I Am What I Am (La Cage Aux Folles) June 15th 1983, First Boston Preview George Hearn скачать в хорошем качестве

I Am What I Am (La Cage Aux Folles) June 15th 1983, First Boston Preview George Hearn

Below is an excerpt of Arthur Laurents' recollection of this moment from the first preview of La Cage when it was trying out in Boston: "Then heart-stopping silence. The end of the first act, and wonderful George playing the most dramatic moment, singing the most powerful song—dressed as a woman. No; truthfully, dressed as a drag queen. If George is scared, George doesn’t know it. He is Albin and sings his guts out so that we’re not the only ones in tears, the whole damn theatre is in tears but that doesn’t stop a roar that rips the roof off, leaving that exploding audience no cover except a sky full of shooting stars. Up the aisle, and there’s Jerry [Herman, composer], turned into the wall, his whole body shaking. He should be a veteran so should I, but who can be on this night? We grab and hold on. Then backstage (no, this is not like an old movie musical because this is real; and in real life, real people, alive people are unafraid of emotions), backstage, Freddie and Mike and the crew are awash but grinning so proudly. I grab Jim, and then Fritz and hug Fritz [Holt, executive producer] and say, “You are a bloody damn genius!” One more word and he’ll go, we both will, so he yells at me: “Don’t you dare tell anyone they’re wonderful! We’ve got another act to get through!” We got through it. It bumped, but it rolled. When the Cagelles took their wildly theatrical curtain call, it was as though there was a cattle prod on every seat, even in the second balcony. And when George and Gene took their bows—bedlam. The damn thing worked—essentially because all the love we all had put into it was up there on that stage. That was why the audience responded as no audience I had ever seen before in my life. You can’t get love from a computer." La Cage Aux Folles ended up running for 4 years, winning several Tony Awards including Best Musical, and gathering a massive following beyond the original run. Among its other stars were Gene Barry, John Weiner, Jay Garner, Walter Charles, Leslie Stevens, Merle Louise, and Elizabeth Parrish. Taken from an audience recording of the complete first preview in Boston.