[.ca] La Cage aux Folles

One of the best Broadway musicals of all time!:
Simply one of the best Broadway musicals of all time. It's choc full of gallic-flavored hits. I can't wait to see the upcoming Broadway revival.

Meaningful Message for Us All:
La Cage Aux Folles is a terrific musical with an important message of tolerance and love. It is not just for a gay audience--the broader issues of self-worth, of defining oneself rather than being defined by others, of aging and keeping love, and of the strength of love being the greatest strength of all; these are important messages for everyone. Furthermore, the songs are great, the words both amusing and deeply moving, the orchestrations terrific, and the performances for the most part superb. The MUSICAL takes place in Saint Tropez on the French Riviera (not Miami--that is the Robin Williams movie which came later; and the previous reviewer's criticism that "We Are What We Are" doesn't sound like something that would be done in a Miami nightclub is consequentially absurd. It DOES sound like something that would be done where the musical is actually set.) Unfortunately "We Are What We Are" is cut considerably from Herman's original score--this is surely due to the fact that much of the missing music is intended to accompany dance, which of course we can't see on this CD, but I would have liked to have heard Chantal's and Phaedra's numbers which are part of the song in the Broadway production--but nonetheless is a delight to hear. Also worthy of note are the very tender and sentimental "Look Over There" and "Song on the Sand" (not "Song OF the Sand", as that same previous reviewer would have!), beautifully sung by Gene Barry. The wittiest is probably "La Cage Aux Folles"--("all week long we're wondering who/left a green Givenchy gown in the loo"!) and "The Best of Times" leaves us with the worthwhile Candide-esque message that we must live the life we have now. The best, most powerful song is undoubtedly "I Am What I Am", which has become an anthem for the gay and transgendered. George Hearn's rendition moves from an almost broken, plaintive cry to a grand shout of affirmation; but it is not only the performance that makes this so powerful--this is composer Jerry Herman at his best. The only disappointment on the CD is "With Anne On My Arm/With You On My Arm"--the song is not a bad one, but only average. The clever ploy of making the same love song for both Anne and Albin doesn't raise the piece above the mediocre. A very minor flaw in the entirety, though, and certainly forgivable. The CD notes contain a brief plot synopsis, a few hundred words by Fierstein about the creation of La Cage, and 16 small photos of the original Broadway production. Oddly, if you don't already know which one is George Hearn and which one is Gene Barry, you'll have to infer that from the back cover--the stars' photos are poorly labeled, although the other photos are clear. This is all crammed into a 6 page foldout with tiny, light type that will make your eyes water. Given that the musical is about growing older, perhaps RCA might have been a little more generous and granted us a couple of extra pages and a few larger font sizes. All in all, though, definitely a CD worth getting, for Broadway fans, for gays and transgendered folk, in fact, everyone.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES:
ITS A MAGNIFICENT JERRY HERMAN WORK OF ART. 20TH CENTURY FOX SHOULD SELECT A TOP WINNING PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR AND MAKE THIS THE TOP HIT MUSICAL MOVIE OF ALL TIMES . I SAY: "PEOPLE WILL NOT LEARN IF YOU DON'T TEACH THEM"

It's a Roller-Coaster Ride That Never Stops:
Whenever I listen to this album I think I'm at an amusement park and I'm going on these fun rides. The orchestrations for La Cage aux Folles are excellent and so is the sound quality. I will never stop listening to this musical until I am at old age. Everybody who is anybody should have this musical because this musical has extreme spirit that never halts until perhaps the 2 ballads here in this show. I could be riding on a motorcycle when listening to all these upbeat numbers and I'd stop at a red light during the ballads. Man, this show is even better than Hello, Dolly and/or Mame only because they don't have as extreme an excitement as La Cage aux Folles. In my opinion, this musical is like no other Jerry Herman musical, a musical with music to be played at amusement parks (especially the rollercoasters).

It's a Roller-Coaster Ride That Never Stops:
Whenever I listen to this album I think I'm at an amusement park and I'm going on these fun rides. The orchestrations for La Cage aux Folles are excellent and so is the sound quality. I will never stop listening to this musical until I am at old age. Everybody who is anybody should have this musical because this musical has extreme spirit that never halts until perhaps the 2 ballads here in this show. I could be riding on a motorcycle when listening to all these upbeat numbers and I'd stop at a red light during the ballads. Man, this show is even better than Hello, Dolly and/or Mame only because they don't have as extreme an excitement as La Cage aux Folles. In my opinion, this musical is like no other Jerry Herman musical, a musical with music to be played at amusement parks (especially the rollercoasters).

• Prelude
• We Are What We Are - Gene Barry, George Hearn
• Little More Mascara - Gene Barry
• With Anne on My Arm
• With You on My Arm - George Hearn
• Song on the Sand (La da da Da) - Gene Barry, George Hearn
• Cage aux Folles
• I Am What I Am
• Song on the Sand (Reprise)
• Masculinity - Gene Barry
• Look over There - Gene Barry, Jay Garner, Merle Louise, William Thomas, Jr., Jon Weiner
• Cocktail Counterpoint
• Best of Times - Gene Barry, Jon Weiner
• Look over There (Reprise)
• Finale: With You on My Arm/La Cage Auf Folles/Song on the Sand/The ... - Jon Weiner