{"id":271195,"date":"2026-06-18T20:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271195\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T20:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:00:29","slug":"reviews-sound-off-on-la-cage-aux-folles-at-new-york-city-center-encores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271195\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviews Sound Off on La Cage aux Folles at New York City Center Encores!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a data-crosslink=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/playbill.com\/production\/la-cage-aux-folles-off-broadway-new-york-city-center-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">La Cage aux Folles<\/a> began its run at New York City Center Encores! June 17, and the reviews are in. See what critics have\u00a0to say about the production, which continues through June 28 below.<\/p>\n<p>Robert O&#8217;Hara directs the Tony-winning Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein\u00a0musical, which features a 28-piece orchestra, conducted by guest music director Joseph Joubert.<\/p>\n<p>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, joined by Alaman Diadhiou (Jelly\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/playbill.com\/article\/watch-billy-porter-rehearse-a-little-more-mascara-for-encores-la-cage-aux-folles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watch Billy Porter Rehearse &#8216;A Little More Mascara&#8217; for Encores! La Cage aux Folles<\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Read the reviews below.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatermania.com\/news\/review-wayne-brady-and-billy-porter-in-a-la-cage-aux-folles-thats-still-finding-the-best-of-times_1842484\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TheaterMania (David Gordon)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>*This review may require creating a free account or paid subscription.<\/p>\n<p>Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.<\/p>\n<p>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 Honor\u00e9, sound design by Megumi Katayama, hair and wig design by Rob Pickens, and makeup design by Joe Dulude II.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/playbill.com\/article\/billy-porter-is-back-from-the-dead-and-more-fabulous-than-ever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">READ: Billy Porter Is Back From the Dead\u2014and More Fabulous Than Ever<\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 fianc\u00e9e\u2019s strait-laced parents. The Encores! production also highlights the original 1983 orchestrations, not heard since its original Broadway run.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/playbill.com\/article\/video-take-a-first-look-at-wayne-brady-and-billy-porter-for-encores-la-cage-aux-folles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Video: Wayne Brady and Billy Porter Are Married in 1st Look at Encores! La Cage aux Folles<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Casting for Encores! is by The Telsey Office. <\/p>\n<p>Tickets are on sale at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nycitycenter.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NYCityCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"La Cage aux Folles began its run at New York City Center Encores! June 17, and the reviews&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-271195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}