Bay Area Musicals! to Wrap Inaugural Season with LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, 7/9-31

Bay Area Musicals!, the newest non-profit theatrical organization to join the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area arts community, closes out its inaugural season with the multiple Tony Award-winning musical comedy, La Cage aux Folles. This thrilling and warmhearted farce centers around Georges and his lover Albin, who stars as Zaza at their St. Tropez drag nightclub "La Cage aux Folles." Problems arise when Georges' twenty-five year old son, Jean-Michel - a result from a brief encounter years back - announces that he is engaged to Anne Dindon, the daughter of a well-known homophobic politician, Edouard Dindon. Anne's parents want to come and meet Jean-Michel's mother and father. Little do they know that Albin, a man, has essentially been Jean-Michel's mother figure his whole life. This scenario propels audiences into side-splitting laughter, as well as teary-eyed moments of tenderness. La Cage Aux Folles is widely regarded as Jerry Herman's best score and features such classic songs as "The Best of Times is Now," "Song In the Sand," "La Cage Aux Folles," and "I Am What I Am."

La Cage aux Folles will perform July 9-31, 2016 at San Francisco's Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street.) Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Press night for La Cage aux Folles will be Thursday, July 14 at 8 p.m. Single tickets for regular performances range in price from $20-$65. Tickets for preview performances (Thursday, July 7 at 8 p.m. and Friday, July 8 at 8 p.m.) are $20. Tickets for the opening night fundraiser on Saturday, July 9 are $100 and include an opening night party with the cast immediately following the performance. All proceeds from the opening night fundraiser ticket sales will benefit future Bay Area Musical! projects and productions. Tickets are available now by calling 415-340-2207 or visiting www.bamsf.org.

Says Matthew McCoy, Bay Area Musicals! Founder and Artistic Director: "This iconic musical is the perfect closer for Bay Area Musicals' inaugural season, as it marks the one-year anniversary since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the country. Our version will have all of the laughs, heart and tapping it's known for - while also stripping away the feathers to reveal the underground world of gay nightclubs during the 1970s."

Led by Michael RJ Campbell* as Albin and Clay David as Georges, La Cage aux Folles features an ensemble cast of Bay Area actors including, Jack O'Reilly, Joseph Alvarado, Angela Pardini, Cameron Weston, Mary Gibboney, Patrick Brewer, Michael Saenz, Christopher Juan, Malakani Severson, Lavale Davis, RJ San Jose, Billy Raphael and Sarah Sloan.

Directed by Matthew McCoy, the creative team for La Cage aux Folles includes music director Jon Gallo, scenic designer Kuo-Hao Lo, lighting designer Joe D'Emilio+, stage manager Sarah Lodick and sound designer Julie Indelicato.

Bay Area Musicals! would like to acknowledge its 2015-16 company sponsors: Bay Area Reporter, Core7 Realty, Microlease, Performing Arts Academy of Marin, PinkSpots and the Sophia Avant-Wills Charitable Trust.

*Denotes member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

+ Denotes member of the Scenic and Lighting Designer Society, the Union of professional stage Designers for stage and television.