The actor will play the lead role in a French version of the famous Broadway musical, itself inspired by Jean Poiret's play. At the Théâtre du Châtelet in December 2025.
A new challenge for Laurent Lafitte. The director Olivier Py announces this Monday, December 2 in the columns of Le Parisien that he will play Zaza in a new version of The Crazy Cagewhich will be given in December 2025 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
The project, directed by Olivier Py, the new director of the Châtelet, will be an adaptation of the Broadway musical, which itself is inspired by the famous play by Jean Poiret. For Laurent Lafitte, it’s a “childhood dream”.
The project was born two years ago on the set of Olivier Py's film The imaginary Molière. “On the evoked The Crazy Cagehe told me that it was his dream, it was also mine,” confides Olivier Py.
“I imagine it as a great family show, for Christmas. It’s great, intelligent, profound entertainment,” adds Olivier Py, who deplores the French public’s lack of awareness of this musical adaptation of La Cage aux Folles.
Stronger, more touching
The musical has nothing to do with the original play, he clarifies. Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the libretto, and Jerry Herman, who wrote the lyrics and music, completely changed the work of Jean Poiret and Michel Serrault.
“There is the Moliéresque canvas, extremely intelligent, the situations, some characters but not all, and a text which is not at all the text of the crazy cage“, specifies Olivier Py, who welcomes the political dimension of the musical:
“By crossing the Atlantic, The Cage became not only funny, but also very emotionally strong, very touching, and then it became politicized, taking into account (the evolution of LGBT+ rights).”
Broadway classic
The character of Zaza is also further developed, insists Olivier Py. “It's much more emphasized in the musical, we see the cabaret that we don't see in the play and so little in the film. That's the good idea.”
The Crazy Cage Broadway version is a classic across the Atlantic, awarded eleven times at the Tony Awards, the Oscars of American theater, and adapted for the cinema with Robin Williams. Olivier Py will sign a new French translation of the libretto.
