George Hamilton, Christopher Sieber and the Company of La Cage Aux Folles (c) Paul Kolnik Ironically, I was in the line at the box office to see Chicago waiting to get my ticket
and I get a phone call from my agent saying “you’re not going to see Chicago; you are going to see La Cage Aux Folles across the street”—so I went to see that show. My friend, Harvey was starring in it and after the show, he drags me over to ask, “Are you going to do the show?” I said, “What? What are you talking about?” “Are you going to work opposite me as Georges and do the show?” I never expected to do La Cage Aux Folles; I said yes. You had only seven days to get it together? Yes, I studied my ass off and was under a lot of pressure. Harvey and I got along
so great because we are good friends, we actually love each other. The chemistry between us was exquisite. The producers came to us and asked if we wanted to go on a tour with it and I was excited, but Harvey said he had another project. At times I think I should have said no, the role is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting, but I am glad I did. You are the only actor to have played both leading characters in this show; now be completely honest, which part is your favorite and why? There are days when it is very exhausting and I would love to kick off the high
heels and put on the crushed purple velvet jacket, become Georges and chill. But there are days when I relish playing ZaZa; it really depends on my mood. How fun is it to play on stage with George Hamilton? He’s so handsome and charming; what is the best part of working with him? The greatest thing about George is he’s a doll. There is not a diva bone in his
body; he’s a real, huge movie star whom everyone knows wherever he goes. Oh my God and does he have the stories about the old days at MGM, legendary stories about stars like Judy Garland or John Wayne and he says, “I will give you the real story of what went down there.” Can you describe what it’s been like to kiss this mature straight man every night? George is very cool about it. We were getting to know each other pretty well and
that moment just came up and we just went in and did it. You met your husband, Kevin during a run of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. He was a fork and you Gaston and you forkin’ fell in love with him. You’ve been together for 11 years now and eventually married him on a Thanksgiving to also pay homage to his culinary skills. Yeah, he is an actor turned chef.
54 RAGE monthly | JULY 2012
In two sentences—what is your formula for a loving and lasting relationship? It should be easy. There shouldn’t be any drama.
What message do you hope heterosexual audience members take home from La Cage? The thing that we get most often is that you can feel the tension in the room, because many people don’t know what they are in for, this show creates an envi- ronment they don’t get to see very often and that is most of our audience. There is a line in the show that says “You will love us once you get to know us.” I want them to walk away with “it’s not who you love, it’s how you love” and the bottom line is it’s about a family. What about the LGBT audience? With all the political stuff going on out there with gays and lesbians being the scapegoat in political football nowadays, the best thing would be to remember you are who you are. They can make up all the laws they want, but it’s not going to change who we are. We are who we are! So, come join in on the fun and have a great time. Do you have any new projects in the works? I have a few, but they are all waiting around for me and as I said I finish in six
months in Toronto. After Toronto is done, I am done. I do have projects in the works, but in an actor’s life you never know—I am really not sure—things come up, just like La Cage did.
La Cage aux Folles Southern California tour dates are as follows:
In Los Angeles it runs Tuesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 22 at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard. For tickets call, 800.982.2787 or go to
broadwayla.org.
In Orange County it runs Tuesday, July 24 through Sunday, August 5 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr. in Costa Mesa. For tickets call, 714.556.2787 or go to
scfta.org.
In San Diego it runs Tuesday, August 7 through Sunday, August 12 at the Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Avenue @ B Street. For tickets and information call 619.564.3000 or go to
broadwaysd.org.
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