Sieber impresses, Hamilton flounders in 'La Cage Aux Folles'

The star of a national tour ought to be the performer who puts the wind in the show's sails, not the anchor that weighs it down.

Unfortunately that's not the case with Broadway in Chicago's touring production of 2010's Tony Award-winning musical, “La Cage Aux Folles,” starring silver-haired George Hamilton as gay nightclub owner Georges, and Christopher Sieber as his longtime partner Albin, who as the sassy Zaza, headlines the nightclub's popular drag revue.

Sieber, who played Georges in the Broadway production, is terrific as a flamboyant diva plagued by midlife insecurity. His grand voice, outsize presence and flair for physical comedy make for a winning combination. But it's sincerity that grounds Sieber's performance and gives the showstopping “I Am What I Am” — an anthem of acceptance with defiant undertones — such emotional weight.

With Sieber at the helm, “La Cage” sails smoothly.

However, when Hamilton takes over, the show tends to flounder. While the 72-year-old actor cuts a suave figure as the indulgent Georges, his one-note performance feels tentative and detached. Moreover, Hamilton struggled with notes and timing, failing to land the jokes, with one exception late in the second act, which succeeded thanks to an assist from Sieber.

Fortunately director Terry Johnson's unique, counterintuitive revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical has the Cagelles — the nightclub's muscled “showgirls” — to help keep the show on course. Played with delicious impertinence by Matt Anctil, Logan Keslar, Donald C. Shorter Jr., Mark Roland, Terry Lavell and Trevor Downey — and supervised by Dale Hensley's beleaguered stage manager — this athletic sextet does not boast a single glamour puss.

Not one of them could pass for female. Even dressed in feathers and sequins and sporting well-coiffed wigs, their guise makes it clear these gals are dudes. They may be all about illusion, but they aren't fooling anybody. But that's OK, because “La Cage Aux Folles” is about self-acceptance, and hard-won self-acceptance at that. These folks don't have to be perfect, they just have to be who they are.

“La Cage Aux Folles” is based on Jean Poiret's 1973 play, which also inspired a 1978 French film and Mike Nichols' 1996 American version, “The Birdcage,” which starred Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

The musical centers on longtime couple Georges and Albin, whose comfortable life — established over 20 years — gets upended when Jean-Michel (Billy Harrigan Tighe), Georges' son from a one-night stand with a British showgirl, announces he's engaged. Jean-Michel wants to introduce his fiancee, Anne (newcomer Allison Blair McDowell), and her parents — Monsieur Dindon (Bruce Winant), a right-wing politician who heads up the Traditional Family and Morality Party, and his wife, Madame Dindon (Cathy Newman) — to his family. But he prefers Albin — the man who helped raise him — not be there. Silliness ensues, including an amusing scene where Georges attempts to make his lover more masculine with help from cafe owners played by Newman and Winant, whose brief solo makes clear Hamilton's vocal shortcomings.

It's followed by an ill-timed revelation and ultimately reconciliation.

Johnson forgoes the high gloss and glitz typically associated with the show and instead sets the action at a second-tier nightclub in St. Tropez, France, a warm but faded venue designed by Tim Shortall.

Re-imagining “La Cage Aux Folles” in this way places the emphasis on its emotional component, the relationship between two people still in love after 20 years. It's a bold move and it pays off, for the most part, Hamilton's performance notwithstanding.

Moreover, Herman's disarming score makes for some touching moments. The signature “The Best of Times” begins as a subdued meditation and concludes as a joyful celebration, while the titular “La Cage Aux Folles” encapsulates perfectly the nightclub's gaudy/grand, bawdy/bizarre duality. Not surprisingly, it's Sieber's expert navigation that sets the course for both of them.

“La Cage Aux Folles”

★ ★ ½

<b>Location: </b>Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://www.broadwayinchicago.com" target="_blank">broadwayinchicago.com</a>

<b>Showtimes: </b>2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Wednesday, Dec. 22, 23 and 28; 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 1; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, Dec. 26, 27, 29 and 30; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31

<b>Tickets: </b>$32-$95

<b>Running time: </b>2 hours, 40 minutes including intermission

<b>Parking: </b>Paid garages nearby

<b>Rating: </b>For adults; strong sexual content and mature themes