La Cage aux Folles

Posted on 9 July, 2012

Fling on your feather boas and leave your reservations at the door – Wild Rice is staging the rambunctious musical La Cage Aux Folles this July at the Esplanade Theatre! Directed by Glen Goei and starring the inimitable Ivan Heng, the laugh-a-minute show is filled with dazzling dance routines performed by 13 glamazonian “Cagelles”. Also catch Singapore’s best stage talents – Hossan Leong, Tan Kheng Hua, Darius Tan, Karen Tan, and more.

Sequins aside, La Cage is a story about love, family, and loving those you love for who they are. A young couple, in love and engaged, are getting their parents to meet for the first time. The only snag? One side’s a right-wing, uptight politician and the other? A gay couple who own a cabaret.

Glen says: “I first watched La Cage in Paris with my mom 21 years ago. When the show ended, and we were walking out, my mom cried and said, ‘Darling, can we go and see it again tomorrow. And I told myself that I would love to stage it one day. There are values in the story that are very important to me, tolerance, diversity, understanding, family and of course love.”

The team scouted far and wide for the 13 Cagelles – and the towering dancers hail from London, New York, Malaysia, and Singapore. We watched the media preview and honey – they are fabulous!

In Wild Rice style, the American musical is relocated to Singapore’s very own Tanjong Pagar. “We want to do Broadway our way,” said Glen. Bring it on!

When: 20 July to 4 August
Where: Esplanade Theatre
Tickets: $35 to $125 from Sistic.