|
"La Cage Aux Folles"
Performed
Mar 17 - 27, 2005
Held Over:
Mar 31 - Apr 1, 2 & 3
MUSICAL:
Book by Harvey Fiersten
&
Music & Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Meet The Director
JASON FORTNER (Director) Jason has been
working at FWP since 1974, appearing as a child actor in
Finishing Touches, Life With Father and She Loves Me He staged
our very first musical, Very Good Eddie and has since done Babes
In Toyland, Dracula-The Musical, Meet Me In St Louis and She
Loves Me He adapted Naughty Marietta and Rose Marie for the FWP
stage In the 2003 - 2004 season, he directed and choreographed
two of our musical productions, Of Thee I Sing and How To
Succeed In Business Jason has won multi Suncoast Theatre "Lary"
Awards, and has worked for most of our local theatres A recent
Lary winning production was Crazy For You! done at SPLT As
Creative Director for Wizard Studies International, Jason
creates specialty theme shows and events worldwide When not at
a theatre, he teaches at Eckerd College with the Elder Hostel &
Senior College programs
Meet The
Musical Director
JASON TUCKER (Musical Director) - Jason
has been part of live theatre for over 25 years Starting as a
child actor in plays and commercials, he has performed just
about every task for the stage at different times He's
performed in many plays and musicals in the Tampa Bay area,
directed musicals such as Nunsense!, Triumph of Love, Footloose,
My favorite Year and with his collaborator, Jason Fortner, he's
composed music for Wizard Studios International, Florida Power
Corporation, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and Club Med He has
composed music for two original musicals: Six Guns And
Sasparilla and A Carol's Christmas Jason's work with Francis
Wilson Playhouse began in the 90's when he played Alan in Babes
In Toyland directed by Jason Fortner Since then he's directed
music for our productions of Meet Me In St Louis, Naughty
Marietta, Of Thee I Sing, and How To Succeed In Business He
lives in St Pete with the loves of his life; Boris, Snaps,
Steinway and lovely Amanda
Meet The
Choreographer
FADI AKHTAR (Choreographer) - Fadi has
choreographed Bay Area productions of West Side Story, Crazy for
You, Pippin, Sweet Charity and many more. Fadi is the Assistant
Artistic Director and resident choreographer for the West
Florida Ballet and teaches tap and jazz at the West Florida
Youth Ballet. He is also a professor of literature and
composition at the University of South Florida and the
University of Tampa. He thanks the cast, especially LES
CAGELLES, for all their hard work and trust. "Break a leg... on
a bike."
Meet The
Cast
FADI AKHTAR (Albin/ZaZa) - Fadi is ecstatic
to be back at FWP. You've seen him recently at SPLT's Crazy for
You (Zangler). He thanks Jason and Jason for their trust and
respect, the cast for their hard work and dedicates this show to
"Ethelita" and "Jemmifer" for all the love, support laughs and
inspiration.
JEFFREY J. SKATZKA (Jean-Michel) - Past
experience for Jeffrey has been in Into the Woods (Prince/Wolf),
The Fantastiks (El Gallo). He thanks God for people; Mom, Mr.
B., Fadi, Tracy, "the Jasons" and so forth and so on - !.
TRACY ALAN HUGHES (Georges)
- This Tracy's
second appearance at FWP. He was previously seen in Anything
Goes (Sir Evelyn Oakleigh).
Meet The
Cagelles Cast
MICHAEL AMYX (Chantal) - Michael is a
student at Seminole High School. This is his second performance
at FWP, having recently appeared in our production of Sugar
(Jerry). He sends his thanks to the Flanagans and Mom. "I love
you Mom!"
BOWEN BARRS (Phaedra) - Bowen first
appeared as Phaedra in M.A.D. Theatre's La Cage aux Folles,
last June. He is the "senior" CAGELLE with 24 years more life
experience than our youngest dancers. He thanks the cast for
their support and his doctor for anti-inflammatories.
JASON BETZ (Dermah) - This is Jason's first
performance with FWP. His theatre experience includes
appearances in Lil Abner, Carousel, Shakespeare (abridged). He
has a mother, a father, a sister and several grandparents whom
he likes very much.
JASON BURGHORN (Clo-Clo) - Jason appeared
in WCP's Les Miserables (Marius) and Don't Mention My Name. He
has performed for FWP in The Argonauts (Jake) and Anything Goes
(Steward).
DOMENIC BISESTI (Fifi) - Domenic is
thankful for "Jazz" and "King Tutt". He dedicates his
performance to the memory of Vic Roland.
CATHERINE FOWLES (Nicole) - Catherine is
pleased to be doing another show at FWP (even if she is playing
a Drag Queen!) She last appeared here in Anything Goes
(Bonnie). She would like to thank her friends and family and
sends her love to Mom, Herbert and Mr. Peaches.
BRITTANY McDONALD (Angelique) - Brittany
has performed in My Favorite Year, Crazy For You, Peter Pan and
Footloose. Thanks to Jason and Jason for another opportunity to
work with her favorites, and to Fadi for all the hours of
laughter & torture. Thanks to my parents and friends for being
the BEST!
