle to cast anything.

[oxfordsimon]

Whilst I agree there shouldn't be a rule that certain actors can only be considered for certain roles, this is a musical written by a gay composer to a book by a gay writer about a gay couple and their extended family. I would hope that the casting is sympathetic to that.

[Someone in a tree]

I hear this is going to be set in north of England #levellingup

[BurlyBeaR]

Mar 16, 2023 10:51:14 GMT Someone in a tree said:

I hear this is going to be set in north of England #levellingup

Very weird that you resurrect the thread the very morning after I had a weird dream about the show. 
In the dream it was La Cage but all of the sets and costumes were in the style and colours of Legally Blonde. It looked hideous, obviously. 

I do hope the OAT aren’t going to screw this fabulous show up. 

[alece10]

Mar 16, 2023 11:03:15 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Mar 16, 2023 10:51:14 GMT Someone in a tree said:

I hear this is going to be set in north of England #levellingup

Very weird that you resurrect the thread the very morning after I had a weird dream about the show. 
In the dream it was La Cage but all of the sets and costumes were in the style and colours of Legally Blonde. It looked hideous, obviously. 

I do hope the OAT aren’t going to screw this fabulous show up. 

Agree. Don't mess with a great traditional musical and let's see it as Jerry Herman intended.

[richey]

Didn't John Partridge play the role with a northern accent in the last tour? I didn't see it but recall reading about it. Hopefully the fact he's just been announced as Hugo in Everybody's Talking About Jamie will rule him out of this show

[BurlyBeaR]

Mar 16, 2023 11:15:18 GMT richey said:

Didn't John Partridge play the role with a northern accent in the last tour? I didn't see it but recall reading about it. Hopefully the fact he's just been announced as Hugo in Everybody's Talking About Jamie will rule him out of this show

Yes he did. It was terrible. Totally took you out of the mood of the story. 

[Someone in a tree]

Mar 16, 2023 11:05:56 GMT alece10 said:

Mar 16, 2023 11:03:15 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Very weird that you resurrect the thread the very morning after I had a weird dream about the show. 
In the dream it was La Cage but all of the sets and costumes were in the style and colours of Legally Blonde. It looked hideous, obviously. 

I do hope the OAT aren’t going to screw this fabulous show up. 

Agree. Don't mess with a great traditional musical and let's see it as Jerry Herman intended.

I can see the North working for this show, La cage is as French as Crazy for you is the wild west