An American In Paris Closing — Page 3

What I'm saying is the narrator character kept saying throughout the show how awful Henri is. Now, as an audience member, am I suppose to agree or disagree? I don't know. He wasn't a brilliant singer, but he wasn't bad. But I couldn't tell if he was TRYING to be bad, or if he was trying to be good. I don't know? That's the confusing part. I totally understand the context of the number, I get what was happening. But, when it's over, the dad says "that's great" or something. So, was the narrator wrong the whole time? Or what? That whole thing felt super muddled. I love the Gershwin tunes, but for a modern audience use to Wicked and American Idol, the songs felt a little...flat for me? And I hate to say that. But I think that was due to the actors vocal abilities and not the songs themselves.

FiddleMeThis said: "The design and fluid staging saves this show from completely falling apart. It makes Crazy for You look like a piece of absolute brilliance. The replacements are worse singers than the originals, which makes this musical a really hard slog. They should have pulled a La Boheme and really done it as a full ballet- on Broadway. THAT would have been risky and could have been a real thrill.

I still believe this won't make it through the fall. Hope all these folks got an audition for Little Dancer.



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I admit I went into AiP with extremely low expectations (it was the show my mom and her husband, who were helping to cover our trip to NYC, wanted to see) and was pleasantly surprised, even though I had been curious to see what Wheeldon would do for a musical (see above :P I still am not convinced at the least that Sherr was responsible for those fluid scene transitions, etc). But it does sound like the inferior singing of the current cast really is a detriment.

RippeMan, I was typing from my phone while in transit, so wasn't clear. What I meant is that part of your issue with Stairway to Paradise--that, if it is a fantasy, Henri never seems like a competent singer/dancer, does seem to be the fault of the understudy and whoever directed/cast him. Max definitely can sing--and dance, and pulled off that, and many other ridiculous moments for the character (when I went the main confusion was whether he was gay or not--apparently in Paris it was much more clear that he was gay.)

I got a really great seat from tdf - row n? Right side. It's where there is an aisle so there was an unobstructed view. I left at intermission though because I couldn't stand to see more Gershwin songs murdered. Max seemed to be the only competent one in the cast and he had far too little to do.

They are fine. You are right Jill and Veanne also rise above the muck. I shouldn't have said Max was the only competent one.

Updated On: 7/24/16 at 04:37 PM

FiddleMeThis said: "I don't credit Sher for the transitions- I think he was called in to help shape the piece as a whole and smooth it out dramatically.

I just think to make a "musical" out of this piece, stronger singing is required, especially with a tunestack this weak. There are many true triple threats out there- don't know why the leads of this show don't happen to fall into that category! Wheeldon understandably prioritized the dancing skills- but it comes as a cost to the overall effectiveness of the piece.



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That would definitely make sense re Sher's contributions. I obviously liked it more than you and some of the other recent posters (that said I don't agree with Ripped's comment as to its obvious why it's closing--for this kind of show it seems to me to have had a pretty successful run *shrug*) but I can't say I disagree with your statement--except that I wouldn't call the tunestack weak.

Fair enough--and it's fair to complain about how they're sung or staged but still to call a score with the likes of I've Got Rhythm and The Man I Love as weak seems hyperbole to me... I do think that the orchestral music comes off better.

So sorry, not trying to dis the person I saw. I think my point got confusing. The narrator of the show tells us multiple times that he's not a good singer/cabaret act. So, to me, as an audience member, I was confused. His first song is sung and the narrator character helps him with his pitch, etc. So, we're suppose to believe he's not a good singer, right? And then he has this big number in Act 2, which, I can understand is in his head. But his father, who we are lead to believe won't approve, says he was shocked and that his son is great. So...which is it? I just don't think either point was clear. I also just didn't think the storytelling was clear. These 3 friends no nothing about each other? Seems bizarre to me.

And again, the actual catalogue of songs isn't horrible, I just don't think the SONGS shine at all with these singers/actors.

This show just doesn't get amazing word of mouth, especially with the weak tea principal replacements they are using. Smart producing would have brought in a real star to replace Fairchild- either from the Broadway or ballet world. Someone with something to really offer the role, a masculine, muscular dancer AND singer. The buzz dissipated quickly, but sadly for good reason. Excellent choreo and transitions do not make a lasting hit.

This show makes a piece like Crazy For You look like a real genius piece of work. That show is done regionally all the time, and could conceivably return to Broadway. This show- not so much. We won't see it too often, I have a feeling. There isn't much there there.

Gotcha. It was on ongoing joke, and I felt the way Henri reacted didn't show me it was a joke, ya know? But makes sense.

Dang, October 9 now? So early.

It's just sooner than we expect. No offense, but why are you so rude to other people's posts?

The show must cost a fortune to run. I hope they're able to recoup somewhere along the way.