JAMES GRENELLE (Mercedes) - Favorite stage
credits include Crazy For You (Bobby), My Favorite Year (Benjy),
and George M! (George). When not "in a dress", James works as a
choreographer for Wizard Studios International. Thanks Mom,
Barracuda, Boo, "the bikers", and "the Jasons" for their
constant support.
CANDACE QUEEN (Odette) - Candace is gracing
the FWP stage for the first time and what a way to do it... as
one of those "notorious" CAGELLES.
FRED SCHUMACHER (Hanna) - Fred was bitten
by the "tap dance bug" while performing in Crazy For You (Moose)
at SPLT. He finds dancing a "little" different in heels, but
enjoys the challenge. Fred sends thanks to his wife, Micki, for
her continued support and for rubbing his feet. Heels hurt!
LAUREN CLARK (Anne) - Lauren recently
received her BA in Performing Arts at the University of Tampa.
Some of her credits include, Anything Goes, My Favorite Year,
The Boyfriend, A Little Night Music and Sweet Charity.
MICKI SCHUMACHER (Mme. Dindon) - Micki is
no stranger to the FWP stage. She was last seen in How To
Succeed (Jonesy). In additon to appearing in this production,
she is also responsible for clothing this motely crew. Micki
sends her love to her husband, Fred, the best looking guy in
heels in this show!
JAY D. ALLEN (Dindon) - Jay is glad to be
working with so many friends again. This is Jay's fifth show at
FWP. Favorite parts have been EOT's Chicago (Amos) and It's A
Wonderful Life (Clarence). He sends love to Vicki and Janelle.
CENGIZ DOKEMACI (Jacob) - Cengiz is
delighted to be returning to FWP. He has appeared here in The
Man Who Came to Dinner and Of Thee I Sing. Cengiz is a senior
at the University of Tampa, majoring in History.
KATY GAUDET (Jaqueline) - This is Katy's
second show at FWP. You saw her here in The Man Who Came To
Dinner (Lorraine). Thanks to Jason and Jason for the
opportunity to play yet another great "Diva"!
GEORGE KOLITSAS (Francis) - George first
appeared at FWP in Very Good Eddie (Eddie), in 1991 and most
recently in Sugar (Sir Osgood Fielding), in 2004. Many thanks
to a talented cast and crew. "I'm very happy to be working again
with "the Jasons", a dynamite duo. Enjoy the show!
Meet The Townspeople Cast
ARDIS ANNE (Mme DuBonnet) - Ardis is an
experienced thespian and has appeared in Island Community
Theatre's The Rented Christmas (Martha) and in Two Hearts (Joy)
for the Gulfport Community Players.
COLLEEN BOYLAN (Paulette) - Colleen is
happy to be back at FWP! She has recently performed in our
Anything Goes and How To Succeed. Performances at EOT include
My Favorite Year and You Can't Take It With You.
JASON BURGHORN (Etteinne/Clo-Clo)
- Jason
appeared in WCP's Les Miserables (Marius) and Don't Mention My
Name. He has performed for FWP in The Argonauts (Jake) and
Anything Goes (Steward).
J.T. CROWDER (Hercule) - J.T.'s
considerable theatre experience includes Damn Yankees
(Postmaster), Oliver (Fagin). He has appeared in several
movies. He sings and plays guitar in a local Bay area band in
addition to doing TV commercials and other professional
performance work.
DAVID EDWARDS (Maurice Renaud)
- David has
performed in several shows at FWP. Naughty Marietta, Music Man
and Of Thee I Sing are the most recent. David also performed in
Carousel for The City Players this past summer. To his wife,
Kathleen, Bienvenue! We miss having you in the show.
CALLIE GRAY (Colette) - Callie is excited
about doing her fourth show at FWP. She dreams of a day when
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies to everyone.
JOHN P. HUGHES (Fisherman) - John says,
"This is the first show I've been in, that I don't know what
the H- - - the name means!"
RIKKI LEWIS (Mme Renaud) - Rikki retired
from the NYC school system and joined a Senior Troupe, playing
in Prisoner of Second Ave (Pearl) on Broadway - (Queens, that
is). Locally, she performed in Gulfport Players Two Hearts
(Wilma) which she says was way off-Broadway!
JANET TUCKER (Stage Manager) - Janet just
completed stage managing for FWP's sell-out show, Anything Goes!
and it's really great to have her doing this MAAH-VEH-LOS
musical for us now. Don't you agree?
"La Cage Aux Folles"
First a play by Jean Poiret, La Cage aux Folles (subtitled Birds
of A Feather) became a 1978 French film written by Marcello
Danon and Edouard Molinaro It won numerous awards including the
Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Film Naturally, with an
excellent vehicle like this, a Broadway-class musical resulted
In 1983 the opulent, FABULOUS, Broadway production opened and
was an immediate smash hit, winning the 1984 Tony Award It is
currently being revived on Broadway and you can find amusing
details about it by checking into La Cage Aux Folles -wwwlacagecom
website for the current NYC production
The
cast includes a chorus of both male and females A lot of fun
is generated by making the audience wonder which of the "Cagelles"
are men and which are women (Don't cheat by looking in your
program!)
