Wanderlust Revelation: Douglas Hodge in La Cage Aux Folles (NYC)

by Video4net

My brother and future sister-in-law got my mother and I a Broadway gift certificate for Christmas. About two weeks after Christmas, my mother and I began looking into shows we wanted to see. With Angels in America being done as a two-parter and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown about to close, we thought, why not La Cage Aux Folles? After all, it had won the 2010 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, Kelsey Grammer had won for his performance, so it had all the makings of a good thing.

We chose our Mezzanine seats and then a few days before we were set to go, my mother called me downstairs in a tizzy, with the news that Kelsey Grammer would be departing from the show on the 14th (our tickets were for January 15th). She looked upset, but upon closer look, the cast change wouldn't come until February 15th (we were in the clear and I am so happy now that we went when we did).

We got the tickets at Will Call and squeezed into our seats in the tiny Longacre Theatre. While I was excited about the show, it wasn't like my enthusiasm for seeing Driving Miss Daisy with James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave (extended now until April 9, 2011) or for Wicked. I thought we would have a nice time, but boy, was I unprepared for the performance from Douglas Hodge.

Kelsey Grammer did a nice job as Georges, the MC of the transvestite La Cage Aux folles club in St. Tropez. He was funny and played his part well, as for the singing though, you could tell he had to (uncomfortably) strain to hit the high notes at times. But Douglas Hodge, who played Georges's over-the-top partner, Albin/ZaZa, was a revelation. A British actor, who first played Albin in the 2008 London revival of La Cage Aux Folles, Hodge had  incredible range, both in voice and character. When the show broke for a 15-minute intermission, I frantically flipped through the playbill to read all about him. This was his Broadway debut and he did receive (and rightly so) the Tony for it. The highlight was his rendition of "I am what I am," which was simply dazzling.

Not only that, but during the encore, Hodge was the only actor that directed the audience's applause up to the mini-orchestra off in the wings (an actor with a heart, you don't get much better than that). I would watch Douglas Hodge in absolutely ANYTHING now.

La Cage Aux Folles (with Douglas Hodge until February 14, 2011) (NYC):
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
for tickets: broadwaybox.com

Mi hermano y mi futura cunada dieron a mi mama y yo un cheque regalo para Broadway para navidad. Casi dos semanas despues de navidad mi mama y yo empezabamos a mirar a las obras que nos gustaria ver. Habia Angels in America y Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) que a mi me habia gustado ver, pero porque habian unas complicaciones, decidimos investigar la obra, La Cage Aux Folles. La Cage recibio el Tony para mejor revival en 2010 y Kelsey Grammer tambien recibio un Tony para su actuacion, pues parecia que iba a ser una buena obra.

Elejimos plazas en el Mezzanine y unos dias antes de irnos, mi mama vio en un correo electronico que Kelsey Grammer iba a despedirse de la obra el dia 14 (nuestras entradas eran para el 15 de enero). Ella estaba triste, pero cuando yo mire al correo electronico descubri que el cambio de los actores no iba a ocurrir hasta el 15 de febrero (todo estaba bien, ella mas alegre y de verdad estoy mas feliz ahora que fuimos cuando fuimos).

Recojimos nuestras entradas en el teatro y nos pusimos en los asientos super chiquitos del teatro Longacre. Aunque tenia ganas de ver la obra, no tenia las mismas ganas y entusiamso que tenia cuando mi mama y yo fuimos a ver James Earl Jones y Vanessa Redgrave en Driving Miss Daisy (ahora esta el 9 de abril), ni estaba tan emocionante como cuando fuimos a ver Wicked. Pensaba que ibamos a disfrutar de la obra, normal, pero no estaba preparada para estar ilusionada. 

Kelsey Grammer hizo bien su papel de Georges, el encargado del nightclub La Cage Aux Folles de St. Tropez. El lo hizo con gracia pero cuando tenia que cantar, se podia ver que el tenia que esforzarse demasiado. En cambio, Douglas Hodge, el actor que hizo el papel de Albin/ZaZa, el extravagante pareja de Georges, lo hizo de maravilla. Hodge es un actor ingles quien hizo por primera vez el papel de Albin en Londres en 2008. Su registro fue espectacular. Cuando habia un descanso de 15 minutos entre los actos, busque mas informacion sobre Douglas Hodge en el programa. Aprendi que fue su primera vez actuando en el escenario de Broadway y que el gano un Tony por su actuacion. Lo mas destacado fue la cancion, “I am what I am,” que canto el.

Me dejo asombrada no solo con su actuacion pero tambien con su comportamiento. Al final de la obra el fue el unico actor en el escenario que dirijio el aplauso del publico al mini-orquesta en los bastidores (un actor con un gran corazon, no hay algo mas precioso). Yo pagaria para ver a Douglas Hodge en cualqiuer obra.

La Cage Aux Folles (con Douglas Hodge hasta el 14 de Febrero, 2011) (NYC):

Longacre Theatre

220 West 48th Street

Entradas: broadwaybox.com