Theater review: 'La Cage aux Folles'

Back in the 1978, fans of art house cinema fell in love with an uproarious French import called “Cage aux Folles.” In 1996, film director Mike Nichols shifted the location to Miami for his American remake. Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman’s 1983 musical adaptation stayed in France. So does their recent update, which The Players has recently uncaged. In case you missed any of those iterations, here’s the plot.

Georges (Matthew M. Ryder) has no effeminate mannerisms. His partner Albin (Barry Ayers), is more in touch with his feminine side. In fact, he gets top billing at George’s nightclub downstairs — namely La Cage aux Folles, St. Tropez’ most notorious drag revue. Albin rules the roost of this bird cage in the flamboyant personality of Madame Zaza. Trouble begins when the couple’s son, Jean-Michel (Anthony Spall) gets engaged to the fetching Anne (Ashley Figlow), the daughter of a gay-bashing politician (Bob Fahey). The love-sick kid wants Albin to make himself scarce when Anne’s family visits—and he also hides anything too fabulous. A pretense of heterosexual family life is Jean-Michel’s plan. But his long-gone biological mother doesn’t show up for the dinner. Albin does—in wig and high heels. Mommy’s home! And the farce is on.

Jeffery Kin directs this down-and-dirty comedy with a sense of high life in low places. Respectability gets a pie in the face. But the rebels in high heels do, too.

Ayers (aka drag performer Beneva Fruitville) is hilarious as the high-maintenance Albin—a demanding diva who weeps, pouts, and gets his/her feelings easily hurt. But his adoring partner, Georges (Ryder) walks on cracked eggs and makes it all better. Ryder gets to play the straight man, for want of a better term—and delivers an equally hilarious performance. Within this family dynamic, Jacob (Jean-Paul Monde) the butler and/or maid, constantly takes Albin’s side like an adoring flunky—though he can always be bought off. Spall’s Jean-Michel is a ball of nerves—and the bottled-down guilt of family disloyalty. Figlow’s Anne has the suitable ingénue giggle. Fahey’s Monsieur Dindon is a ding-dong, as a well-used pun constantly reminds us. His wife, Marie (Andrea Keddell) clearly knows he’s a jerk. Dindon gets what’s coming to him. If you’ve seen a farce in your life, you can see it coming a kilometer away.

Erin Colleran’s costumes avoid the slightest hint of good taste. Choreographer Charles Logan sends the cross-dressing Cagelles through the over-the-top permutations of old-school chorus girl numbers—a Bizarro World reflection of the June Taylor Dancers, if you get the references. Music director Darren Server milks Jerry Herman’s tunes for every drop of emotion.

Subject matter aside, this is an old-fashioned farce, not a politically correct lesson. The bits of business and gags will have you laughing uproariously. The family values behind the comedy are also surprisingly old-fashioned. “Honor your father and mother,” to spell it out. The commandment applies whatever their chromosomes may happen to be.