Chicago Sports

GLENDALE, Ariz. — White Sox outfield prospect Oscar Colas flashes a bright smile as he approaches reporters waiting to talk to him near the batting cages at Camelback Ranch. A cameraman from Chicago is following him around. It’s the closest Colas has been to the big leagues and he already looks the part of a big leaguer.

“Nice to meet you,” he says in English, extending handshakes to the handful of media.

In Sox white pinstripe pants and a black jersey, Colas looks good in a uniform and looks like he’d fit right in on a team photo with all those big and tall Sox like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Jose Abreu. His bright, confident personality would also seem to fit right in with made for TV stars Jimenez and Tim Anderson.

While right field figures to be manned by Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets and Adam Engel in 2022 — unless a free agent is signed or trade is made — Colas wants to be in that picture as soon as he can, pushing the pack.

He beams at the thought of breaking through one day.

“Wow. I don’t know how I’d react,” he said through translator Billy Russo. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming about a lot. I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m going to cry or run around.”

With professional experience limited to Cuba and Japan’s minor leagues, Colas, 23, needs lots of minor league at-bats on U.S soil. He defected from Cuba in early 2020 and was signed as one of the top available international prospects in January.

“It’s been a lot of fun to watch,” Sox assistant general manager and director of player development Chris Getz said, who figures to get Colas started at no lower than High-A Winston-Salem. “A really gifted player, he’s got some real power, with ease to his swing. He has some personality, some fun loving personality that is infectious to others, his teammates and staff, and he enjoys playing the game which is not always easy to do as a player.”

Hitting coordinator Andy Barkett quickly noticed how Colas confidently handled himself around camp his first day here.

“That comes with experience that I gained from my career,” Colas said. “I’ve been in organizations before. I know how to try to make guys comfortable, how to follow instructions and how to make everybody feel comfortable around me.”

Colas created a little buzz on the backfields at Camelback Ranch when he tripled in the first intrasquad game of minor league camp Monday.

“It felt awesome,” he said. “That was my first extra base hit with the team. I was so excited when I got to third base that I even told [Cuban prospect Bryan] Ramos, ‘Man, I can’t believe this.”

Embracing the family atmosphere the Sox aim to cultivate, Colas is already carrying himself like a big brother, even to another top Cuban outfield prospect in Yoelqui Cespedes.

“It’s very important just to show what you can do and how you do things the right way,” he said. “That can be used as a motivation for other guys. I try to set an example.”

Colas, who bats and throws left, possessing an arm that threw mid-90s stuff as a pitcher – a position he has given up — has been getting looks in center field, indicating a level defensive skill that rates above converted first basemen Sheets and Vaughn. With that group in the long-term mix, along with Cespedes, the Sox’ willingness to invest long-term in a free agent such as Michael Conforto might prioritized behind other needs such as starting pitching and second base.

But Colas still has to show what he can do. He defected from Cuba in early 2020 and hasn’t played baseball at a high level since 2019, so that’s been difficult.

“I tried to do as much as I could, tried to keep active,” he said. “I was kind of getting crazy trying to do baseball stuff.”

Physically he likes how he feels and says he’s prepared for the challenge of a long season.

“But I need to keep building toward that,” he said. “That’s what we are doing here. Like people say here, just taking it one day at a time.”

The building will be worth watching. Barkett has liked what he sees early on.

“When his A swing is delivered, you are like ‘Whoa,’ ” Barkett said. “But just watching him every day, it’s ‘ooh, wow.’ This guy can do some things.

“[You notice] his body. He’s a fast mover, boom, and then when he stays on the ball, he doesn’t just hit the ball, he compresses it.

“He’s got to go through the minor leagues and do that and we’ll see, we have smart guys who will figure out where he plays and when he has to go to whenever. We are going to try to get him better every day. He’s been great.”

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PHOENIX – There’s a realness to DeMar DeRozan.

Then again, growing up in Compton doesn’t allow much of anything else.

So the Bulls veteran wasn’t going to “B.S.” his teammates about where they were in the season with just 12 regular-season games left, and the team crawling toward the finish line rather than sprinting with the bravado they showed back in November and December.

The way DeRozan saw it, “we’re past that.”

Evident in the 129-102 embarrassment suffered at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

No, this is now about throwing out the idea of waiting for teammates to get healthy, forgetting about playing time and roles, and start taking the approach of doing whatever it takes to win games – regular season and playoffs.

