La Cage aux Folles is enjoying a 2010 Broadway revival at the Longacre Theatre. The musical is best known to American audiences by its movie adaptation, The Birdcage (starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman). La Cage aux Folles tickets sellout for a stage play with the same premise- a gay club owner and his partner, the star attraction at the club's drag show, must fake their way as husband and wife for their son (the club owner's biological son) to appease the sensibilities of his fiancé's ultraconservative parents.
The original production debuted on Broadway in 1983. Jerry Herman composed and penned the lyrics and Harvey Fierstein wrote the book for the musical. La Cage aux Folles first ran at the Palace Theatre on August 21, 1983. Under the direction of Arthur Laurents, with the choreography of Scott Salmon, and on the set designed by David Mitchell, Gene Barry and George Hearn brought the show to life as Georges (the owner of Saint-Tropez) and Albin (the star attraction and a true diva).
The original production earned nine 1984 Tony Award nominations and won six. La Cage aux Folles won Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (George Hearn), Best Costume Design (Theoni V. Aldredge), and Best Direction of a Musical (Arthur Laurents).
La Cage aux Folles ran until November 15, 1987, ending its run at the Palace Theatre after 1,761 performances. A West End production brought the same creative team across the Atlantic to begin a new show at the London Palladium. The musical debuted on May 7, 1986 and starred, once again, George Hearn. In the 1980s, a move like this was all but impossible, taking an American actor in the middle of the production and moving him to London. However, the American and British acting unions set a trade, allowing Hearn to perform La Cage aux Folles in London and bringing Robert Lindsey to appear in Me and My Girl on Broadway.
