I am what I am
I am my own special creation
I Am What I Am, a song from La Cage aux Folles, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
TIME TO OPEN THE CUPBOARD
An American composer and lyricist, Jerry Herman achieved his first major success in 1964 with Hello, Dolly! In 1983, he triumphed once again on Broadway with La Cage aux Folles. In collaboration with Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the musical’s book, the two LGBTQI+ rights advocates adapted Jean Poiret’s play to create an original work that, upon crossing the Atlantic, became an ode to diversity. Revived on Broadway in 2004–2005, La Cage aux Folles was acclaimed by international critics and received numerous Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards.
Flamboyant drag queens, effeminate gay men — the folles have always struggled. For the right to difference as well as indifference.
Far from being trapped in the clichés perpetuated by theatre or cinema, the new French-language production of La Cage aux Folles, translated and directed by Olivier Py, located the action back in its original source: the cabaret. On stage, Zaza sings and dances, but offstage, the artist raises questions around same-sex parenting and affirms the unconditional love of a parent for their child, beyond gender norms. More than forty years after its Broadway debut, La Cage aux Folles remains a profoundly political work. It is this dimension that Olivier Py explores, at a time when LGBTQI+ rights are being challenged across the globe.
SECRETS OF A WORK
To find out more about La Cage aux Folles, a presentation of the production will take place 45 minutes before the performance begins, in the Salon Diaghilev. Animated by filmmaker Rémy Batteault and Aurélien Poidevin, Head of Editorial Content at the Théâtre du Châtelet, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.15 pm (free entry, reserved for ticket holders for that day’s performance).
