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Regional Reviews: St. Louis La Cage aux Folles Also see Richard's reviews of Prayer for the French Republic and Dead Man's Cell Phone
La Cage aux Folles opened at the Palace Theatre in 1983 and won six Tony Awards, kicking off a four-year run. Fierstein's book is based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, which is sometimes translated as The Cage of Madwomen. At Take Two Productions, it's a bouillabaisse of talent starring Michael McKinley (a.k.a. Erica Foxx) as Albin/Zaza. He fills-up every scene of Albin's comic madness with a storied sense of stage presence at the Third Baptist Church. Elegant Paul Fortner is Georges, the owner and emcee of the St. Tropez nightclub that gives this show its name, and also as Albin's long-suffering husband. The choreography unfolds in a collaboration of Jacob Richard, Luke Atkison, and the director, who send a bedizened chorus out into a large church basement theater set-up like a cabaret. Des Miller is the dance captain, and also hilarious as its on-stage dominatrix Hanna (his St. Louis drag persona is Desiree Decline). The whole chorus is perfectly acted out, with each moment combining into an infinity of gracious absurdities. Director DiMercurio has designed the professional-looking set and a seemingly endless succession of extravagant costumes (Terry Terraine is the costume mistress, with dressing help from hair and makeup designer Larry Obermeier). The show begins with a rainbow of ten huge, plumed outfits for the showgirls, with tall, matching crowns. Todd Garten is excellent as Jacob, Georges and Albin's butler, and David Hall is shockingly swell as the couple's son Jean-Michel. But trouble comes when he announces his engagement to Anne, played by Nadja Kapetanovich, a young actress who's always way out ahead of us in figuring out her characters. Anne's father (glowering Christopher Plotts) happens to be the leader of a right-wing political movement in France who's on his way with his wife (delightful Becca Bessette) to meet Jean-Michel's very non-traditional parents. After all of Mr. McKinley's comic shrieking and fainting and wild protestations of injustice as Albin, it's his quiet moments that somehow stand out: lost and alone in the struggle for meaning in his relationships with a seemingly dismissive husband and son. And I don't know why I never think of him as a fine singer, but he is, and the evidence has always been there. I first saw Mr. McKinley in a small drag bar south of downtown, the Front Page, over 30 years ago in the 18th century Soulard neighborhood, where he sang "Getting to Know You" when we were all quite young (albeit not in the 18th century). Parenthetically I would also recall for you that this present-day Albin was sometimes known as "Tippi" to his fans, owing to a bird-infested suit-dress he once concocted back in the day. All of this is by way of explaining that type-casting can be magic. Turning back time for just another moment, we likewise remember director DiMercurio for his own cross-dressing turns as pop icon Cher. He now imparts his usual sense of discipline to every moment of this La Cage. Music director Brandon Sankpill gets high quality vocals from the entire cast and leads a band that gradually came to life on opening night. Jacob Richard (the co-choreographer) is lots of fun as the lone guy in several of the nightclub numbers, later getting a tap solo, and playing a romantic squeezebox. Two of the production's greatest stand-outs are Michele Arvizu-Prater as Jacqueline, a restaurateur, and Kathleen Dwyer as Madame Renaud, who owns a patisserie with her husband (David Goldman). In this show, everywhere you look, a new reality opens up on stage–but especially when the two hostesses each take to the scene. Face it: if talent like that came in a bottle, everyone would have it. Fine support comes as well from LaMarkus Jones, Jacob Fling and Kevin Vanterpool in a show that runs a lively three hours with one intermission. And though I fear I'm starting to repeat myself after all these years, I'll say again that some shows are born great (like the best of O'Neill, or Miller, or Sondheim), and others have greatness thrust upon them, like all the modern plays made out of hit movies. (This show, of course, was based on a play that was made into a cult film, released in France in 1978.) But, like so many local productions, a La Cage like this must be made great by a million fervent wishes from everyone involved. And you can see every one of those burning brightly here. La Cage aux Folles, produced by Take Two Productions, runs through April 25, 2026, at the Third Avenue Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.taketwoproductions.org. Cast: The Band: Production Staff: |
