I’ve seen La Cage (mumble) times already. Part of me thought, I can’t see this again. The magic will be gone. But with Harvey Fierstein taking over the lead role in the drag musical that he wrote? I am not strong enough to resist this, people! So when a friend said we should grab balcony seats for his first show, there was only one thing I could do…go get even better seats and pay the difference. And what seats they were! I managed to land cabaret table seats up against the stage for, really, not that much more than the balcony tickets. Yaaay discounts! So when I say that late in the first act Harvey was talking right to me, I mean he was actually talking to ME. Specifically. And I learned a lesson: you can get stage fright even when you’re not on stage.
Harvey: “Have you ever wanted an older woman to take care of you?”
Me: “Pehhhh?”
Harvey: “I mean, have you ever wanted a RICH older woman to take care of you?”
Me: “Buhhhh…”
Harvey: “Yes? Well, then…I’ll introduce you to my mother.”
In any case, I was equal parts nervous and excited about seeing Harvey in the role of Zaza, the French Riviera’s most famous transvestite. He wrote the part. He’s a genius comedic performer. And…he can’t sing. His big old foghorn of a voice is one of the most distinctive on the planet. But imagining him trying to rasp his way through some iconic songs was tough. I shouldn’t have worried. The songs are rearranged a bit, some lines are changed, and there’s a whole new set of costumes all intended to swallow Harvey comfortably into the show. And you know what? If you wrote the damn thing, I say you can make them change whatever you want. The bottom line is that he looked fabulous, was significant more convincing as a drag star than anyone I’ve seen in the show before, nailed every laugh with his unrivaled timing, and did it all without sacrificing a moment of tenderness, heart, or hurt that drives the character forward. His performance is enormously different than his predecessor, Douglas Hodge, but every bit as brilliant.
More…troublesome, is Jeffrey Tambor. I didn’t worry about him taking over for Kelsey Grammer at all. I loved Grammer in the show, but it seemed effortless, and it wasn’t as if he had a good singing voice, so if the part doesn’t demand a great voice, Tambor should have this in a cakewalk. To quote myself: Pehhh? Turns out Grammer was doing some heavy lifting up there and making it look much, much easier than it was. It was his first performance, so I forgive Tambor some flubbed lines and awkward timing. But where Grammer sparkled with showmanship, Tambor fades into the background. Grammer’s love is replaced by Tambor’s…complacency? And Grammer’s thin, yet appealing voice is replaced by a hesistant warble that approaches the right notes so tentatively that you can literally HEAR his nerves.
Also a little lacking (and this makes me so sad!) is Wilson Jermaine Heredia, the original Angel in Rent. I always thought Wilson had trouble getting more roles after Rent because he was a straight man whose biggest credit was as a drag queen. Now I think…maybe his exceptional performance in Rent was more a stroke of perfect casting than brilliant talent? Cause he reallllly reached last night for a performance that just didn’t come together. Again, again, maybe he’ll get better. I’d love for that to happen. But he seems to be going for a more naturalistic performance in a role (and with direction) that defies the laws of normal behavior. He’s not playing a character, he’s playing a CHARACTER. Girlfriend’s gonna need to either crank the dial or convince the director to let him drop the crazy affectations and accent.
But whatever! Happy note! Harvey Fierstein is a national treasure. A.J. Shively is still adorable as his son, even if the character is a schmuck. And the Cagelles, those glorious chorus girls with a little something extra, are as volcanic and amazing as ever. But I’m only going to see it AT MOST one more time. I swear.
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