Today I’m back with the fifth installment of my Musical Manicures series, where I create a nail polish look inspired by a Broadway show I’ve seen in the past. I love how this series not only lets me be creative in using my nail polish collection, but I get to revisit amazing musicals both old and new. This time I picked La Cage aux Folles out of the jar, a show I saw back in March 2011. I specifically wanted to see this musical because the movie The Birdcage is one of my favorites, and it is based on this storyline. I also really wanted to see the cast playing at the time, because I loved Christopher Sieber from the TV show Two of a Kind, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia who played Angel in the Original Broadway Cast of RENT.
La Cage aux Folles is one of those shows that I don’t remember in detail, but I do remember that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I refreshed my recollection by reading an old blog post I wrote, and the highlights to me were definitely the pre-show audience interaction with drag queen Lili Whiteass, as well as the fabulous dancing. Because I saw this show in college, I was able to buy a Student Rush ticket for only $36.50. This was my first experience in a box seat, which I quickly learned was a go-to area for rush seats since they are often some of the worst in the house. Luckily, this view wasn’t too obscured for me at the Longacre Theatre, and I loved being close to the actors!
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For the manicure itself, I decided to recreate the pink neon lettering on the Playbill cover. I began by applying two coats of Zoya Chelsea, a light pink cream polish. This acted as the border of the neon letters. Then, I did a reverse French manicure by using Zoya Brinkley, a pink fuchsia polish. Although this nail polish technique looks really impressive, it’s actually quite easy to achieve because you paint your nails as you would normally, but you don’t go all the way to the edge so the color underneath shows on the sides. I made sure to let my manicure dry completely before adding Holo Taco Glossy Taco so the pink shades did not smudge.
I am really happy with how my La Cage aux Folles inspired manicure came out in the end! It’s a bit simple, but it captures the essence of the Playbill. The only thing I would have liked to add are feather details, as the show features feather boas, feather headpieces, and feather fans as well. I found these nail stickers online that would work perfectly, but you could also freehand the feathers if you are good with nail art painting. Now that I am dabbling in nail art a bit more, I may have to restock my supplies!
Want an inside look into the La Cage aux Folles Playbill? Watch this week’s corresponding Instagram Reel HERE.