“Especially when you’re going through a little adversity, dropping the last few games, things haven’t been going right, but with that you have to understand that it has to push you to more of a concentration and a sense of urgency to go out there and compete … whoever is out there playing,” DeRozan said. “We can’t sit back and say, ‘Four games from now maybe we’ll have this person back, this person back.’ We gotta have this motivate us, drive us to help get us to understand that things are tough and we gotta figure it out. Before you know it the playoffs are going to be here, so we’ve got to figure it out. Can’t rely on who is possibly coming.”

That’s been DeRozan’s message for weeks, and he wasn’t alone in that. Coach Billy Donovan, guard Alex Caruso, veteran Tristan Thompson, they’ve each been trying to emphasize that approach.

There was almost a woes-us mentality hanging over the Bulls when Caruso, Patrick Williams, Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine were sidelined last month, and it seemingly had a hangover effect.

Well, LaVine (knee) and Caruso (wrist) have returned – although neither will likely get to 100% until the offseason – and Williams (wrist) was expected back by next week.

However, there was still the same issues happening on the court, specifically on the defensive end, and DeRozan’s reached the point of enough was enough.

“We’ve got to lean on each other to fix this,” DeRozan said.

Not soon enough, as the Bulls allowed the best team in the Western Conference to overcome a slow shooting start out of the gate, only to finish shooting 56% from the field and 44% from three. Meanwhile, the Bulls offense was stagnant most of the night, as DeRozan went 6-for-14, LaVine went 1-for-7, and Nikola Vucevic went 8-for-16.

Bigger concern? The Bulls’ “Big Three” was a combined minus-73 in plus/minus.

And not the only repairs needed.

After the Suns loss, the Bulls were 3-18 against teams currently with a winning percentage of .600 or better, and just 1-10 against the Eastern Conference teams.

The danger that DeRozan was trying to avoid was his locker room starting to buy into the belief that they have had a good year, but just can’t compete against the elite teams. If a majority of the Bulls carry that into April and beyond, expect a short postseason run.

“We just got to understand our mistakes,” DeRozan said of that mindset lingering. “We’ve kind of got to look at ourselves at why we drop games, why we can have a bad quarter defensively, offensively? You just got to lean on us more so than anything to make those corrections. That way it can carry over once we get to the playoffs.

“There’s no footprint to it. You can struggle against certain teams in the regular season and beat them in the playoffs, but it’s really who can figure it out and do so quickly. As much as I hate losing, sometimes when you get knocked down you’ve got to figure out yourself more in-depth, so it could be beneficial once playoffs come. I think that’s where we’re at, trying to understand ourselves, get more in-depth, what are we really made out of? It’s about digging down and seeing what we can get out of ourselves. For me that’s the beauty of the challenge.”

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Marcus Stroman’s Cubs spring training debut came under the lights of a packed Scottsdale Stadium.

“It just feels good to get back out there,” Stroman said after throwing two hitless innings Friday against the Giants. “I feel like it’s been a while. It felt almost new. Just to be out there, throw strikes, compete, it definitely felt great.”

It wasn’t the Cubs’ first game of spring training. They played a pair of seven-inning split squad games against the White Sox on Thursday. But after playing a high percentage of minor leaguers Thursday, the Cubs’ starting lineup Friday was closer to one the Cubs could roll out at Wrigley Field this season.

Nico Hoerner started at shortstop, Frank Schwindel at first, Rafael Ortega in center field, Clint Frazier in left and Yan Gomes behind the plate.

And, of course, Stroman took the mound.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen hitters [since last season],” Stroman said. “Obviously I’ve thrown a ton of bullpens throughout the offseason. But competition’s always a little different. You never want to do too much when you get out there the first time. It’s kind of dialing it back more than it is ramping it up, especially with this quick buildup. So, just to get out there and get my feet wet and to feel healthy, definitely was a good first one.”

Stroman retired the side in order in his first inning, inducing a pair of groundouts to second base and striking out Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores.

He was equally efficient the next inning, getting a flyout followed by a pair of strikeouts.

Starting pitchers will get about four spring training starts in this condensed spring training to ramp up before opening day. Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks threw two innings Thursday and said he was confident he could build up to five or six by the end of spring training.

“I think we’re great,” Stroman said last week of Cubs’ starting rotation. “Me, Hendricks, Wade (Miley), I think we can carry it. And then I think we have tremendous upside from the young guys. You just never know when some of these guys could turn it on and have their best career years.

