The dazzling razzle of the transvestite chorus line—who could kick the Radio City Rockette’s tushes any day, by the way—is one of the central charms of this trés-gay extravaganza. And there’s not a lip-syncher among them.

But beyond the oo-la-la factor, is the show really relevant enough to bring back?

When the moxie-fueled musical, based on the French play by the same name, opened on Broadway over two decades ago, it caused a cultural frisson—in mainstream circles, anyway. Men in drag? Homosexuals with hearts? Quelle scandale!

This time around, though the screwball plot feels as enthralling as ever, decidedly fewer eyebrows will be raised. It’s summer in St. Tropez, a bawdy party-town on the French Riviera, and the loving 20-year bond between the debonair Georges (Daniel Davis) and the swishy Albin (Gary Beach) is showing signs of wear.

They couple run the infamous club, La Cage Aux Folles, where champagne and feather boas flow freely in equal measure, and inhibitions are checked at the door. The main attraction is Albin, who morphs before our eyes into “Zaza!” (the exclamation mark is mandatory).

Then Georges’ biological son, Jean-Michel (Gavin Creel), announces he is engaged, and his future bride and her parents are visiting the very next day. Oh and by the way, the father just happens to be a Jerry Fallwell-esque head of the Tradition Family Morality Party. When Jean-Michel insists his family play it straight for one night, mayhem ensues.

While post-gay pundits proclaim the show woefully antiquated, the reality is that, with 13 states slapping new laws on the books banning gay marriage and with gay bashings still commonplace, clearly the family-friendly story of tolerance (and tenacity) still needs to be told.

Sweetly, though predictably, it turns out that Georges, Albin, and Jean-Michel are staunch upholders of tradition, family and yes, even morality. (The young man’s biological mother, a no-show for most of his life, is the real moral culprit here).

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