ALL HAIL CHRISTOPHER: On Wednesday, I linked to a story about how Christopher Sieber was the perfect man for La Cage aux Folle – currently playing at the Music Hall at Fair Park – because he has played both of the main roles in this production. And from reading the reviews, it sounds as if all that time spent with the show is paying off. “He delivers such a great performance that people are likely to love the show, politics or no politics,” Lawson Taitte writes in his dallasnews.com review. “Here, as the transvestite headliner of a shabby drag club in St. Tropez, Sieber knows exactly when to dial up the sass and when to pull back and let the quiet moments resonate,” Lindsey Wilson writes on Front Row. “Throughout this show, he’s the one we can’t take our eyes off — not just because of the outrageous outfits but because he captures every emotion of this character,” Mark Lowry writes on dfw.com. Catch the show through April 22.

USA ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE: The USA Film Festival has announced the full lineup and schedule for its April 25-29 run. This year the festival will pay tribute to Bert Gordon, Elliott Gould and Rob Reiner, who are all scheduled to attend. Among other films that immediately jump off the page are The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, the latest from Austin filmmaking brothers Mark and Jay Duplass; and The Giant Mechanical Man, starring Jenna Fischer in a film written and directed by her husband, Lee Kirk. Fischer and Kirk should be there as well. Check out the full schedule and get to planning.

QUOTABLE: “I arrived totally jet lagged, but the sight of it woke me up and I thought that it is one of the most beautiful opera houses I have ever seen.”
– French baritone Laurent Naouri, recounting his first trip to the Winspear Opera House, in an interview with theaterjones.com. He’ll sing the role of Giorgio Germont in the Dallas Opera’s La Traviata, which opens tonight.