In 1983, a cry of freedom rang out from Broadway to London and Berlin, heralding the triumph of a musical insisting on the right to a brightly coloured life outside of narrow-minded conventionality.

Georges runs the nightclub La Cage aux Folles. Its showstopping star is his spouse, the drag queen Zaza, aka Albin. One day, Jean-Michel, the son of Georges from a past relationship, shows up: he wants to marry Anne, the daughter of an ultra-conservative family, and to Albin’s enormous disappointment, he asks Georges to come alone when meeting her family. Albin is deeply hurt. But when the dinner party then takes place at Chez Jacqueline, he won’t be denied ...

Today a classic of the genre, Jerry Herman’s musical has provided us with an empowering paean to the fight for more openness and fairness, and not just for the queer scene. With Barrie Kosky’s production, the piece becomes a timeless call to arms: be true to yourself and to each other!

Foto: © Monika Rittershaus