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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Fireworks show features fiddler ... Police reports, June 30-July 1 ... Verbal assailant likely has mental issues ... Fireworks show features fiddler ... Police reports, June 30-July 1 ... Verbal assailant likely has mental issues ... THEATER REVIEW King-Gabriel rules 'La Cage' Camelot's comedic musical romp shows theater in peak form Comment By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 6:38 PM By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 6:38 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Camelot stages 'La Cage Aux Folles' • Theater review: 'Inherit the Wind' misses the mark • Rains named Camelot's interim artistic director » Social News My, my, my. Camelot Theatre is full of surprises. After a string of great productions, the company gave us a moment of pause with their lackluster production of “Inherit the Wind” in May. Now, they’ve come roaring back to their regular standard of glitzy, crowd-pleasing musical theater with a juicy and delightful production of that campy stage classic, “La Cage Aux Folles.” In fact, this production is as good a show as anything your critic has seen at Camelot since he started including them in his reviews. Set in a hedonistic French nightclub that shares the same name as the title of the show, this comedic romp through a genderqueer universe is populated with gorgeous boys and girls in all shapes and sizes; the costuming by Michael Leon is skillfully executed, and, as one would expect, it was difficult to tell where the ladies began and the gentlemen ended. Acres of feather boas, sequined gowns and exposed garters accompany myriad sexy dance numbers wherein young, campy flesh is paraded to titillating effect before an appreciative audience. Camelot continues to shine with this sort of production; director and choreographer Rebecca K. Campbell is a treasure, and should be afforded a good deal of rein by the powers-that-be at Camelot, should she continue to deliver productions of this caliber. At the center of all the bawdy burlesque, there is a love story; one between the discreetly gay Georges (Alex Boyles) a nightclub owner, and his lover and main act at the club, the flamboyant and endearing Albin, played with relish by David King-Gabriel. Let’s dig into Mr. King-Gabriel’s performance for a moment. With very few exceptions, this show is populated with talented and enthusiastic actors who are right on point. But King-Gabriel is a marvel; so much so that your critic begins to wonder why Camelot continues to call itself a “semi-professional” theater. As Albin, King-Gabriel is unrecognizable from previous roles at Camelot. Hidden under a plethora of fantastic wigs and gowns, he has transformed himself into a glorious, sensitive old diva, filled with the pathos of the aging artist, while at the same time knocking his musical numbers out of the park with a gusto that anchored the entire production. King-Gabriel is disturbingly sexy as a man playing a woman, who then also briefly plays a man. The performer has disappeared into the performance. When I watched King-Gabriel as Albin, interacting with his employees, family, and “long-time companion,” what I saw was a woman-of-a-certain-age coming to terms with the process of that aging. King-Gabriel has grown as a performer, and while his song and dance numbers were really good fun and wildly entertaining, your critic is not ashamed to admit that there were moments in the show — specifically, when Albin and Georges walk the promenade together, still much in love despite the trials through which they have lived over the years — when he looked to his own partner and felt his heart open in a way that is all too rare a response to musical theater, indeed to any sort of theatrical production. Given the recent events in our society, it was touching and lovely to see King-Gabriel take his craft and make it into an homage to what really matters — love, in any and all of its forms. It’s clear that he is walking the line between effective Method acting and a capacity for sweetness and humor that absolutely made the show. We love him, we wanted to be him. His performance is a triumph. Alex Boyles, too, is great as the “straight” man to King-Gabriel’s campy diva … well, as straight as you can get as part of "La Cage." Mr. Boyles is a good actor who has the stage-sense to operate as a container for his over-the-top spouse. Rigo Jimenez, playing the couple’s butler (who insists he’s a “maid”) is a hell of a lot of fun to watch as he rockets around in an assortment of zany outfits, including a Louis XIV inspired powdered wig and a French housekeeper ensemble. When Georges’ son, Jean-Michel, shows up (his one sexual dalliance with a woman, years ago, led to that circumstance) all hell breaks loose when it is discovered that his fiancee is the daughter of an ultra-conservative French politician and his stiff little wife. Zaq Wentworth is persuasive as the slightly entitled and apple-cheeked Jean-Michel, and Grace Peets (who your critic expected to see playing one of the more bombastic denizens of “La Cage”) gives a fine-tuned performance as his young and willful, if rather staid, fiancee. Hilarity ensues when the new fiancee and her stodgy parents come for a visit at the flat of George and Albin, followed by a trip to a local dinner club filled with suspect characters who are lead in their debauchery by Jacqueline, the owner of the establishment and the only person in the show who is sufficiently narcissistic and catty to really take Albin to task. Jacqueline is played by Kendra Taylor, a Camelot alum who has been absent of late and returns to this small role with relish; her character is confrontational, pouty and petulant in the most French of ways, pouncing on and skewering the conservative pretensions of her friend’s guests. Ms. Taylor, who could easily have turned into stage parsley in this production, was having none of that. She makes hay. The Cagelles (the “folles” of La Cage Aux Folles) are full of familiar Camelot faces, and their dance numbers and energies are a delight that fills up the stage and links the more quiet moments of the show together. Overall, Camelot’s “La Cage Aux Folles” is one of the best things the company has done in ages; it more than confirms the fact that a post-Genise Camelot is not going to be dropping the ball on quality productions and, as such, your critic is gratified indeed to highly recommend this splendid show. Throw on a little more mascara and get thee to Camelot for a night of gaiety and raucous good fun. Ashland resident Jeffrey Gillespie is a Daily Tidings columnist, arts reviewer and freelance writer. Email him at gillespie.jeffrey @gmail.com. By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 6:38 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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