La Cage aux Folles' concepts remain relevant 33 years later

When it opened in 1983, La Cage aux Folles broke new ground. The first Broadway musical to star a gay couple, it tells the story of the owner and the star of a gay nightclub who comically attempt to act straight when the son they raised brings home his fiancee's conservative parents.

Then-New York Times theater critic Frank Rich praised its likable main characters, compelling love story and catchy tunes: "Given these real virtues and its overall line of attack, La Cage aux Folles might be a hit even if its heroes were Internal Revenue agents."

On Friday, it makes its Arkansas debut at Argenta Community Theater in North Little Rock. Rafael Castanera, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre's costume designer since 2001, directs an all-Arkansas cast that has sparked enough buzz that opening night is already sold out.

"The stories that are important to be told -- I think this is one," he says. "It's done in a very funny way, but the emotions are real."

La Cage aux Folles is based on a 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, which was followed by a 1978 hit movie. The American stage production was written by Harvey Fierstein and scored by Jerry Herman, famous for the classic music of Hello, Dolly! The late Robin Williams and Nathan Lane starred in an Academy Award-nominated 1996 film adaptation, The Birdcage.

The lead character, Georges, owns a cabaret club in St. Tropez called La Cage aux Folles featuring drag performers. His longtime romantic companion, Albin, is the club's star performer, taking the name Zaza when performing in drag. The couple are shocked when Georges' son from a long-ago fling, Jean-Michel, comes home with an announcement. He is engaged to a young woman named Anne; furthermore, her father, Monsieur Edouard Dindon, is the leader of a traditionalist political party whose goal is to close drag clubs such as La Cage aux Folles. Jean-Michel pleads with Georges and Albin to conceal their sexuality for a visit from Monsieur Dindon and his wife, and the rest of the play draws humor as people with vastly different backgrounds try to do their best for the ones they love.

"It's about what the meaning of family is," Castanera says. "What the meaning of love is. Families come in all different shapes, forms and sizes. But love is love. And that's what it all boils down to."

Its irrepressible humor, over-the-top camp and relatable, if unconventional, romantic relationship between two male leads sparked dialogue at a key moment when it debuted in the United States. For two years, gay men had been mysteriously dying from rare lung infections and an aggressive cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma. That year would see the first documented death of an Arkansas resident from AIDS, out of 1,476 nationwide in 1983, according to The New York Times.

For a stage actor, La Cage is the kind of production one looks forward to. Its ornate sets, elaborate costumes and full-throated score allow the cast to perform with joy, energy and humanity.

Brandon Box-Higdem, who plays Albin and Zaza, says it "has always been a bucket list role of mine, one of those roles that only comes around once in a lifetime." He adds, every time the play comes back on Broadway, the actor playing his role "consistently wins the Tony for it, because you're playing a male and a female role. It's a challenge, and vocally it's a challenge."

Box-Higdem says the play continues to be relevant to new generations in American culture, citing debate surrounding issues such as gay marriage, gay adoption and workplace protections.

"At the core, it's really all about love," he says.

Weekend on 07/21/2016