La Cage aux Folles & The Birdcage (Ep. 21)

Adapt or Perish

In this episode of Adapt or Perish, we discuss the films La Cage aux Folles and The Birdcage!

For this episode, we watched and discussed:

• La Cage aux Folles, the original 1973 play, written by Jean Poiret.
• The 1978 French/Italian movie La Cage aux Folles, directed by Édouard Molinaro, and starring Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault. Watch on Amazon or iTunes.
• The 1983 Broadway musical, written by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman.
• The Birdcage, the 1996 American remake, directed by Mike Nichols, written by Elaine May, and starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Weist, and Hank Azaria. Watch on Amazon or iTunes.

Footnotes:

• Kowtow, verb: act in an excessively subservient manner; kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission as part of Chinese custom. Yep, not cool.
• We discuss different special features (e.g. footage of the original play) available on the fantastic Criterion Collection edition of La Cage aux Folles.
• Harvey Fierstein and his distinctive voice.
• Kevin Smith telling the story of working with Jon Peters on Superman Lives (watch the entire clip, it’s worth it).
• George Hearn performs “Epiphany” from Sweeney Tood. Judge for yourself.
• “I Am What I Am,” from La Cage aux Folles, performed by George Hearn, Harvey Fierstein, and John Barrowman. (Bonus version performed by Dame Shirley Bassey.)
• Frank Rich’s original review of La Cage aux Folles on Broadway, published in the New York Times in 1983.
• Nichols and May perform “Mother and Son.” A photo of the duo.
• Elaine May salutes Mike Nichols at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award

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