The Birdcage Starring Robin Williams Will Stream Free All Week

Adapted for the screen by Elaine May, the film stars Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Dianne Wiest. Joining them are Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski in the supporting roles.

Here's how to catch The Birdcage this week:

The Robin Williams-led film is essentially a re-make of the french film La Cage aux Folles, which was later adapted into the beloved Broadway musical in 1983.

The musical was a Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein collaboration that broke barriers for gay representation at the time. Playing one of Broadway's biggest houses, The Palace Theatre, the musical was the first hit Broadway musical to be have a gay relationship in its center.

The film will be streaming for free starting August 8, 2022, and was added to our updating list of free musicals and plays. With no production of La Cage aux Folles filmed professionally, this is the closest fans can get to the touching story of Albin and Georges (or Armand and Albert in the film).

While the 1996 film does not incorporate any of the Jerry Herman score, it interestingly contains several songs written by Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim wrote a song titled "Little Dream" for Albert especially for the film, with another song titled "Starina" that was originally a cut number from Follies. Another song written by the late composer is "Love Is in the Air", which was originally part of the opening sequence to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

The original Broadway production ran for more than four years, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The film adaptation was just as successful generating a total box office of more than $180 million against a budget of $30 million.