- published: 24 Jan 2015
- views: 12152
Jerry Herman (born July 10, 1931 or 1933) is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles. In 2009, Herman received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He is a recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors.
Raised in Jersey City, New Jersey by musically inclined middle-class Jewish parents, Herman learned to play piano at an early age, and the three frequently attended Broadway musicals. His father, Harry, was a gym teacher and in the summer worked in the Catskill Mountains hotels. His mother, Ruth, also worked in the hotels as a singer, pianist, and children's teacher, and eventually became an English teacher. After marrying, they lived in Jersey City and continued to work in the summers in various camps until they became head counselors and finally ran Stissing Lake Camp in the small town of Pine Plains, New York, in the Berkshire Mountains. Herman spent all of his summers there, from age 6 to 23. It was at camp that he first became involved in theatrical productions, as director of Oklahoma!, Finian's Rainbow and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Herman graduated from Jersey City's Henry Snyder High School.
Albin:
Here at "LA CAGE" we live life - how should I put it?
On angle!
Not to worry. You'll soon get your bearings. Just take
a deep breath,
a sip of champagne and open your eyes. What do you see?
It's rather gaudy but it's also rather grand.
And while the waiter pads your check he'll kiss your
hand.
The clever gigolos romance the wealthy matrons
At La Cage Aux Folles.
It's slightly forties, and a little bit "New Wave".
You may be dancing with a girl who needs a shave.
Where both the riffraff and the royalty are patrons
At La Cage Aux Folles.
La Cage Aux Folles,
The Maitre d' is dashing,
Cage Aux Folles,
The hat check girl is flashing,
We import the drinks that you buy,
So the Perrier is Canada Dry.
Eccentric couples always punctuate the scene.
A pair of eunuchs and a nun with a marine.
To feel alive you get a limousine to drive you
To La Cage Aux Folles.
Angelique:
It's bad and beautiful,
It's bawdy and bizarre.
Albin:
I know a Duchess who got pregnant at the bar.
Albin and Angelique:
Just who is who and What is What
Is quite a question at La Cage Aux Folles.
Angelique, Trio, Albin:
Go for the mystery, the magic and the mood.
Paulette:
Avoid the hustlers,
Angelique:
And the men's room,
Two Men:
And the food.
All:
For you get glamour and romance and indigestion
At La Cage Aux Folles.
La Cage Aux Folles, a Sait Tropez tradition,
Cage Aux Folles
You'll lose each inhibition,
Albin:
All week long we're wondering who
Left a green Givenchy gown in the loo.
All:
You go alone to have the evening of your life.
Albin:
You meet your mistress
And your boy-friend and your wife.
All:
It's a bonanza, it's a mad extravaganza,
At La Cage Aux Folles.
Boy? Girl?
Oui? Non?
Hot. Cold.
Chaud. Froid. N'est pas?
Want? Like? Call me!
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
[CAN-CAN Interlude]
Albin:
You'll be so dazzled by the ambience you're in.
You'll never notice that there's water in the gin.
Come for a drink and you may wanna spend the Winter
At La Cage Aux Folles.
La Cage Aux Folles, a Saint Tropez tradition,
Cage Aux Folles
You'll lose each inhibition,
We indulge each change in your mood.
Come and sip your Dubonnet in the nude.
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la
Albin:
You go alone to have the evening of your life.
You meet your mistress, and your boy-friend, and your
wife.
It's a bonanza, it's a mad extravaganza
At La Cage Aux Folles.
All:
You cross the thresh-hold and your bridges have been
burned.
The bar is cheering for the Duchess has returned.
The mood's contagious;
You can bring your whole
Outrageous entourage - Outrageous entourage -
Outrageous entourage
Outrageous Entourage!
It's hot and hectic, effervescent and eclectic