Au Revoir, Monsieur Serrault

With a new production of La Cage aux Folles at the Unicorn Theater (3828 Main, 816-531-7529), it’s worth noting last week’s passing of celebrated French actor Michel Serrault. Serrault played the maternal Albin, the drag queen called Zaza, in the original stage production and the 1978 film.
“I’m inspired by that man,” says Ron Megee, who portrays Albin at the Unicorn. “La Cage is a love story. But it’s also a story about raising a child and what happens when the child — for lack of better words — turns on the parents. I was that way. I was horrible to my mother in my teens. And I can’t imagine there isn’t a straight couple who never went through that. It’s universal. The thing about Serrault is, he truly was the mother. He truly believed in the child and raised him as his own. That’s one of the things I’m inspired by in this show — the motherly love.” Tonight’s 8 p.m. performance is followed by a discussion. For other showtimes, see Unicorn Theater.

Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Aug. 8. Continues through Sept. 23, 2007