Douglas Hodge
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Principal casting of the upcoming production of
La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory is now set. Douglas Hodge and Philip Quast will lead a cast that includes Tara Hugo, Neil McDermott and Jason Pennycooke are set to star in the musical, directed by Terry Johnson.
Hodge will play Albin. His recent credits include Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly), Titus Andronicus (Globe), Dumb Show (Royal Court, Olivier nomination), Pericles (National Theatre) and more than 10 Pinter plays including Moonlight and The Caretaker in the West End. Film credits include Vanity Fair, Mansfield Park and Scenes of a Sexual Nature. His television credits include regular roles in Spooks and Redcap.
Philip Quast
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Quast is a triple Olivier Award winner, having won best actor in a musical for
Sunday in the Park with George (National Theatre),
The Fix (Donmar Warehouse) and
South Pacific (National Theatre). Other credits include
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,
Stuff Happens (National Theatre),
The Secret Garden (RSC/Aldwych),
Macbeth,
The White Devil (RSC) and earlier this year,
Evita (Adelphi).
Hugo is currently appearing in Leonard Cohen/Philip Glass’ Book of Longing, which is on a world tour. Other credits include The Threepenny Opera (Donmar Warehouse, Olivier nomination), Macbeth (Broadway) and in films United 93 and Hellboy. McDermott has recently been seen playing the role of Rolf in The Sound of Music (Palladium). Other theatre credits include title role in Aladdin (Old Vic) and Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse). Pennycooke’s credits include The Big Life (Stratford East/Apollo), Sammy Davis Jr. in The Rat Pack (Savoy) and Simply Heavenly (Young Vic).
La Cage aux Folles, with a score by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, is based on the French play by Jean Poiretand subsequent screen version. The musical tells the story of Albin and Georges, two middle-aged lovers who run a drag nightclub in St. Tropez, where Albin’s alter ego ZaZa is the star attraction. The plot revolves around the complications that develop when Georges’ son announces that he is getting married—to the daughter of a local moral crusader… and her parents are coming to dinner to meet the future in-laws.
This production begins previews at the Menier on 23 November and opens on 3 December.