“Baseball’s like that. You could put in a lot of work, you can find a new pitch, everything can kind of click. So, I’m looking forward to see these guys perform, and I’m here to help them along the way.”

On deck

The Cubs face the Padres at Sloan Park Saturday. Left-hander Justin Steele is scheduled to start for the home team, with Reiss Knehr taking the bump for San Diego. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. CT.

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PHOENIX – Billy Donovan chose his words carefully when discussing the current situation surrounding Lonzo Ball and his return from left knee surgery, but anyway the Bulls coach tried to spin it didn’t sound very optimistic.

“He has not responded,” Donovan said on Friday. “There’s no setbacks. It’s still the same thing. So I don’t want to act like . . . we mentioned the other day a couple steps forward, he goes back. He has not been able to do anything full speed. And anytime we get him close to that, there’s discomfort.”

What that means for the starting point guard is the medical staff was trying to reassess his rehabilitation process, and see if it’s something where they press pause on Ball or if they completely shut him down for the time being and let him “rest for a little bit and see if that helps.”

Ball hasn’t played since Jan. 14, when he was first diagnosed with a bone bruise. An MRI showed that the meniscus needed to be repaired as well, so he underwent surgery. The original timetable was six-to-eight weeks, but it currently stands at Week 7.

The problem, however, hasn’t been the meniscus. It’s been the bone bruise that Ball was originally diagnosed with.

“I think they’re trying to figure out how to ease that to basically take the next step,” Donovan said. “He hasn’t gone backwards. He just has not been able to go forward far enough to do the things he needs to do to be able to play.”

The calendar isn’t on Ball’s side, either.

If they do pause his activity for a bit, he still has to return to the process of sprinting and cutting pain-free, then get cleared for practice, find a rhythm, and start playing games to ramp up his minutes.

The Bulls only have 12 more games over the next three weeks, so it would be asking a lot for Ball to be even close to 100% by the playoffs.

Donovan was asked if there was a scenario where the team could just shut him down for the season, and responded, “I haven’t had that where they said that. I think everybody was optimistic that he could get back and play. But there’s no question with the current situation with him not being able to do things physically that he needs to do on the court – he’s not even at that place – I don’t know in talking to our medical people how long does that take to go from where he is today to there?”

Donovan said he last spoke to Ball before the team left for this current trip, and while he wouldn’t classify the guard as “frustrated,” he obviously was upset with not playing.

“I think they’re trying to figure it out, but I don’t get the sense he’s frustrated with anything,” Donovan said.

St. Patrick’s Day?

The news was much better on the Patrick Williams (left wrist) front, as Donovan wasn’t ruling out the power forward returning as soon as Monday, when the Bulls host Toronto.

Williams had been practicing with the Windy City Bulls the last few days, and there will be a discussion on Saturday on the next step. Williams could play with the G-League affiliate in a Sunday night game if he needs that, and then obviously sit the Toronto game and play at Milwaukee on Tuesday or he could just practice with the team Sunday and play in the back-to-back.

“[Williams will] certainly play a role in terms of what does he need?” Donovan said.

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MESA, Ariz – Japanese star Seiya Suzuki was concerned about the cold in Chicago. But the Cubs had the whole lockout to prepare for his questions.

When the topic came up in a meeting Monday at Hayama, a Japanese restaurant in Los Angles, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer went to bring to get a set of charts that compared the summer months in Chicago to Hiroshima and the city of at least one other team that was pursuing Suzuki in free agency.

After the meeting, Suzuki had his agent cancel other meetings scheduled later in the week and coordinate a trip to Wrigley Field to see for himself.

By Friday, the Cubs were holding an introductory press conference for Suzuki, their most high-profile acquisition since Hoyer took the helm. Suzuki signed a five-year, $85 million deal. The Cubs also will pay a $14,625,000 posting fee to Suzuki’s Japanese club, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

“They’re obviously a really very good team,” Suzuki said Friday, through his translator Toy Matsushita. “And their passion to get me on this team was something that really took me by heart. So, obviously, very excited to be here.”

The media room opened an hour before the press conference was scheduled, ushering in over 40 reporters, domestic and international, as soon as it did.

“We’ve talked a lot about building the next great Cubs team,” Hoyer said in his opening remarks. “We signed Seiya to a five-year contract because we believe he’ll play a significant role in that success now and that success in the future.”

