An American In Paris question

Since Robert Fairchild is leaving the show in a couple weeks, is it worth catching his final performances? Or the quality of the show shouldn't be affected too much whether it's him or Garen Scribner playing the leading role? I haven't seen the show and am planning a trip to see it, but am not sure if I should take the actor contracts much into consideration. Also, I heard rush seats are balcony, which is not ideal but decent, is that correct? Thank you for any input!

I could not disagree more with the above poster. I found him to be exquisite in the role in every way and definitely worth seeing.

Think it is widely overrated. It is OK but cannot hold a candle to the movie.

I get that believability thing with his male costars. I saw it very early in previews last year, and I can see how their relationship would develop over the past year. It was already becoming pretty well-established when I saw it.

Personally I thought his dancing was stellar. His acting, okay. Singing voice….good enough. Not the best acting or voice I've heard, but definitely good enough not to detract from the show. He held his own in a beautiful show and did his part. And his dancing was very good.

I think that if I hadn't seen it, I'd want to see him…. just to see the original player. Especially considering the Tony nod. I'm sure his acting and singing is probably even sharper now than it was when I saw him. I'm sure as he's grown into the role.

When I saw him, amazing dancing! The other elements of his performance. Good. But not something I walked out thinking, 'Great acting….great singing!'

He was good though, and I enjoyed his performance.

Fingers crossed for you! Honestly, as a big fan of the show, I don't think the appeal was ever supposed to be in the vocals. Neither of the two leads had sung prior to this. Most of the big numbers turn into ensemble numbers. The entire cast sings nicely, but nobody's voice is going to blow you away. The choreography is what wows me every time. Christopher Wheeldon did a beautiful job with it. It's just movement from beginning to end. I also love the projections that bring the sets to life. My favorite number of the show, though, still remains Max Von Essen's 11 o'clock number, Stairway to Paradise. It's just such a throwback to old theatre glamor, and you can tell the cast has so much fun with it.

I thought Robert Fairchild was great, I was actually impressed with his acting (maybe because I knew his roots were in dance?). I knew little about the show or his background, just happened to win lottery tickets on my first try. I think it's worth seeing before he's gone.

Garen Scribner can dance it, but he doesn't have the strength or masculinity of Fairchild, so the show has a big hole in the center. Not to mention that his singing and acting aren't what Fairchild's were. I think this show is extremely hard to cast and they are going to have a very hard time finding people who are truly up to the task. Scribner has been doing the role for quite a while now. Lightweight.

I had resisted seeing the show for a while. My trips to NYC for work occur about 3 times a year, and being so familiar with the film, I kept opting for something 'new'. But in response to the original poster, I finally saw this last week, and was very impressed. I would enthusiastically recommend catching it while Fairchild is still with the show. He is charming, has a pleasant voice (as another poster mentioned, Gene Kelly wasn't much of a singer), and is an incredible dancer. I could quibble with some of it (the Veanne Cox character's arc feels kind of odd and false; "Fidgety Feet" seems shoe-horned in) but these are minor. I loved what they did with the "Stairway to Paradise" number, and that concluding ballet was fantastic. Anyone know if Fairchild plans to do any of the tour dates?

Saw a matinee that starred the alternate Dimitri Kleioris as 'Jerry Mulligan'. While Dimitri is a beautiful dancer, I am not sure if it was his take or if the character of Jerry is just a boring shmoe.

Leanne Cope is phenomenal and dances with such grace. While I believed her inner turmoil with 'Henri', I felt here was no authenticity to the relationship between her and Jerry.

In the second act, I warmed up to to Henri, but the character of 'Adam Hochberg', played by Brandon Uranowitz, was the standout for me. Adam seemed to have the most depth of the trio -- the other two are fairly bland, superficial characters. Too much use of exposition as well.

And let's be honest, the beautiful dancer can't sing. Perhaps the casual theatergoer didn't notice, but I seriously questioned how he landed the alternate lead role. There was a funny exchange between security guards where one said Dimitri was the better dancer compared to Garen but his singing... and then shook his head.

It's a show I could have dismissed but I'm happy to have been able to witness Leanne's work. Story-wise, I was not invested in any of the characters, the proceedings, or the outcome. With that said, I should have heeded this thread's warning and tried to catch it while Robert Fairchild was still in it. It sounds like he's been the best casting of Jerry so far.

If anyone sees both Dimitri and Garen, it'd be interesting to hear a comparison. I'm guess if Garen is struggling to make an authentic connection with the other leads, it's not surprising Dimitri might be struggling even more.

I saw Garen last week. I thought he was really good, the acting was kinda boring but his dancing was phenomenal and his singing was pretty good!

Why compare the two though? What good does that do anybody?

Sunny11 said: "Why compare the two though? What good does that do anybody? "

So you can make a conscious decision on who to see and therefore, which showing to go to. Or whether a return visit with another star would be worth it.

Some of the shows that I've seen, not all, that I've been disappointed with, actually starred alternates or understudies. And it has made me wonder if it was the understudy or if it was the show.

Sometimes it really makes a difference, other times not so much. The more information the better. So it's not pointless as you might think it is.

The chemistry between the two leads, and even amongst the three male leads, is kind of the heart of the show. And it's distinctly lacking with the replacement casting.