Harvey Fierstein, Jerry Herman and Arthur Laurents were the
creators of this marvelous, musical version Mr Fierstein writes
that the story is about love, respect and trust What child has
not at some point in its life been ashamed to introduce its
parents to friends? What parent has not wondered, "Where did we
go wrong?" What family has not been tested by the thoughtless
misunderstanding of a child who doesn't recognize its parents
love
The story has been told many times by now, originally in Jean
Poiret's farce of the same name and most recently in the Mike
Nichols's film The Birdcage. Georges and Albin are a
happily "married" couple living and working together in St.
Tropez. Georges, the more grounded of the pair, is the owner and
master of ceremonies of a notoriously popular drag cabaret
theatre called La Cage aux Folles, where the flightier, wackier
Albin is the reigning queen of the stage as his alter ego Zaza.
(Shorthand for their relationship: Albin is Lucy to Georges'
Ricky Ricardo.) They have a butler, Jacob, who claims to be a
maid and whose only goal seems to be to land a part in the show
at the nightclub. They also have a son, Jean-Michel, a handsome
24-year-old who was the result of a youthful caprice of
Georges's; the boy's mother, Sybil, has remained an absentee
parent and Albin has stood in as de facto mama.
The plot hinges on Jean-Michel's sudden announcement that he is
about to get married—to a woman. As if that's not cataclysmic
enough news for Georges and Albin, it turns out that this young
lady, Anne, is the daughter of a rabidly conservative, anti-gay
politician, Edouard Dindon. And guess what: the entire
Dindon clan—père, mère, et fille—are coming to dinner
tomorrow.
Jean-Michel wants to hide Albin in, well, the closet; he
can't risk having his future in-laws learn that he was raised by
a famous drag queen. He convinces an initially reluctant Georges
to invite Sybil and pretend they're still married; he does a
quick overhaul of his parents' flamboyantly decorated house,
transforming it into something along the lines of a monk's
quarters. Albin, unsteady in a man's suit and wingtips, is
"Uncle Al." All's proceeding on a steady if rocky course when
word comes that Sybil can't make it. "Uncle Al" disappears, only
to return, a few minutes later, as Jean-Michel's loving mom. And
then the fun really begins.
It's outlandishly silly, of course—not to be taken seriously at
all, except for the (understated) morals about tolerance and
appreciation of those who love us. (Herman makes sure we don't
lose sight of this later idea, ending the play proper with "Look
Over There," a paean to parental devotion.) But it makes for
delicious farce, and with directors Jason and Jason on hand to make
sure that every laugh line gets the proper punch and every
metaphorical door gets slammed just the right way, it works
splendiferously.
Albin gets the score's most famous song, in which he asserts an
unexpected pride in, as he puts it, loving "each feather and
each spangle:" "I am my own special creation," he declares;
later he sings: "I bang my own drum / Some think it's noise / I
think it's pretty." Brave words in 1983 and still in 2004; we
need to hear them.
The big climax of La Cage aux Folles comes in a St.
Tropez restaurant where Georges and Albin have brought the
Dindons for dinner. The cafe's owner asks Albin to sing, and he
obliges with "The Best of Times," a song that has been known to
feel cloying or sappy but happily here only radiates charm and
good cheer. By the end of the number, everyone on stage is
singing and clapping along, and so is the audience:
Time: Summer Place: St Tropez, France
Musical Numbers
Overture The
Orchestra
We
Are What We Are Les Cagelles
A
Little More Mascara Albin and Friends
With Anne on My Arm Jean-Michel
With You on My Arm (reprise) George and Albin
The
Promenade Townspeople
Song on The Sand Georges
La
Cage aux Folles Albin and Les
Cagelles
I
Am What I Am Albin
Song on The Sand (reprise) Georges and Albin
MasculinityGeorges, Albin and
Townspeople
Look Over There Georges
Cocktail Counterpoint Georges, Dindon,
Mme Dindon, Jacob
The
Best of Times Albin, Jacqueline
and Patrons
Look Over There (reprise)Jean-Michel
Grand Finale The Company
Orchestra
Piano/Conductor Jason Tucker
Percussion Brooke
Stuart
Flute
Adrienne Clover
Trumpet Joe
Bonelli, Bob Armbruster
French Horn Tanya Fisher
ClarinetAmanda Elend, Tony Fuoco
Trombone Frank
Pendergrass
The
Francis Wilson Playhouse,
the Director, cast & crew of La Cage aux Folles
Especially Thank
Dick Poole
Artsy Dancewear
Jimmy & Idea Miliano
Dino DiLiberti, Mary Lee Ross
St. Petersburg Little Theatre |
