Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...I like my "La Cages" not to run away from the darker themes and some of the early sections of Leonardo's production dance far too much on the surface — especially when Jean-Michel (Brian Bohr) first introduces his diabolic scheme to run away from the parent who loved him the most. Frippery takes too much focus over upheaval in those moments. And while I generally enjoyed David Hess' performance as Georges — he is an excellent singer, a generous actor and he evokes a genuinely loving figure, which is what matters most — it takes too long for much pain to register. Easy choices abound."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...The new Marriott production, directed by Joe Leonardo, and featuring terrific, eye-popping choreography by Melissa Zaremba, is better at generating laughs and spectacle than deep emotion. But Gene Weygandt, in the central role of Albin — the star of a St. Tropez nightclub that specializes in drag entertainment — unquestionably nails the show’s anthem, “I Am What I Am.” And Weygandt’s artful echoes of everyone from Maria Callas to Marlene Dietrich and Barbara Stanwyck are expertly done. He clearly is having a marvelous time."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Set at a Saint Tropez nightclub, Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's La Cage aux Folles has wit, charm, and a sweet reversal by means of which the club's gay owner, Georges, and his drag-queen "wife" Albin are revealed as true guardians of family values. What the 1983 musical doesn't have is a clear strategy for in-the-round presentation. Director Joe Leonardo hasn't found one, anyway."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...For those who have never seen a production of La Cage aux Folles I highly recommend going the distance to see this one. It is the closest production I have seen which captures the strength, beauty and poignancy of the Broadway original and seeing Weygandt as Albin is something that will resonate with you and hopefully, make an indelible mark on you as it did on me."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Gay activists who deride this delight forget just how radical the musical was in 1983 (the original film even more so in 1973). A third of a century later, it's still a merry, gender-bending masquerade, a bourgeois equivalent of Kiss of the Spider Woman. For all its sex-smashing glitz and farcical laughs, Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman's flagrant, Tony-winning La Cage Aux Folles pushes today's hot buttons: gay marriage, gay parenting, sexual freedom, and the family's ever-evolving makeup. Instead of merely asking the viewer to accept a possibly alien but flauntingly fabulous lifestyle-drag dancers in a cross-cultural nightclub on the Riviera-La Cage activates an audience's protective instincts, triggered by a home invasion of predatory puritans."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Jerry Herman's score is one of the finest every penned for the stage. Harvey Fierstein has created a loveable character in Albin that Gene Weygandt delivers with heart, gusto and warmth making La Cage aux Folles a tremendous night of musical theatre. The wonderful dance show-stoppers choreographed by Melssa Zarenba (making her Marriott Theatre choreographing debut) are dazzling and David Hess nailed his songs with his rich voice. The humor is infectious. Every young person should see this show to experience one of the last of the old-time Broadway styles musical comedies. Jerry Herman's acceptance speech at the Tony Awards mentioned that La Cage is a tribute to musicals with hum-able melodies that foster "take-home songs" (those you sing to your self on the way home). Come see this show for indeed it demonstrates that "The Best of Time is now, is now.""
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...There are some plays, large-scale musicals that are difficult to stage in-the-round, so I was doubtful that Marriott Theatre could pull off "La Cage aux Folles" in their very intimate space, but wonder of wonders (to quote a song from another Jerry Herman show), under the solid direction of Joe Leonardi, with superb choreography by Melissa Zaremba, and a cast that is mind boggling, this is one of the best productions of this Harvey Fierstein/Jerry Herman musical I have ever seen."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This is one hot production that’s not only stunning in its showmanship, but equally warm and touching in its depiction of a family filled with love and respect. To escape the bitter Chicago cold, head to Lincolnshire for an evening of romance and glitz along the St. Tropez beach. There’s memorable music, exciting choreography by Melissa Zaremba, executed by an ensemble of unbelievably talented performers and a story bound to heat up the midwestern winter night. It’s time to bring on the girls!"
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The revival at the Marriott Theatre presents "La Cage aux Folles" as a fun show, which it is. The gay theme is treated with much humor and some charm. This isn't "The Boys in the Band" or "The Normal Heart." It is Broadway at its most accessible and least threatening, with a melodic and bouncy score by Jerry Herman and plenty of rousing song and dance numbers staged with sizzle and wit by director Joe Leonardo and choreographer Melissa Zaremba, gaudily costumed by the always inventive Nancy Missimi."