La Cage and All Shook Up Switch Theaters

As Ken Mandelbaum reported on June 17, La Cage aux Folles and All Shook Up have switched theaters. The revival of La Cage aux Folles will now be housed at the Marquis, where it is scheduled to start performances on November 7 in preparation for a December 9 opening. All Shook Up, a new musical featuring the tunes of Elvis Presley, is now set to play at the Palace Theatre, with performances beginning on February 20, 2005 in preparation for a March 24, 2005 opening.

Set in St. Tropez, France, La Cage aux Folles centers on Georges, the host of the La Cage aux Folles drag show, and his flamboyant star Albin, who has been Georges' lover and basically the mother to his son Jean-Michel for approximately 20 years. Their seemingly perfect life is thrown into disarray when Jean-Michel arrives home with the woman he plans to marry and her parents, conservative moral crusaders. Based on a French play of the same name by Jean Poiret which also inspired the popular American movie The Birdcage, La Cage aux Folles features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein. The original production played at the Palace. Jerry Zaks will direct the revival. Although no casting has been officially confirmed, Tony winner Gary Beach will play Albin.

A comedy set in 1955, All Shook Up, which features a book by Joe DiPietro, is not a biographical revue. In the musical, one girl's wish and a surprise visit from a mysterious leather-jacketed, guitar-playing stranger leads a small town to discover the magic of romance and the power of rock 'n' roll. Songs in the show include "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "Don't Be Cruel," "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "All Shook Up." Directed by Christopher Ashley, the show recently played at Goodspeed Musicals' developmental space and will head to Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre where it will run from December 19, 2004 through January 23, 2005 before landing on Broadway.