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It's ba-a-ack!
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN, Times Staff Writer
The first time the Show Palace Dinner Theatre produced Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's 1983 musical La Cage aux Folles, in February 1999, it broke all attendance records, besting the previous record holder, West Side Story, by more than 30 percent. It went on to win "Favorite Broadway Musical" at the Show Palace's awards ceremony that year. Since then, La Cage has been the show patrons have told Show Palace owners Nick and Sal Sessa they would most like to see again. They're getting their wish. La Cage opens Jan. 3 at the Show Palace for a seven-week run. "We didn't know if people would like it the first time, but they did, they really did," Nick Sessa said. That the Robin Williams comedy, The Birdcage, based on the musical, had been a huge recent movie hit may have introduced local audiences to the hilarious and heartwarming show and helped attendance. In La Cage, the flamboyant Albin/ZaZa (Michael Walters) is the headliner at the drag queen nightclub, "La Cage aux Folles," which is owned by his significant other of 20 years, Georges (Jerry Gulledge, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady). Their idyllic life is shattered when Jean-Michel (Tyler Fish, Crazy for You), Georges' son from a one-night fling more than 20 years earlier, announces that he is going to marry Anne Dindon (Mandi McDonough), the daughter of the most antigay politician in France, Edouard Dindon (Bobb James, Man of La Mancha, Love, Sex and the I.R.S.). When M. and Mme. Dindon (Ann Hurst) request a prenuptial visit with Jean-Michel's family, the results are disastrous but hilarious. "La Cage is a love story, the tale of a marriage of 20 years almost ruined by a son's thoughtlessness" is how playwright Fierstein describes the plot. Songs like the tender Look Over There, when George reminds his son that Albin has been a caring substitute mother, and anthemic I Am What I Am, where Albin proclaims his gay pride, express a depth of love and feeling not present in the movie version. A favorite character in the show is Albin and Georges' flamboyantly gay maid, Jacob (Matthew McGee, Christmas Spectacular, Love, Sex and the I.R.S., Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), who prances around the couple's apartment in outrageous attire and manages to insinuate himself into the whole family's lives. Color and excitement are provided by the Cagelles, the high-kick dance line of females and female impersonators who perform at the club. The line includes Michael Castillo, Kevin Garcia, Troy LaFon, George Nieves, Laura Lynne Tapper, Joshua Weidenmiller, Julia Reardon and Ms. McDonough. Rounding out the cast are Susan Haldeman in the feature role of restaurant owner Jacqueline and Steve Rossi as Francis, the stage manager who takes his love affair lumps with nonchalant acceptance. Show Palace newcomer Walters has performed the pivotal role of Albin/ZaZa at the Mark Two Dinner Theatre in Orlando and calls the role his "all-time favorite." He has also played the boisterous Luther Billis in South Pacific, scheming Harold Hill in The Music Man, steadfast Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and the hypocritically pious Padre in Man of La Mancha at other theaters. Director/choreographer is Show Palace artistic director John Leggio. Costumer is Erik Michelsen. Sets and lights are by Tom Hansen. At a glanceWHAT: La Cage aux Folles WHERE: Show Palace Dinner Theatre, 16128 U.S. 19, Hudson WHEN: Jan. 3 through Feb. 16. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; and at 3 p.m. Sundays. Doors open two hours before each show for double buffet and cash bar. TICKETS: Dinner and show, $37.50; show only, $26.45; ages 12 and younger, $19.95 and $14.95, all plus tax and tip. Call 863-7949 in west Pasco; toll free 1-888-655-7469 elsewhere.
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