It was obvious how Suzuki, 27, fit into the Cubs’ plans. They’d scouted him for years, he was a player the club could grow with, and his power bat would immediately elevate their lineup.

But the five-time Nippon Professional Baseball League All-Star and Gold Glove winner certainly wasn’t flying under the radar. Teams in pursuit of Suzuki reportedly included the Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox and Mariners.

So, why the Cubs?

“It became clear to me that what was most important to Seiya was not getting the biggest contract,” said Suzuki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman. “It was being in the place that he felt he was going to be the most comfortable. And by comfortable, meaning that everything off the field in his life would be settled, so that Airi [Hatakeyama, Suzuki’s wife] and himself would have no issues about living conditions, and he could just focus on baseball.”

Suzuki sought advice from other Japanese players who had made the same transition, including Yu Davish, Yoshimoto Tsutsugo and Shogo Akiyama. Darvish, Suzuki said, told him the city of Chicago and its fan base were great and that he was going to love it.

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A man and a woman were critically injured in a fire Friday in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

Firefighters responded to reports of a blaze at a home with people trapped inside about 3 p.m. in the 11600 block of South Aberdeen Street, according to Chicago fire officials.

The man and woman, whose ages were not immediately known but were described as “elderly,” were removed from the home, officials said.

The man was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital and the woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, officials said. Both were in “very critical” condition.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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Monitoring new Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ moves:

March 18

3 p.m.: The Bears are signing former Colts defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad to a two-year, $10 million contract, ESPN reported Friday. He had six sacks last year.

11 a.m.: The Bears rescinded their offer to defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobiafter he failed a physical Thursday and quickly moved on to contingencies.

March 17

7:30 p.m.: The Bears are signing former Chiefs receiver Byron Pringle to a one-year deal, a source confirmed. An undrafted free agent out of Kansas State, Pringle caught 42 passes for 568 yards and five touchdowns last year. New Bears general manager Ryan Poles saw it first-hand as a member of the Chiefs front office.

5:20 p.m.: The Bears are signing former Packers receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to a one-year deal, a source confirmed. He played about 26 percent of the Packers’ downs on both offense and special teams last season.

5 p.m.: Running back Damien Williams signed a one-year deal with the Falcons, a source confirmed. Williams had 40 carries for 164 yards, 16 catches for 103 yards and three touchdowns in his lone season with the Bears.

3 p.m.: The Raiders signed offensive lineman Alex Bars, who spent the last three years with the Bears.

2:45 p.m.: Receiver Allen Robinson agreed to join the defending Super Bowl champion Rams and star quarterback Matthew Stafford on a three-year deal worth $46.5 million, with $30.7 million fully guaranteed, a source confirmed. The move ends his four-year Bears career and gives Robinson a long-needed quarterback upgrade.

9 a.m.: Punter Pat O’Donnell, the longest-tenured Bears player, is signing with the Packers, a source confirmed. O’Donnell was drafted by Phil Emery in 2014 and had played with the Bears ever since, working under two GMs and three coaches — not counting Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles.

March 16

3:15 p.m.: As expected, the Bears cut veteran linebacker Danny Trevathan. Trevathan was part of the Bears’ defensive rebuilding job when arriving in Chicago in 2016 but struggled the past two seasons. Last year, he played in only five games before being put on IR for the second time.

3 p.m.: When the NFL’s league year began, four Bears became free agents: tight end J.P. Holtz, guard Alex Bars, running back Ryan Nall and safety Teez Tabor.

9 a.m.: Former Bears cornerback Artie Burns is signing a one-year deal with the Seahawks, a source confirmed. He’ll join former Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai there.

7:15 a.m.: Bilal Nichols, a Bears’ fifth-round pick four years ago, cashed in Wednesday when he agreed to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Raiders that featured $9 million guaranteed. Nichols had totaled eight sacks and 22 quarterback hits over the past two years combined. Last season, Nichols recovered two fumbles.

March 15

11:30 p.m.: Bears Pro Bowl return man Jakeem Grant is leaving to sign a three-year, $18 million deal with the Browns

10:30 p.m.: The Bears agreed to terms on a one-year deal with former Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow that can be worth up to $5 million, a source told the Sun-Times. Morrow started 11 games in 2020 but spent last year on injured reserve after hurting his ankle during the preseason.

