If you're in Paris and you're in the mood for dance, feathers, drag and camp, you might go to see the French production of Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles. But now, you can also count on Meli Melo by the Chicos Mambo. Meli Melo is an all-danced show performed by four male dancers, sometimes dressed as males, but more frequently dressed as females. The show is a spoof of different forms of dance : contemporary dance, ballet, tango, ice-skating, drag-queen's acts, Astaire and Rogers' routines as well as Esther Williams-type water ballets. The Chicos Mambo are Antonio Barbero-Peral, Xavi Estrada, Philippe Lafeuille and Philippe Tarride. The company originally comes from Spain but now includes French performers. The all-danced format doesn't require any knowledge of French or Spanish. Meli Melo has opened at the Theatre Dejazet in the beginning of October and now seems to be the talk of the town.
For tickets and information on Meli Melo at the Theatre Dejazet, call (33) 1 48 87 52 55. Runs until Dec. 31.
-- By Stephane Ly-Cuong