The actor left the stage of the Marquis Theatre in mid show Nov. 26 with vocal trouble. John Hillner stepped into the part, an unusual occurrence since understudies routinely get no real rehearsal time until after opening.
Davis plays Georges, the emcee at the titular St. Tropez nightspot. His choice songs in the show include Jerry Herman's "Look Over There," "Song on the Sand" and "With You on My Arm." Georges is one-half of the musical's romantic couple, which includes drag queen Albin, played by Gary Beach. (Theatregoers in previews noted that Herman has given Georges counterpoint patter to sing in Jean-Michel's "With Anne on My Arm," a new addition to the 20-year-old score).
Davis is widely known for playing the dry butler on TV's "The Nanny," and recently played Shaw in Lincoln Center Theater's The Frogs. He was Tony Award nominated for Wrong Mountain and played a lonely, aging mama's boy in Off-Broadway's Talking Heads. He was Oscar Wilde in Broadway's The Invention of Love.
La Cage aux Folles opens Dec. 9. Jerry Mitchell choreographs, Jerry Zaks directs. Harvey Fierstein penned the libretto, based on the play and the film of the same name. Fierstein previously told Playbill On-Line that he added or changed some lines for the revival.
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