La Cage Aux Folles

albin the star

Overall rating: 5  

As many of you all know, i am a huge fan of the camp classic show and have seen the London production with John Barrowman, Graham Norton and Doug Hodge, and recently on Broadway with Doug Hodge

So, was more than excited when i spotted an amateur (?!) version of the show only an hour away from me in the remote town of Weling Garden City.

I had no preconceived ideas about the production, but thought it would be good to see it on stage done by stalwarts of the am dram circuit so i booked tickets for me and some friends and attended the Friday performance on the 3rd of September.

its not my intend to offend any of the performers, should they locate this, but to merely give my opinion on the production and how I saw it from an audience perspective.

Les Cagelles worked well together generally, but lacked timing and in one case, steps in most of the dance numbers, whilst the choreography was on a whole good, some of the dancers were clearing struggling with it, Chantalle was unfortunately a big stand out problem to the rest of the dancers, seeming to not know a single step. However the costumes, wigs, make up and performances aside from those mentioned where great, with some lovely dancers on stage.

Georges: I LOVED| Phillip Quast in this role, and have always found it hard watching another actor perform the role, in this case the actor in question gave a convincing performance, and at times looked a little uneasy and unsure, this became most apparent in the dance numbers and 'With you on my arm' duet where Albin screams "I cant dance" it was notable that Albin was a much better dancer than Georges even whilst wearing heels. However, his realism to the character and his admiration of Albin was excellent, and his voice was lovely to listen to and making his performance very enjoyable to watch.

Jean Micheal: I have mixed feelings about this actor, as at times i found it very difficult to hear what he was saying, but the parts i caught were delivered with great panache. His underplayed character gave a touching performance in 'Look Over there reprise' but the forceful side was not brought out hard enough for the scene with Anne's parents arriving. I think that with direction, this actor could have been great in this role, but I found the performance to be slightly up and down, with some fantastic scenes and some scenes a lot more unsure.

Anne: As with Jean Micheal, I often found it difficult to hear a lot of the lib, im not sure whether this was an issue with the sound?! I liked the meek character this actor has found (NB the over use of the word "actor" is due to not being able to find my programme) she was quirky with a sensitive side, that turned to a more hardened head strong woman in the final scene making a very touching speech to both her parents before stepping into the fold of the other family.

Jacob: I never really understood the need to cast this role according to ethnicity, but as this is how i have generally seen it played, i shall not make judgement on this :)) the actor in question gave a good performance and at times was very funny, but at times seemed to lack direction and looked unsure of what to do, and often fell out of character whilst not speaking. all in all a good performance with some very brave costume moments and a small hint of RuPaul.

Albin: One of THE best roles in a musical, the actor performing this role was just sublime, the saving grace of the show, thankfully his performance more than covered any low points in set, direction, dance and characters. Doug Hodge has always been my favourite Albin and that i got to see him once more on Broadway filled me with joy, however on this night, this actors performance far outshone that of Barrowman, Norton and indeed Hodge and I would have happily paid the price of the New York flight to see his performance again. He captured every pathos and change in the character to perfection, his mannerism and movement was superb as he lived and breathed every single line he spoke, the costumes and wigs only adding to the amazement of his performance, which would have worked just as well without them. His showstopper at the end of act one, 'I am what I am' left me with goosebumps and my friends in floods of tears, it was just astounding. He made me, laugh, cry and cheer in what was WITHOUT DOUBT the best Albin there has ever been and most likely ever will be.

Hannah: Looked fantastic, and performed well, however was not in the main Les Cagelles dances, which I found a shame, but it was nice to see the Tango be returned to the show, after so often being cut.

Mercedes: Started the show with great gusto, and performed full out in everything he did, but as with many of the Cagelle parts, once their dialogue is complete, you pay little attention to whom is whom. However Mercedes stood out for me.

Phaedera: Made me laugh, and never for the right reasons.

Jacqueline: Gave a good and comedic performance and i loved the interaction with her and Zsa Zsa subtly but consciously back biting each other, and i found this very funny.

all in all a good production with an outstanding leading male, who i would pay good money to see perform again. for me, it needed a better apartment, and much more direction, however, the orchestra, which i believe was only a small amount of people made a fantastic noise, and the singing was superb.

as soon as i find my programme, I shall let you know who played which role.

Albin - David Adams

Georges - Russell Stratton

Jean Micheal - Gareth Wildig

Anne - Caroline Fitch

Jacob - Adrian Fergus Fuller

Les Cagelles - Erik Williams (Mercedes), Charles Langford (Phaedera), Simon Carnell (Hannah), Simon Latter (Chantalle), Emma Davis (Lo Sing) Mark Savage (Dermah) Rachel Crisp (Bitelle/Choreographer)

Jacqueline - Debbie Marsh