I took my 15year old niece to see La Cage aux Folles over the weekend in Houston. She has been listening to the original broadway soundtrack (I've infected her with the love of George Hearn's singing), and has seen the Birdcage and the original French film. What did she think of La Cage? She loved it - the music, the jokes, the Cagelles, but she found it a bit... old-fashioned. For her, La Cage wasn't an appeal for gay rights - to her gay rights is a matter of course. Some of her mom's and dad's friends are gay, some of my niece's friends are gay, and she sees nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately a number of fellow theatre-goers could not deal with La Cage, and left at intermission. As my niece said, "Don't they even get it?"
When La Cage premiered in NY, I thought it was a musical that could only take place in NY (I was (and still am) in Texas). How bold - and how... natural? I've never had any problem with homosexuality (well, there was that one disappointment when the hot guy at work turned out to be gay. He made up for it by flirting outrageously at one of the conferences we went to, and sending me the guys that weren't interested in him), but I watched as friends and neighbors tried to deal with homosexuality, some more successfully than others.
La Cage is the musical that slapped mainstream America sweetly across the face. A loving couple is dealing with their son growing up and marrying, and then find out he's embarrassed by the family. A situation that has been caught in sitcoms, drama, and thrillers - the only difference was that this loving couple was gay. And not quietly "shut the door" gay - they were firmly, proudly gay. Dresses and all - gay. But this situation is one that happens to so many families (albeit without so many spangles). In their world, Georges and Albin are normal. And yet... in the musical during the lovely "Song in the Sand", sung by Georges to Albin, they cannot visibly show their love for each other. The married couple who owns the bistro can (and do, with loving touches and light caresses). All Georges and Albin can do is look at each other, and hold hands on the table. Even in their own musical they have to deal with society's disapproval.
"Song on the Sand", sung by Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge:
And of course, "I Am What I Am". The anthem for gays, for anyone who feels like an outcast. The song that states, firmly and definitely, that whatever others may think, that society must accept them. I Am What I Am says it all, no pleas for tolerance, no cries for compassion, but a simple "I am here, I will not leave, I will not hide, I am part of society, accept me or get out of the way." In other words, "I'm here, I'm queer, deal with it."
"I Am What I Am" - George Hearn (from a bootleg with the surrounding dialog):
"We Are What We Are" and "I Am What I Am" - The original Cagelles and George Hearn from the 1984 Tony Awards:
And then... AIDS. During the 4 year run, they lost roughly 3/4 of the cast. The AIDS panic raised the barriers again, But, somehow, those barriers were a bit more fragile and crumbling. La Cage had started a conversation, and even with the barriers up, that conversation continued.
From the London Production, "The Best of Times"
From the 2010 Tony Awards, "The Best of Times", with the cast and the Cagelles (some are in the national tour - they got the biggest round of applause in Houston next to Christopher Sieber and George Hamilton!)
Jerry Herman has said that after La Cage he would not create another musical - La Cage said it all for him. I wish that he had continued to create musicals, but La Cage Aux Folles is definitely the best high note he could leave on. And over 25 years, his creation has gone from ground-breaking to slightly old-fashioned. I hope in my niece's lifetime La Cage will become a classic period piece. George Hearn (the original Albin) had a personal anecdote (paraphrased). His sister and her husband (both very conservative) came to see him in La Cage. For three months, they didn't talk about the performance. But then his brother in law said that "if those two guys really loved each other, I guess it's none of my business." As Hearn says, "Theater can do things that you can't legislate, or preach, or make laws about. The theater can do this thing of getting into your heart."
An interview with Jerry Herman, discussing his career and La Cage: