Day 3 was a hurried affair, from a late wakeup to a quick lunch at a tasty Italian place. That was followed shortly by “La Cage Aux Folles”. I had high expectations for this show, and I can’t say they were entirely fulfilled.
First off, I will start off with the good. Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge were delightful- with wonderful chemistry, and terrific individual moments. Grammer was completely charming, slick, and wonderful in his role, and his “Song on The Sand” was beautifully touching. Douglas Hodge was hilarious, mining every moment perfectly for its maximum comedic output. At the same time, he managed to pull at the heartstrings with his devastating “I am What I am”. These two, and their terrific moments made the entire show a must.
Other than the leads, however, my verdict on the show is not a highly positive one. Musically, I thought the orchestrations were small and tinny, and did not seem to support the energy the cast was putting out. And speaking of that cast, aside from Robin DeJesus’ show stealing maid, and Christine Andreas’ wonderful Jaqueline, there wasn’t much nice to say at all.
The Cagelles, while impressive in doses, just didn’t seem to ever stop the show, which they must. Instead of ending with an explosion, their numbers just sometimes petered out. And most unfortunate were AJ Shively, as Jean Michelle, and Elenna Shadow, as Anne, respectively, whose performances were eerily reminiscent of community theater. The show’s book has grown creaky with age, and the songs now seem pat and repetitive. But still, the two leads managed to make it a worth while outing.
On a much brighter note, we fetched a delicious dinner at Thalia’s, and headed to the beautifully rustic Music Box to catch “Lend Me A Tenor”. This production was simply a great evening of old fashioned fun. All the performances were excellent, and the play is a modern farce classic. It holds up under any circumstance, but it was wonderful to see Broadway actors plumb the material for all of its worth. Particular standouts to me were the incomparable Jan Maxwell as Maria, who took her character to places I had never even seen before, and will win the Tony for her efforts. Justin Bartha was charming, and hilariously neurotic as Max, along with Anthony LaPaglia’s loveably silly Tito. Tony Shaloub was terrific, of course, along with Mary Catherine Garrison and Jennifer Laura Thompson, as Maggie and Diana respectively. It was a total blast, and a great way to spend an evening.
We followed up the show with a delicious dessert at Kyotofu, a Japanese dessert bar on 9th. Yum.
On to the next day!
