Nathan Lane has good reason to feel proud of The Birdcage. Released 30 years ago on March 8, 1996, the Hollywood version of the vintage French farce La Cage aux Folles was that year’s second-highest-grossing comedy behind Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor and made the Broadway stage star a movie star to boot. Hailing from the dynamic comedic duo of Mike Nichols (who directed) and Elaine May (who penned the screenplay) and also starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, and Dianne Wiest, The Birdcage is returning to theaters for Pride Month on June 7 and June 10 courtesy of Fathom Entertainment.
Upon its original release, the film joined a wave of ’90s comedies that humanized — and normalized — gay relationships on both the big and small screen; think such films as Jeffrey and In & Out and TV shows like Will & Grace and Ellen. In fact, Ellen DeGeneres came out in both real life and on her eponymous sitcom one year after The Birdcage flew into theaters.
Cumulatively, those stories helped contribute to a profound shift in the American public’s attitude toward the nation’s emboldened LGBTQ+ community, paving the way for same-sex marriage to eventually become the law of the land. And The Birdcage notably contains its own version of a gay marriage scene that played on movie screens two decades before the Supreme Court made it legal on a federal level in 2015.
The film’s story finds longtime couple Armand (Williams) and Albert (Lane) welcoming home their college-aged son, Val (Dan Futterman), and learning that he’s planning to marry Barbara (Calista Flockhart), the only daughter of prominent conservative power couple Kevin and Louise Keeley (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest). In order for the two to tie the knot, though, Armand and Albert first have to pass the “meet the parents” test, which sets the stage for a raucous dinner party filled with false identities, misunderstandings, and some truly great drag looks.
But before the farcical finale kicks into gear, the movie’s central couple Armand (Williams) and Albert (Lane) share a rare quiet moment on a beachside bench. For years, Albert has been asking his longtime lover to sign a palimony agreement — a legal way for unmarried partners to split their household assets after a break-up or death. Up until now, Armand has resisted, but he knows it’s time to make a big gesture to prove his commitment, and he hands Albert the palimony agreement he’s been holding onto all this time.
“There, we’re partners,” Armand says after Albert signs it. “You own half of my life, and I own half of yours.” Even without the traditional trappings of a wedding ceremony present, the meaning behind the sequence is completely clear: these two have just pronounced each other husband and husband.
“That’s my favorite scene in the film,” Lane told Gold Derby when we spoke with him recently about his Tony-contending role as Willy Loman in the current Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. And he gives full credit to May — a two-time Oscar nominee — with adding that particular grace note to the script. “It’s her version of a gay marriage.” (May didn’t receive a screenplay nod for The Birdcage, but did accept an honorary Oscar in 2021.)
Watch our full interview with Nathan Lane below or jump to the 30-minute mark for The Birdcage discussion
The actor remembers May contributing another crucial scene to The Birdcage that doesn’t have a counterpart in La Cage aux Folles. Prior to the dinner party, Albert decides to attend the event as Val’s macho uncle and dons a classic men’s suit to prove that he can pass for straight. The minute he take a step, though, his true self comes out. It’s a beautiful bit of physical acting from Lane that’s not unlike the famous scene in Superman: The Movie where Christopher Reeve goes from Clark Kent to Superman and back again with a few small gestures.
“Those two scenes were added, and they’re key to the story,” notes Lane, who came out publicly in 1999. The actor adds that Michel Serrault — who played the Albert role in La Cage aux Folles — was surprisingly “miffed” about the new material. “It had been this perfect French farce, and he thought, ‘Why are you adding these two scenes?’ And of course, they’re the scenes that are crucial to the humanity of these characters. They’re so moving.” (Serrault died in 2007; Nichols and Williams both passed in 2014.)
One of Lane’s other favorite parts of The Birdcage was getting to strike sparks with the late, great Hackman, who died last year. When Val’s actual birth mother, Katherine (Christine Baranski), is prevented from making the dinner on time, Albert transforms himself into Armand’s demure bride, and he casts a spell over the unsuspecting Kevin.
“Was there anybody better on screen than Gene Hackman?” Lane says. “He was just one of the great, great film stars. I got to dance with Gene Hackman while singing, ‘I Could Have Danced All Night.’ [from My Fair Lady].”
“As we were leaving the room in that scene, I remember saying to him — and this was just an ad-lib! — ‘I played Eliza in high school,'” Lane continues. “And he says in a slightly sexual way, ‘I bet you were wonderful.’ There was definitely something going on there! What a wonderful memory getting to work with him.”
