AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Previews — Page 3

I believe one would consider it homophobic to say all gay men want to dress in women's attire, or that all gay men would want to trick straight men to have relations with them.

Oh okay. I took that to mean he was talking about these particular characters, etc. To each their own. I'm not easily offended....back to it...

I saw this tonight by pure chance. I flew in for a friend's wedding shower, but she was feeling under the weather and wanted to sleep after the party. So I picked up a ticket and had very high hopes. I love the idea of something that feels like a musical from another era...the grand dancing, a lead with matinee idol looks, and music that's beautiful.

I left the theater with mixed feelings. It's okay. I've seen things much, much better, but at the same time, things far, far worse. But it was little more then just, "eh." It wasn't as special as I hopef.

The show has strong points. The dance is some of the best I've ever seen, or at the very least, the best I've seen in a very long time. Truly. I've seen the major companies, trained with well known ballet and contemporary companies, but this glorious. The movement aspect of the show is top notch and the ballet portions are breath-taking. The show is a dancer's dream, even more then OTT.

The acting by most is serviceable, but they don't have a lot to work with. The book simply isn't that good. It seems to rise and fall. Good scene, then a bad scene. Fairchild and Cope get by. They're not as good as Jill Paice or Veanne Cox, but I also didn't expect them to be.

Music is strong. The orchestra sounds rich and full. It sounded large, at least. The music is enjoyable, but like most Gershwin pieces, if done at least moderately well, it's enjoyable. I thought the music and dance blended together quite well.

In the end, the book brings it down greatly. We don't have a strong plot backing up the song and dance. It seems like they wanted to almost take the fairly basic concept iof the movie and make it more complicated.

The dance and music warrant a listening/viewing, but the show left me wanting more. Go later into the run and perhaps things will grow stronger. It's hard to say if this will be a contender, as I see a lt reviewers seeing the show as just okay. It will depend on how Gigi, Fun Home, The Visit, Etc. do and how they stand against the already opened shows. It will get a choreography nod for sure because that's where this succeeds,

It's a bit of a let down and people around me commented that it wasn't what they expected.

Updated On: 3/15/15 at 01:40 AM

The plot in the movie works beautifully. Alan Jay Lerner won an Academy Award for his original screenplay.

Sounds like they screwed it up here. That's a shame.

"We can make it better!"

No ... you can't.

Question: did they completely eliminate the Oscar Levant role? Jerry Mulligan's buddy who is a composer?

Aside from being a wonderful comedic character, he also gives Jerry a fellow artist to play off of. We get to see Jerry with a comrade to relate to. Plus I love some of Oscar's quips to Jerry: "Tell me, when the two of you are married, will you keep your maiden name?"

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Updated On: 3/15/15 at 11:02 AM

Best- the oscar levant role is still there. He's composing the ballet that Jerry is designing the sets for; he's not a sidewalk painter anymore.

That line is not in the stage version. The comedy is largely gone, and as noted above, there is a greater emphasis on the rebuilding of France after the war.

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Is the line "That's a nice dress you're almost wearing" still in the show?

So many comments on this BB have assumed so much and are so wrong. First, there are many comedic elements in this show including the segments Beginners Luck and Fidgety Feet amongst others. The characters, unlike the film, are well defined, and if you care to pay attention, are resolved in relation to one another. The character of Henri, unlike the film, is not a cabaret star but a theater novice and wanna be. It is also intimated that he is a gay man. His second act "fantasy" I'LL BUILD A STAIRWAY TO PARADISE is very powerful especially when understanding that this is Henri's internal construction. It IS a showstopper. The film had a "plot" that was pure MGM lighter than air. The B'way version expands the characters, gives them some depth and motivation. The time frame moves from 1952 to 1945 and depicts a more realisic atmosphere. Lise being the assumed future wife of Henri based on Lise having been taken in and cared for by Henri's parents is clear and to be sure, marriage arrangements in literature and real life have been based on much less. This is a show with substance, artistic and otherwise. If you want an idiot musical, this ain't it. It's not Spamalot or The Producers. Do not fear for this year's new musicals, any more or less than for each of the last 50 years. B'way is a big time crap shoot and not for the weak of heart or small of wallet. Again, some of the opinions voiced here deserve attention many DON'T. Attention should be given to the proven knowledgeable and not to those that simply have found a venue to stut their stuff. The truth is that by virtually any measure, this BB has virtually no influence. It is fun to read though.

@fisherman: your comment and "observation" is misguided and just plain wrong. See the show or don't that's your business and I couldn't care less. My points were clear and factual. My opinion when it was stated is clear as an opinion. Trying to get you or anyone else to see a show is a fool's errand and is not worth the effort. I wish someone was paying me but alas,that didn't happen.

Who are you to say some opinions deserve attention and others don't? Anyone who paid their money and sat through the show is entitled to their opinion, yourself and myself included. If others have insights into the source material, more power to them to share.

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Well, in the stage version things are rather muddled. Henri is indeed being pressured by his mother greatly to propose to and marry Lise. Why he's so nervous makes little sense, especially in light of revelations made later in the show.

Spoilers?

It is strongly hinted at, but ultimately a red herring that Henri is actually gay or at least bi. That would explain his hesitation of marriage, but he claims to really love her, even after overhearing Jerry and Lise profess their love for each other near the top of act two. To muddle things further, Henri breaks off his engagement with Lise off stage, so we aren't privy to what's really going on in his mind. I took that he realized he was in love with art more than any sexual attraction to a man or woman, but this is all guessing from subtext.

Where the comedy is most strongly missing is in the dialogue, and moreso the style of dialogue over what is actually being said. Gone is all the sparkling wit, quoted above. The characters might be "more defined," but the fun is gone. It's not a matter of wanting Spamalot or The Producers- I don't know who would possibly expect either of those two shows- but to expect the tone of the film or other breezy Gershwin entertainments? Now that's totally reasonable.

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Christopher Wheeldon is pretty much at the top of of my list of fave modern ballet choreographers--and he's always had a somewhat Broadway sensibility (ie his Alice in Wonderland ballet.) I'm not surprised that the dancing is largely getting praise. That said, it's disappointing that Whizzer says that every number becomes a full on chorus piece-much of Wheeldon's strongest work are in his solo and pas de deux work (here's a clip of his much celebrated After the Rain pas de deux https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t6qVXDUGW4 ) And I think the statement that maybe this should have just been a dance piece makes sense.

Updated On: 3/15/15 at 05:46 PM

The production numbers are quite brilliant and there are several stunning pas de deux (Lise and Jerry) and these I do believe are equal to others that Wheeldon has created. And on another note, I just attended On the Town for a third time. Tiler Peck was subbing for Her sister in law Megan Fairchild. Tiler was quite spectacular and is considered by many one of the great stars of City ballet and the larger world of dance.
Talk about turning virtually every dance routine into a major production number, well this show trumps AAIP in that regard (I mention this as a point on someone's earlier complaint). Megan Fairchild is Robbie Fairchild's (star of AAIP) sister and Tiler Peck is Robbie's wife. I had an enjoyable intermission with Robbie who was attending his wife's performance.