Cal Aggie's Review Of "La Cage Aux Folles"

Favorable review. Their only negative comment concerned Mike Manley's performance, but there seemed to be some awareness that the trouble wasn't so much the interpretation as the nature of the role: "Perhaps homophobic conservatism appears wooden and lifeless when represented on stage...."

Yes indeed, at least in this sharp comedy! Mike plays the "straight man." The laughs come at his expense. He is wooden by design, and to a considerable extent, as long as he doesn't veer into caricature or become too lifeless, the more wooden he seems to be, the more he succeeds in his portrayal.