La Cage aux Folles review: ‘wonderful fun’ at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Tim Sheader’s lavish revival of this landmark 1983 musical – about a gay Saint-Tropez nightclub owner and his drag artist partner – is a “total joy”, said Miriam Gillinson in The Guardian. The costumes dazzle, and the choreography is “slick but – even better – very funny”.

Harvey Fierstein’s witty script “still crackles 40 years on”: the farce-style plot involves the couple assuming implausible straight identities to meet their son’s prospective father-in-law, a conservative politician. And Jerry Herman’s “heartfelt score” remains romantic and seductive.

It’s an “opportune” moment to revive this joyous show, said Kirsten Grant in The Daily Telegraph. Political efforts in some US states to restrict drag performances mean that the father-in-law’s plans to shut down La Cage “don’t seem so wildly implausible”. Above all, though, the evening is “just wonderful fun”. The ensemble numbers “fizz with energy”, and almost every scene brings some “lavish new outfit”. Beneath all the feathers and sequins, though, Billy Carter and Carl Mullaney bring real “heart” to their roles as the central couple. Mullaney especially is terrific, and his “spine-tingling” rendition of the famous centre- piece “I Am What I Am” – moving from vulnerability and anguish to rousing pride – is the show’s standout moment.

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“La Cage aux Folles” marks Sheader’s swansong after 16 years as artistic director at Regent’s Park, said Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard. He has done a great job, turning the venue “into a destination and a place to reappraise neglected musicals”. This one, however, doesn’t convince. Forty years on, “La Cage” feels “dated and emotionally hollow, all lamé frock and no knickers”. The plot is as “wispy and lightweight as a marabou feather”, and some of the acting is pretty featherweight, too. That said, the big song and dance numbers still knock it out of the park.

I loved the show, said Clive Davis in The Times: its “sheer panache is irresistible”. With luck, Sheader will now bring the same “verve” to his new job as boss of the Donmar Warehouse, which “needs an injection of va-va-voom”.

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London NW1 (0333 400 3562; openairtheatre.com). Until 16 September. Rating ****