La Cage Aux Folles

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Book Reviews of La Cage Aux Folles

Book Review: Good value, and the only affordable source for these songs
Summary: 5 Stars

The keys of the pieces here are not always identical to those of the musical--the opening number "We Are What We Are", for example, begins in B major in the musical but is given in C major here. Surely the transposition is for ease of performance, but anyone looking to this to learn the show should be forewarned. The arrangements are not overly simplified and are a good representation for piano of the orchestral score. Chord symbols and guitar tablature are also included.

Songs included are "We Are What We Are", "A Little More Mascara", "With You On My Arm", "Song On The Sand", "La Cage Aux Folles", "I Am What I Am", "Masculinity", "Look Over There", and "The Best of Times".

About the songs themselves; the showstopper "I Am What I Am" has become a gay anthem of affirmation and is a gorgeous song with an important message regardless of one's sexual orientation. "La Cage Aux Folles", "Masculinity", and "We Are What We Are" are quite witty. "A Little More Mascara" is by turns poignant and funny. "Look Over There" and "Song on the Sand" are unconventional love songs, sentimental in a unique way. "The Best of Times" calls us to live and love for today, in a way reminiscent of Candide. Only "With You On My Arm" is a disappointment, and that only because it is rather average, with no particular appeal or sparkle, not because it is actively bad.

Along with the songs one gets a reproduction of the musical's poster on the cover and 13 full or half page black and white photographs of good quality, but not well labeled. Like the original cast CD's photos, if you don't already know which one is George Hearn and which one is Gene Barry, you won't find out here! The most remarkable of the photos is a rehearsal picture showing one of the male dancers in dress and heels (no wig) doing a 180 degree split kick in the standing position--one leg on the floor and the other fully extended over his head. How such a thing is possible without major structural damage I'm not sure, but I'm certainly in awe.

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