10:30 p.m.: The Bears are signing former Packers interior offensive lineman Lucas Patrick to a two-year, $8 million deal with $4 million guaranteed, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times. Patrick can play either guard or center for a team that lost James Daniels to the Steelers earlier in the day.

10 p.m.: The Bears are re-signing long snapper Patrick Scales to a one-year contract, sources told the Sun-Tines.

10:30 a.m.: Former Bears offensive lineman James Daniels is leaving for the Steelers. Daniels agreed to a three-year, $26.5 million deal Tuesday, NFL Network reported.

Former Bears general manager Ryan Pace drafted Daniels at No. 39 overall in 2018, and he played 54 games over four seasons. The Bears moved him among both guard positions and center, and ultimately he did not impress new general manager Ryan Poles enough to re-sign him.

Click here for full story.

March 14

4 p.m.: The Bears officially cut defensive tackle Eddie Goldman. Friday, sources said they’d made the decision.

1 p.m.: As new Bears general manager Ryan Poles continues to rework the roster, the team is getting younger — and possibly better — on the defensive line.

The Bears agreed to a three-year, $40.5 million deal with former Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi in the opening hours of free agency Monday, NFL Network reported. He’ll get $26.4 million guaranteed.

Click here for full story.

March 11

5 p.m.: The Bears claimed running back Darrynton Evans, a third-round pick of the Titans just two years ago, off waivers. He has 16 career rushes for 61 yards.

3:30 p.m.: The Bears also plan to cut nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who had a disappointing 2021 and no longer fit their scheme.

11:30 a.m.: As expected, the Bears told running back Tarik Cohen they would be cutting him with an injury designation about a year-and-a-half after he tore knee ligaments returning a punt against the Falcons.

March 10

4 p.m.: In a franchise-altering move, the Bears agreed to trade edge rusher Khalil Mack, the face of the franchise, to the Chargers for a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 sixth-rounder. Ryan Poles’ first major move as the Bears’ GM signified the start of a rebuild, while Mack’s Bears career ends as a risk worth taking.

March 8

5 p.m.: The Bears agreed to bring back center Sam Mustipher, tight end Jesper Horsted and guard Lachavious Simmons on one-year deals at the league minimum. All three are exclusive-rights free agents. Players with less than three seasons of experience must accept such contract tenders.

3 p.m.: The NFL’s deadline to apply the franchise tag came and went Wednesday without the Bears making anyone an offer. That means receiver Allen Robinson will hit free agency Monday after playing last year on the tag.

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New Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson sent a strong message Friday: rebuilding means rebuilding.

In a stunning blockbuster trade, the Hawks dealt Brandon Hagel to the Lightning — along with two fourth-round draft picks — for two first-round picks and two young NHL forwards, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk.

Parting ways with Hagel, whose endless work ethic and tenacity had quickly made him a fan favorite and a unique player on the Hawks these past two seasons, is painful. But rebuilding in general is painful.

Sources had said Davidson was willing to trade Hagel only if blown away by an offer — and Friday’s return likely blew him past the moon.

“I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that,” Davidson said in a statement. “Getting two first round draft picks as well as two young NHL players helps us kickstart that process in a major way. We know that Brandon Hagel was a fan favorite — our fans loved him for all the reasons we loved him — and we know he be successful with the Lightning.”

The two first-round picks are in 2023 and 2024, so they don’t solve the problem of the Hawks not having one in this year’s draft, but they’ll significantly bolster the Hawks’ draft classes both those years. They’re both top-10 protected, although they’re far more likely to fall near the bottom of the 32 picks considering the Lightning’s track record.

Raddysh and Katchouk, meanwhile, are former second-round picks who weren’t able to ascend quickly in Tampa — considering all the talent above them — but have the potential to grow into impactful players when given more opportunity in Chicago.

Raddysh, 24, has tallied 12 points in 53 NHL games this season after tallying 110 points in 159 AHL games the past three seasons. He was once Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome’s linemate in the OHL.

Katchouk, 23, has tallied six points in 38 NHL games this season after tallying 89 points in 164 AHL games the past three seasons.

This story will be updated.

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Matt Eberflus is bringing even more of his Colts defense to the Bears.

The team is signing former Indianapolis defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad to a two-year, $10 million contract, ESPN reported Friday. Muhammad, who turns 27 next week, had six sacks and started all 17 games last year under Eberflus, who was his Colts defensive coordinator from 2018-21.

