The best of times is now! The final offering of the 2026 City
Center Encores! season, the Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical La Cage aux Folles, plays the Manhattan venue June 17-28.
Robert O’Hara directs the Tony-winning musical, which features a 28-piece orchestra, conducted by guest music
director Joseph Joubert.
The all-Black cast is led by Tony winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots, Pose) as Albin and Emmy winner Wayne Brady (The Wiz) as Georges. Watch the duo in rehearsals above. The company also features Alaman Diadhiou (Jelly’s Last Jam) as Jean-Michel, Lance Coadie Williams (Kiss Me, Kate) as Renaud, James Jackson, Jr. (A Strange Loop) as Jacob, Michael McElroy (Sunday in the Park With George) as Francois, Sharon Washington (The Scottsboro Boys) as Marie, Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, Or Change)
as Jacqueline, Peter Francis James as Edouard, and Rachel Webb as Anne.
Watch Billy Porter Rehearse ‘A Little More Mascara’ for Encores! La Cage aux Folles
The ensemble includes Jordan Alexander, Sai Anthony, Jordan Chin,
Joshua Dawson, Jamal Christopher Douglas, Michael Samarie George, Aaron
Graham, Ari Groover, Jaquez, Karma Jenkins, Christian Kidd, Kendall
Lashanti, Andre Malcolm, Kareem Marsh, Morgan McGhee, Ernest Mingo,
Wesley Ryan, Julian Amari Smith, Jordan Simone Stephens, Wade Watson,
Anthony Wayne, and Travon Williams.
The production also has choreography by Edgar
Godineaux, tap choreography by Dormeshia, scenic design by David Zinn,
costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Adam Honoré, sound
design by Megumi Katayama, hair and wig design by Rob Pickens, and makeup design by Joe Dulude II.
READ: Billy Porter Is Back From the Dead—and More Fabulous Than Ever
Based on the play by Jean Poiret, La Cage has a book by Fierstein and music and lyrics by Herman. The musical
opened on Broadway in August 1983, subsequently winning six Tony Awards,
including Best Musical.
The musical follows longtime
partners Albin and Georges, who are proprietors of a drag nightclub
in St. Tropez; their world turns upside down when their son brings home
his fiancée’s strait-laced parents. The Encores!
production also highlights the original 1983 orchestrations, not heard
since its original Broadway run.
Video: Wayne Brady and Billy Porter Are Married in 1st Look at Encores! La Cage aux Folles
Casting for Encores! is by The Telsey Office.
Tickets are on sale at NYCityCenter.org.