La Cage aux Folles

Critics gave this glitzy revival a lukewarm reception when it opened in early December, saying that Gary Beach's Albin/ZaZa was bland and that the Harvey Fierstein/Jerry Herman 1983 musical had devolved into a crossdressing tribute to family values. Hardly two weeks later, Beach was breathing fire into his Act 1 closer, "I Am What I Am," transforming the entire evening into a fervid affirmation of individualism. Quite frankly, I was trembling at intermission after what I'd just seen.
Compared to his Tony-winning antics as Roger de Bris in The Producers, Beach really has backed off somewhat on his flamboyance. But that's all for the good when Albin's stepson sees the light, and ZaZa's comedy still sparkles. There's nothing particularly Gallic about Daniel Davis, renowned for his starchy stint in "The Nanny" on TV. But his urbanity as Georges, proprietor of the flaming St. Tropez nightspot, lends a classy silken sheen to both of his troubled relationships. His ambivalence toward his son Jean-Michel is particularly well-gauged.

Wickedness blossoms all evening long. William Ivey Long's costume designs range from the bohemian to the incorrigible, and set designer Scott Pask allows his palette to run wild among crimson, pink, fuchsia, and purple each time we revisit La Cage - with dangling swings and ropes to add kitsch and kink.

Les Cagelles are surely one of the high-kickingest chorus lines to explode anywhere, and with a book and score as sturdy as this one -- and crusading homophobes still on the loose in high places -- La Cage remains relevant and powerful.