In 1996, Robin Williams and Nathan Lane topped the box office with “The Birdcage,” a movie about a gay couple whose son gets engaged to the daughter of a conservative senator. The movie spent three weeks as the country’s top-selling film, but what’s less well-known is the fact that before it came to Hollywood, the story started out on stage — as a French play called “La Cage Aux Folles” that was later adapted into both a film and a musical.
The musical, which features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, opened on Broadway in 1983. And it is this version of the story that will come to the stage in Adrian this month in a production by the Croswell Opera House.
The production opens June 13, and performances will take place over two weekends. It is the second show in the Croswell’s 2025 Broadway Season.
This version of the story takes place in a drag nightclub in Saint-Tropez, along the French Riviera. The main characters are Georges, the manager of the nightclub, and Albin, his husband and star performer. Chaos comes into their lives when their son announces his engagement to the daughter of a politician who opposes everything they stand for. The result is both a comedy and a heartfelt story about the importance of love and family.
Among the show’s most memorable musical numbers is the first-act finale, “I Am What I Am,” which came to be viewed as an international gay anthem and has been recorded by a number of artists, including Gloria Gaynor.
The Croswell’s production is directed by John MacNaughton, with music direction by Jonathan Sills and choreography by Dean Shullick.
Georges and Albin are played by Eric Parker of Adrian and Johnny Reed of Toledo. Their son, Jean-Michel, is played by Matthew Porter of Adrian, and his fiancee, Anne, is played by Caroline Coy of Ann Arbor.
Anne’s parents are played by Lane Hakel of Hudson and Dawn Kingman of Sylvania, Ohio. Georges and Albin’s butler, Jacob, is played by Evan James Copeland of Toledo.
The cast also includes Everett Hanley, Angie Heath, Kyler Mattoon, Erica Murray, and CaSaundra Taulton, all of Adrian; Amanda Nummy of Ann Arbor; Walter Book and Skye Rodriguez of Petersburg; Regan Williams of Saginaw; Cody Ray of Bowling Green, Ohio; Eric Huffman of Delta, Ohio; Ella Orr of Oregon, Ohio; and Nathan Glover and Ekaterina Helpman of Toledo.
“La Cage Aux Folles” opens at the Croswell Opera House on June 13. Performance dates and times are:
— Friday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.
— Saturday, June 14 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
— Sunday, June 15 at 2:30 p.m.
— Thursday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.
— Friday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
— Saturday, June 21 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
— Sunday, June 22 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets range from $26 to $46 for adults, $16 to $26 for students, and may be ordered at croswell.org or by calling the box office at 517-264-7469.
