LA CAGE AUX FOLLES 1st month OBC George Hearn Gene Barry Playbill August 1983

Description

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
Playbill August 1983.
From the first month of the run of the Original Broadway Cast featuring George Hearn and Gene Barry.
For so many reasons this was a landmark musical.  The Playbill is also an exhibit A of the times.  So daring for an actor to play a gay character and note the requirement of the day.  Gene Barry's bio must make sure to note that he is a husband and father.  Not something that was often part of an actor's credits.
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Cage aux Folles
(French pronunciation: ​
[la kaʒ o fɔl]
) is a musical with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein.
Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it tells the story of a gay couple, Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges's son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
La cage aux folles
literally means "the cage of crazy women". However,
folles
is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens).
Opening on Broadway in 1983,
La Cage
broke barriers for gay representation by becoming one of the first hit Broadway musicals centered on a homosexual relationship. The show's Act One finale, "I Am What I Am", received praise as a "gay anthem" and has been widely recorded.
The original production ran for more than four years (1,761 performances), and won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.
La Cage aux Folles
opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on August 21, 1983. It was directed by Arthur Laurents and choreographed by Scott Salmon, with set design by David Mitchell, costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge, and lighting design by Jules Fisher. The original Broadway cast included Gene Barry as Georges and George Hearn as Albin, with John Weiner as Jean-Michel, Jay Garner as Edouard Dindon, Merle Louise as Mme. Dindon, Elizabeth Parrish as Jacqueline, Leslie Stevens as Anne, and William Thomas Jr. as Jacob.
The original production received nine Tony Award nominations, winning a total of six including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. The show beat several strong competitors in many categories, including Stephen Sondheim's
Sunday in the Park with George
. It also won three Drama Desk Awards. The production ran for four years and 1,761 performances, closing on November 15, 1987.