Several years ago PTC created a series featuring rarely performed musicals in concert format. The actors use scripts and there are minimal costumes, sets, and props to let the music take center stage. They began with The Rocky Horror Show (which was so popular that PTC presented it two years in a row) and continued with Chess and In the Heights. I am a huge fan of this concept and I was excited to learn that this year's show was La Cage aux Folles because I've never seen it before. I saw it last night and it was so much fun! Georges (James Patterson) is an impresario of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring performers in drag and Albin (Jamison Stern) is his partner and star attraction. Chaos ensues when Georges's son Jean-Michel (Patrick Ryan Castle) announces that he is engaged to Anne (Barbara Camara), the daughter of a conservative politician (former Utah senator Jim Dabakis) who wants to meet his family. This show is full of laughs and big song and dance numbers (this has the most extensive choreography I've seen in PTC's concert versions) but it is also very heartwarming because it is, ultimately, about the importance of family. The entire cast is very strong but Patterson has an incredible voice, especially in "Song in the Sand," and Brandon Contreras steals every scene he is in as Albin's "maid." Stern is also fantastic, especially when he performs as the drag queen Za Za with the Cagelles. I thought the scene where Georges tries to teach Albin how to be more masculine was the funniest thing I had ever seen until Senator Jim Dabakis appeared in drag at the end of the show. That alone was worth the price of admission! I enjoyed this show so much and I can't wait to see what the concert production will be next year.
Note: One of the characters in this show is named Phaedra! I can't think of a better name for a drag queen!
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