Actresses Tracie Bennett and Paula Wilcox have been unveiled in the full cast of camp musical comedy La Cage Aux Folles. The pair joins the previously announced Douglas Hodge and Denis Lawson.
Jason Pennycooke, Alicia Davies and Iain Mitchell, who all appeared in the cast when La Cage Aux Folles played at the Menier Chocolate Factory earlier this year, also transfer to the Playhouse theatre.
In Bennett, La Cage Aux Folles has a two-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. She collected the award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for both She Loves Me and, last year, for Hairspray. Bennett’s West End credits also include Les Misérables and Cash On Delivery.
Wilcox, who made her name in television sitcoms The Lovers and Man About The House, was on the London stage this summer, appearing in Bette Davis play Whatever Happened To The Cotton Dress Girl at the New End theatre. In the West End her credits have included The Odd Couple, The Queen And I, Shirley Valentine and Bedroom Farce.
The plot of comic musical La Cage Aux Folles revolves around the lives of Georges, owner of La Cage Aux Folles cabaret club, and his star drag artiste and lover Albin. When Georges’s son announces his engagement to the daughter of a right-wing politician, the future in-laws pay a visit, forcing Georges and Albin to make a drastic lifestyle change.
The Jerry Herman musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein premiered on Broadway in 1983, when it played 1,761 performances, won six Tony Awards and became the biggest new American musical of the decade. The show’s famous score includes the anthem I Am What I Am, which has been recorded by artists including Gloria Gaynor and Shirley Bassey.
La Cage Aux Folles opens at the Playhouse theatre on 30 October, following previews from 20 October.
MA