An American in
Paris
Palace Theatre
May
28, 2015
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| Photo courtesy of An American in Paris |
Having
spent a semester in Paris during the eighties, I am particularly enamored with
all things Parisian. I love the
language, the food, the architecture, the historical places, and the art.
All of these things make me smile. When I first heard that An American in Paris was coming to Broadway, I knew that I would imminently see the show. Because I am a movie enthusiast, I looked
forward to seeing the musical rendition of this film. Although Paris is just the setting of the
show, the writer, Craig Lucas, manages to infuse some of the language and the
culture of Paris into An American in Paris. The musical is both directed
and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, a former dancer for both the
New York City Ballet and for the Royal Ballet. This musical is his directorial debut. The
creative team includes: Robert Fisher, musical arranger, Bob Crowley, set and
costume designer, Craig Lucas, the book's author, and Natasha Katz, lighting
designer. The principal actors are Robert Fairchild, who plays Jerry
Mulligan, the American, and Leanne Cope, who plays Lise Dassin, the woman he
loves. Having received twelve Tony nominations this season, An
American in Paris is one of the forerunners for best musical. In the musical, the dancers leap and move flawlessly, holding the
attention of the audience as it waits to see whether the dancers will land
dynamically with precision. They leap over furniture and dance in tandem
to music by George and Ira Gershwin. After
careful reflection, I wondered what was most important in a musical. Was it the
music, the acting, the dancing, or the story? Does a theater-goer go to the theater to see
the creative set design, the lighting, or the audio? Do the traditional conventions of theater
matter? I have come to the conclusion
that normally a great well-defined story is essential, but if there are other
great strong creative elements, then the musical may be catapulted to even
greater heights.
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| Leanne Cope & Robert Fairchild Photo courtesy of An American in Paris |
Charles
Isherwood of the New York Times said that this musical is typical of
Broadway musicals. This comment was not
pejorative, but intended to show that it maintains the typical structure of
Broadway musicals. I disagree; it is
atypical. I believe that there is
significantly less singing (not less music) than in traditional musicals and
the story is less defined. The acting is
mostly encompassed within the dance compositions. At the inception of this performance, I was
disappointed, because I was accustomed to a traditional musical with a more
well-defined plot and more intense acting and singing. I, however in the end, came to see this
musical as levels above a traditional musical, for the dancing and the
choreography of this show are veritably unparalleled. The costumes for the
dancers and for the prima dancer are exquisite. Although the story is
less developed in the first half, it becomes more defined during the second
half. After intermission, the action and
the tempo rise in the musical to a pace that allows the audience to become
captivated by the arrangement of Gershwin's music and by both the dance and
choreography. The story becomes sharper
as the dancers leap in gran jeté
fashion into the air and over props, further enthralling the audience and
causing the viewers to applaud and say bravo at the end of the
performance. The dancers seamlessly
integrate dance with music within the choreography with contemporary and jazz
vernacular.
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| Photo courtesy of An American in Paris |
An
American in Paris
is the story of an American soldier, Jerry Mulligan, who decides to stay in
Paris after the Great War so that he can become a painter. He meets Lise Dessin, a Jewish woman, who was
hidden by a French family during the war. He soon realizes that he is not the only one
trying to woo her. She feels, however,
an allegiance to the French family, especially the son, Henri, expertly played
by Max Von Essen. Lise is an accomplished ballerina and she works to hone
her craft so that she can perform adroitly in a performance. The story is about love and internal conflict.
This story is about staying true to
oneself and about reconciling conflict so that true love prevails.
This
musical is all about the dancing, the choreography, and the music that make
this show a stunning
success, not the story. It has the audience wanting
more at the end. The dancers demonstrated a variety of movements
including pirouettes as they use props when leaping perfectly in such a way
that one's eyes remain focused on all of the movements. The chemistry
between Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope is strong and it keeps the audience
hoping that they will work through their conflict so that they can be together.
The dancers light up this show with
their bright resplendent costumes. Toward
the end of the performance, all of the dancers line up across the stage and do
a number similar to the Radio City Rockettes. At the end, both the dancers and the singers
reprise the song, "I Got Rhythm," and sing, "Who could ask for
anything more?" Indeed, I asked
myself, who could ask for anything more?
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| Photo courtesy of An American in Paris |
Sunday
evening, June 7th, is the Tony Awards. I
look forward with great expectation to seeing this musical and Something
Rotten, two of my favorite musicals this year, take top honors. I admit that my ticket to The King and I
is after the Tony Awards; thus, I cannot comment on whether it will take some
top honors as well. Enjoy the awards and
let's start a conversation.
Deirdre M. DeLoatch
Guest Contributor
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