This evening Garry and saw La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre. The venue was ideal for story about transvestite French showgirls. It's a remarkably small, and ornate (read, faux gilded), Victorian theatre near the Thames riverbank. We laughed our way through more than two and half hours of high-camp humour and OTT drag performances.
John Barrowman clearly had a ball playing the role of Albin, the the aging drag queen diva. At one point, during one of Albin's more melodramatic moments, he had to stiffle a large chuckle much to the audience's delight. However, it was John's singing voice that really made the evening. I had no idea he could sing so well. He absolutely nailed Jerry Herman's iconic song, "I am what I am". Believe me, this song isn't one for amateurs! Snce 1983 it's been re-recorded by many of the world's most popular divas including Shirley Bassey and Gloria Gaynor.
I did feel a little sorry for Simon Burke. Throughout the performance the crowd was clearly focused on John - an actor most familiar to a British audience. This rather awkward side-lining continued afterwards in the foyer as John and the cast collected donations for the Macmillan Cancer Support Foundation. However, I did see a few familar faces from Sydney in the departing mob so clearly Simon had his own Australian fan base in town.
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