"I am what I am and what I am is no secret" - and it shouldn't be! - In 1983, a liberating beat resounds from Broadway to London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin and heralds the triumphant advance of a musical that lets everyone breathe a sigh of relief who wishes for a life beyond petty conventions. A plea to trust one's own feelings, not to pretend, and thus to make the world a little more colorful, beautiful and livable place.
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KEY VISUAL La Cage aux Folles
Georges runs the extremely successful nightclub La Cage aux Folles. The absolute star is his partner in life, the drag queen Zaza alias Albin - a parade role for actor Stefan Kurt. Apart from Zaza's capricious capers, things are going well at the club until one day Jean-Michel, George's son from a previous relationship, turns up.
Jean-Michel loves his father and Zaza, who raised him together, but he especially loves Anne, daughter of an ultra-conservative politician. He wants to marry her and, to Zaza's greatest disappointment, asks Georges to come alone to the first meeting with the family. When two mothers show up at the dinner with the future in-laws, the chaos is perfect.
Jerry Herman created a classic of the musical genre with La Cage aux Folles. Once you've heard its most famous melody, "I am what I am," you can never get it out of your ears.
Staged by Barrie Kosky, it becomes an ever-valid plea for tolerance and the courage to stand by oneself!
By the way: The German premiere in 1985 at the Theater des Westens with Helmut Baumann as Zaza is legendary. Of course, he must not be absent from Barrie Kosky's production - this time as Jacqueline, Jean-Michel's biological mother!
Additional information
Jerry Herman - Musical in two acts [1983]
- Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
- Book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret
- German text by Martin G. Berger using the translation by Erika Gesell and Christian Severin
Participating artists
Klaus Bruns (Kostüme)
Jean-Christophe Charron (Chöre)
Rufus Didwiszus (Bühnenbild)
Franck Evin (Licht)
Koen Schoots (Musikalische Leitung)
Barrie Kosky (Inszenierung)
Otto Pichler (Choreographie)
Johanna Wall (Dramaturgie)
N.N. (Georges)
N.N. (Albin / Zaza)
N.N. (Jacob)
N.N. (Jean-Michel)
N.N. (Edouard Dindon)
N.N. (Jacqueline)
N.N. (Anne Dindon)
N.N. (Marie Dindon)
N.N. (Frances)
N.N. (Renaud)
N.N. (Odette)
N.N. (Clo Clo)
N.N. (Frou Frou)
N.N. (Mercedes)
N.N. (Josephine)
N.N. (Hanna)
N.N. (Nicole)
N.N. (Chantal)
N.N. (Angélique)
N.N. (Monique)
N.N. (Bitelle)
N.N. (Phaedra)
Chorsolisten, Komparserie und Tanzensemble der Komischen Oper Berlin
Es spielt das Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin.