He spent 2017 with the Saints, who drafted him in the sixth round. He started 25 games in four years with the Colts.

The Miami alum brings experience in Eberflus’ 4-3 scheme. The new Bears head coach brought more than half his defensive staff with him: defensive coordinator Alan Williams, linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, defensive backs coach James Rowe and assistant defensive backs coach David Overstreet.

Muhammad joins a defensive ends room that includes Robert Quinn, who set the Bears’ single-season record with 18 1/2 sacks last year, and Trevis Gipson, who had seven sacks in 16 games.

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For those who follow RuPaul Charles’ ubiquitous “Drag Race” competitions on VH1, Ginger Minj needs little introduction. The star of Music Theater Works’ “La Cage Aux Folles” is a three-time alum of RuPaul’s reality show franchise, which tasks drag queens with everything from sewing a couture look from scratch to writing a telenovela script to choreographing and performing an original mini-musical.

Minj excels in all of the above, and she hasn’t really slowed down since she debuted on the high-profile competition series in 2015. The week “La Cage” opened at Skokie’s Northshore Center for the Performing Arts, Disney announced she’d be playing Winifred Sanderson (aka the Bette Midler role) in the highly anticipated “Hocus Pocus 2.” Meanwhile, Minj’s second country music album, “Double Wide Diva,” continues to chart. And it’s worth noting that at the 2016 Trailblazer Awards, Minj brought Harvey Fierstein–bookwriter and original star of Broadway’s “La Cage”–to tears with her performance of the score’s powerhouse anthem “I Am What I Am.”

In director Kyle A. Dougan’s tawdry, glamorous staging for Music Theater Works, Minj gets the showcase she deserves. “La Cage” sounds great and looks fabulous, from lilting love duets to frenzied, high-kicking, Folies Bergere-inspired drag chorus lines.

The plot–as in the original 1973 play by Jean Poiret, the 1978 French film and the 1996 reboot–centers on Zaza/Albin (Minj). Zaza is Albin’s drag persona, toast of St. Tropez and headliner at the titular nightclub. Albin is Zaza’s Truman Capote-meets-Elton-John non-drag self, a devoted husband to Georges (Jason Richards), who owns La Cage. Their son is Jean-Michel (Christopher Ratliff), the result of a drunken one-night stand between Georges and a chorus girl who isn’t in their lives.

Comic complications abound when Jean-Michel becomes engaged to Anne (Heather Banks), a young woman whose father is a powerful politician to the right of Anita Bryant and twice as homophobic. Jean-Michel insists on hosting a heteronormative dinner for his fiancee and her family, demanding that Georges butch it up and Albin keep out of sight. Albin refuses to play along, setting up an evening that morphs from disaster to celebration. Jerry Herman’s music and lyrics capture both extremes with a fast-paced mix of humor and pathos.

Music director Kyra Leigh and conductor Linda Madonia create a soundscape that captures all the emotions of the music. Georges’ and Albin’s whimsical, endearing “Song on the Sand” gently, emphatically shows their enduring devotion to one another. The manic, joyful title tune–performed by the showstopping “Cagelles” who open for Zaza–is a whirl of sequined death drops and acrobatics. Christopher Carter’s choreography is all attitude and spectacle, the two traits that define life in La Cage.

Minj has the showy role, but as her “plain homosexual” husband Georges, Richards creates a grounded, calming presence as a man who has devoted his life to his partner and made their nightclub a haven for all those who eschew the straight and narrow and celebrate living life “on an angle.”

Drag has long been at the intersection of garishness and glamor, camp and couture, and anyone building looks for “La Cage” has their work cut out for them. Costumer Justin LeBlanc (“Project Runway”) does fine work, putting the Cagelles in glittery bustiers and neon ruffles, all highlighting the explosive flouncery that defines their floor show. Zaza’s finale dress is a show-stopping tulle confection worthy of a runway. Scott Davis’ set design includes at least 14 chandeliers and half a dozen disco balls swinging overhead, all creating a credibly glittery club.

The ensemble shines throughout, but keep an eye out for Honey West as Angelique, a restaurant owner with a gift for making fools of narrow-minded hypocrites.

There’s nothing foolish about Music Theater Works “La Cage.” It’s bright, loud, romantic, outrageous and a defiant celebration of living your life as you are, and not what others say you should be.

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