I just did a little digging over at the
Tony Awards page, to double-check on what was on Broadway in the 83/84 season. It was the year of
Baby and
La Cage, all right, but it was also the year of
The Tap Dance Kid, The Rink, and
Sunday In the Park With George. (Major holdovers from the previous season were
My One and Only, a revival of
On Your Toes, and something called
Cats.)
Of all of these,
La Cage may have been
called the "Gay Show", but it really wasn't, at least not as far as the "gay audience" was concerned, if there is such a thing.
La Cage was built to bring in straight audiences, reinforcing old stereotypes in a pleasantly old-fashioned and not really challenging vehicle. (In his acceptance speach, Herman made a point of pointing out how "traditional" the show was, compared with his real competition,
SITPWG.) Meanwhile, gay people were dealing with real prejudice and AIDS.
La Cage was not the show for them.
What knocked
Baby out of the picture was that there was plenty of good product out there, which made a so-so show less interesting to ticket buyers.