La Cage Aux Folles – Leeds Grand
LA CAGE Aux Folles doesn’t have a lot of songs but certainly makes the most of them.
Half of them are given the epic, flamboyant, showstopping treatment by a high-kicking chorus of men in sequinned dresses, feathers and high heels.
The rest are irresistibly romantic, among the loveliest songs you’ll hear in any modern musical.
And all fit perfectly in this terrific adaptation of an original French play that film audiences may remember as the Robin Williams comedy The Birdcage.
Georges and Albin have lived happily together on the French Riviera for many years, Georges the debonair host of a transvestite dance club and Albin the camp, highly-strung star act.
The pair brought up Georges’s straight son Jean-Michele as father and ‘mother’, and the boy is bringing home his fiancée for the first time.
Trouble is, the girl’s parents are coming too, and papa is a bigoted politician determinedly campaigning against the Riviera’s gay scene.
Cue farcical comedy and bitchy backbiting in a hilarious, wonderfully warm-hearted show that’s all about love, both romantic and family, and how people can hurt their loved ones unintentionally.
Eastenders actor John Partridge is brilliant as Albin, perfectly capturing the many layers of his personality, while Adrian Zmed from 80s cop show TJ Hooker is hypnotic as Georges.
• Until Saturday, Grand Theatre. Visit leedsgrandtheatre.com or call 0844 8482700 to book tickets.
David Knights
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