La Cage Dolls up at Menier This Xmas???

After this summer’s world premiere of Maltby and Shire’s Take Flight (See News, 14 May), the Menier Chocolate Factory is tipped to revive another American musical this Christmas, Jerry Herman’s La Cage Aux Folles. Based on the 1973 French play by Jean Poiret and subsequent 1978 French-Italian screen version, the 1983 musical focuses on a gay couple: George, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his star attraction - and the adventures that ensue when Georges' son brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. The score features songs including “I Am What I Am”, “Best of Times” and “Song on the Sand”.La Cage Aux Folles had West End run at the London Palladium in 1986 – coinciding with a time when AIDS was just starting to hit the headlines in the UK – but closed after just six months. On Broadway, the musical clocked up over 1,500 performances in its premiere season and had a brief revival in 2004.

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