MARK AUERBACH
The Harvey “Girls”
Two Broadway blockbusters, both based on obscure foreign films, come to area stages this month, and both feature scripts by legendary Broadway baby Harvey Fierstein. (He’s the award-winning playwright and actor, who portrayed one of Broadway’s greatest leading ladies, Edna Turnblad, in the musical version of John Waters’ movie Hairspray.) Both musicals are major award winners; both feature scores by beloved American composers, and both feature loveable leading ladies–portrayed by men.
Jamison Stern headlines La Cage Aux Folles at Goodspeed.
La Cage Aux Folles, Fierstein’s musical with composer Jerry Herman (he of Hello Dolly and Mame fame), originally took Broadway by storm in the early 1980s. It’s the only musical in Broadway history to capture the Tony Award for “Best Musical” and then win “Best Musical Revival” twice in subsequent productions. Goodspeed Musicals mounts La Cage Aux Folles June 26 through September 6.
When La Cage Aux Folles opened, the Reagan years were in full swing, and the AIDS epidemic was sweeping the country. Homophobia was at an all-time high. La Cage Aux Folles, based on a French play and subsequent film comedy, was an unlikely hit. Set in St. Tropez, a gay club owner, and his star attraction, “Zaza”, a couple in real life, are thrilled when their son comes home to announce his engagement–to the daughter of a conservative politico. When the son asks them to “de-gay” the house, hilarity ensues, surrounded by now popular hits “I Am What I Am” and “The Best of Times”.
Kinky Boots National Tour by Matthew Murray
Rob Ruggiero (of Hartford’s Theaterworks) directs the Goodspeed production, and Ralph Perkins choreographs. James Lloyd Renyolds plays nightclub owner, Georges. Jamison Stern plays his partner, Albin, better known as “Zaza”.
Flash forward thirty years, to a world where gay rights is accepted by the majority of people, and marriage equality is available to a large population, and Kinky Boots, again with book by Fierstein, and music and lyrics by pop singer Cyndi Lauper (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”), is the toast of Broadway. It visits The Bushnell June 23-28.
Kinky Boots is based on a small British film about a man who runs his family shoe business. Hard times have fallen on the company, and he’s considering closing shop and putting a lot of people out of work. Enter, Lola, a drag entertainer, who coerces the company to make outrageous shoes for her act; and the company’s entrance into the kinky boots industry finds a new market and success.
Kinky Boots, the movie, was inspired by a 1999 episode of the BBC2 documentary television series Trouble at the Top. It followed the true story of Steve Pateman, who was struggling to save his family-run shoe factory from closure and decided to produce fetish footwear for men, under the brand name “Divine Footwear”
Kinky Boots wasn’t expected to sweep the Tony Awards, as another musical, Matilda (which incidentally has been added to the Bushnell’s season next year) had all the buzz. Nonetheless, Jerry Mithcell’s dazzling staging, Lauper’s delightful score, and Fierstein’s book brought home the Tony Awards–six in all.
Thomas Bergeron, principal trumpet with the Springfield Symphony.
Men cross-dressing for comedic effect have charmed theatre audiences since the days of the Greeks. Milton Berle, Dame Edna, Divine, RuPaul, Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire, and Varla Jean Merman have kept audiences howling with laughter for generations. Now, we get two “heroines” of musicals who can sing and dance their way into our hearts.
For tickets to La Cage Aux Folles at Goodspeed Musicals.860.873.8668 or www.goodspeed.org
For tickets to Kinky Boots at The Bushnell: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga perform duets at Tanglewood.
Keep in Mind…
Thomas Bergeron, Springfield Symphony’s principal trumpeter, and his trio, pianist Chris Doyle and bassist Michael Bates, perform jazz and classical pieces in a performance, June 21, at North Hall in Huntington. Bergeron’s newest album is called Sacred Feast. For informaton on Bergeron: http://www.thomasbergeronmusic.com. For concert details: 413-667-5543 or www.northhallhuntington.org
Tanglewood “Pre Season” is in full swing. Sheryl Crowe joins the Boston Pops on June 19; it’s a Sondheim program the following night with Kate Baldwin and Jason Danieley. Diana Krall brings her jazz sounds to the Tanglewood shed on June 21. And on June 27, Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion perform a live radio broadcast. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett perform Cheek to Cheek on June 30. For tickets: 888-266-1200 or www.tanglewood.org.
Henry V launches the summer season at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox. The Bard’s historical drama plays June 18-August 23 Jenna Ware stages the historical drama. Ryan Winkles stars as the British king. For tickets: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
Ryan Winkles is Henry V at Shakespeare and Company. (Photo by Enrico Spada)
The Talcott Mountain Music Festival, Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s summer series of outdoor concerts in Simsbury, CT, opens its season with The Mambo Kings on June 26 (rain date June 27). Rob Bernardt conducts. The Mambo Kings, together since 1995, are enjoying great success as America’s foremost Latin Jazz ensemble, and have rapidly earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. For tickets: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
