La Cage aux Folles

I was there on Tuesday night and, if I view it as a standalone theatrical experience, it was pleasant enough - the first set looked wonderful, though the rest didn't quite live up to the promise, and I enjoyed the big show numbers. However I couldn't help but compare it to the Menier/Playhouse production which I saw a number of times and loved.

Douglas Hodge's Albin set the bar for me and I'm afraid John P came nowhere near it. Like drowseychap , I didn't like his accent (nothing against northern accents per se, it just didn't work for me in this setting) but more than that, he simply didn't move me... at all. Samson Ajewole got his share of the laughs as Jacob, but again his performance fell far short of Jason Pennycooke's in my eyes. Marti Webb? Small part, big voice - great to see her on stage again and as @hitster says, she looks incredible for 73! I spoke to her at another event recently and she said she was having an absolute ball so good for her.

So... happy I went, won't be going back.

Saw La Cage this afternoon and for what it's worth, here is my opinion. I didn't buy a programme, so forgive me not using correct names.
First of all, the story, music and choreography will always carry this show as it does in this production. However, that is not the sum of the parts. Central to the story is the chemistry between George and Albin, here, there is little or none. Adrian Zmed is fine as George at times warm, then calculating but likeable and a fine singing voice. John Partridge however as Albin portrays nothing except a Manchester accent, which is at odds with the character and prevents the pointing of some jokes and other lines. For this I blame the director Marin Connor for allowing Mr Partridge to be self indulgent. There is a cross talk scene with Albin directly addressing the audience. As written by Harvey Fierstein, it is funny enough, but when you change the references to Canal St and modern shopping, it ceases to be funny. Some of the cut dialogue(the Hannah from Hamburg/Mecedes dialogue goes as does the "Diet pills have arrived.....too old, too fat" routines, which add to the funniness of the show.
Of principal roles, John Partridge singularly fails. He fails to portray the mischief and vulnerability of Albin. He sings well enough, but as a pop singer rather than as a MT singer. He breaks the fourth wall too often and is more like a pantomime dame (no offence panto dames!) The actor playing Jacob mutters his way through the performance and his lack of diction prevents him delivering jokes in what should be a well over the top campfest. Note, costumes do not a performance make! Marti Webb makes a good deal of her small part. and the other principals as so Jean Michelle, Anne and her parents the Dandons. As much as anything, this is a show where the chorus have a real part and the Cagelle live up to their dangerous tag.
Sets and costume are good, I didn't mind that Albin's song "Mascara" was played in the flat without the usual dressing room set.
A small band sounded thin at times but overall punched above their collective weight to produce a decent and well balanced sound.
At the end of the day, I was sad to see this production of one of my favourite shows. For the first time, I didn't believe any of it. I am of course in a minority as the matinee audience clambered to their feet to give the finale a standing ovation. But I regret they didn't see the show they should have seen.

Burly fancy you suggesting a low rent northern drag queen might find herself falling on her feet and landing a man and a job on the Riviera. That would be classified as gold digging. And in my experience, some low rent northern drag queens put more airs and graces than the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Oh, I chose to omit mention of the awful yellow outfit you mention, least people think I've got a problem, but it was bad. 

JP did get a tad emosh on Tuesday as well, so I think it must be part of the act.

Ahhh thanks benny20

*splutter* 😆😆

I just had to sign up to post about La Cage Aux Folles... although I've been to many, many musicals over the years, this is one of my favourites without a doubt. I've seen this particular production in Oxford on opening weekend, in Wimbledon in March and in Woking last week and I've really enjoyed watching it grow and seeing the performers become more comfortable in their roles.

It is the first time I've seen the musical version of this (although I have also seen the French film and The Birdcage) but I can't imagine anyone else but John Partridge as Albin. His performance is heart wrenching at times and very funny at others, and his voice is outstanding - this is the first time I've seen someone get a standing ovation both at the interval and at the end of the show. His version of I Am What I Am was beautiful and emotional. The accent also works for me because he's said in interviews that he uses his home accent (he's from Manchester) as he takes inspiration from his mum to bring the necessary vulnerability to the role. And it really works.

Adrian Zmed feels right as Georges and I see chemistry between him and John as Albin. His calm tenderness is the perfect opposition to Albin's tendency to overreact and fly into a temper. In Woking, Paul Monaghan (who usually plays Dindon) was understudying and he was actually great as well, assuming he hasn't played Georges much or at all previously. Also praise needs to go to the Cagelles who have come along so much since the show opened in Oxford, especially as they're all very young and I think for some of them this is their biggest role to date. In fact for me, I really enjoyed all of the cast in their roles. There is a lot of talent on that stage.

At a time when there's so much turmoil and uncertainty in the world, this musical was a beacon of light to me and I left the theatre with a huge smile on my face and an earworm in my head that lasted days.

It's not my favourite production of the show, that would still be the Menier production. But still i think it's pretty decent. Like others have said it took me a while to adjust to the northern accent, but once i got used to it i thought it was fine. Although i didn't totally shake off the feeling that the entire show had been relocated to Blackpool!

The only weak link for me was the actor playing Jacob, i know it's not the strongest role as written but his performance to me felt like a heterosexual A level drama student playing CAMP!


After reading peoples comments on here and reports from friends who have been to see it, it sounds like Partridge gets very "emotional" at the end of every performance. It's good that after so many years in the business that the audiences response still can have that effect on him. No cynicism here at all

Haha, love it! i guess that's what meant by the phrase ' a practising homosexual" ?

Just my little joke

We certainly can use as much positivity as you have to give so keep them coming, and welcome to the forum. 

Stop that! 

Kelsey Grammer? 

(Essex would be terrible. Too self conscious). 

Saw the tour in Wolverhampton on Thursday night and honestly think it's one of the best shows I've seen this year. The set is magnificent and John Partridge really does give his all to the roles of Zaza/Albin. He has a really expressive face, which adds so much to both the comedy and heartfelt moments. His ad libs with the audience were hysterically funny. I Am What I Am maybe not the best but still very passionately done. The relationship between him and Adrian Zmed was believable. Adrian seemed to stumble on a few lines but still gave a really stellar performance. Marti Webb, if underused as Jacqueline, made a real impression whenever she did get to use her phenomenal voice (much stronger than when she was wearing it out in Tell Me on a Sunday). I think the show is very slow to get going; We Are What We Are far too long and it seems like an age before Albin comes on but after that it's a really fun-filled farce.

Added bonus was we got to attend a post-show Q&A with Adrian and Marti. Marti told me she prefers doing an ensemble show to a solo one like Sunday. She didn't know what she was getting herself into when she took on Sunday and it was scary being onstage alone. The cast seem really close knit and that does come across in the show.