Posted: 5/26/15 at 1:32am
I have just finished watching the 1952 film An American in Paris for the first time. I wanted to ask, to everyone who has watched both the film and Broadway adaptation, what changes were made to the story for the adaptation?
I don't think I'll ever be able to see the Broadway show and I am interested to know what are the differences between both versions.
Thank you very much!
Posted: 5/26/15 at 1:55am
It would be easier just to list the few things that are the same.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 6:58am
The show and film have five main characters in common.
Jerry, an American artist and World War II vet (in both the show and the film); Lise, a French shopgirl in the film, a French shopgirl who is an incredibly talented French Jewish ballerina (and shopgirl) in the show, Adam, an American concert pianist in the film, an American composer in the show, Henri, a successful French nightclub singer in the film, a wealthy Parisian socialite who longs to be a nightclub singer in the show, and Milo, an American heiress (in both the show and the film).
The film is a romantic quadrangle. Milo loves Jerry who loves Lise who loves Jerry but is engaged to Henri.
The show is a romantic pentangle. Milo loves Jerry who loves Lise who is also loved by both Adam and Henri, except Henri may or may not be gay (or maybe bi, but it doesn't really matter because the show inexplicably infuses this complication but never really explores it.... why? your guess is as good as mine).
As in the film, Lise and Henri are engaged (or, after much hemming and hawing, get engaged).
The show gives Henri two kind of amusing but not all that amusing parents.
And adds that Henri and his family were in the underground and hid Lise during the Nazi occupation.
Jerry is the narrator of the movie.
Adam functions as mere comic relief in the movie. He's played not particularly comically by Oscar Levant.
Adam is the narrator and heart of the show. He is the most interesting character and is endearingly played by Brandon (corrected, thank you Jeffrey) Uranowitz.
The movie isn't at all funny.
The show's idea of funny is having Adam say lines like "I'm Oscar Levant."
The movie's plot has nothing to do with ballet (but stars two brilliant dancers, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron) The show's plot has a great deal to do with ballet (and stars two brilliant dancers, Robert Fairchild and Leeane Cope).
The movie's hollow screenplay is redeemed by a spectacular ballet which resonates with the story and with being an American in Paris.
The show's hollow libretto is capped but alas not redeemed by a ballet which doesn't at all resonate with the story or with being an American in Paris.
Jerry gets Lise in both the movie and the show.
In both the show and movie, Milo, Henri and Adam are less lucky. In the movie, this isn't so much of a problem.
In the show it's rather more unsatisfying because we'd actually like to see Milo, Henri and Adam get what they want romantically, or at least something good romantically (mostly because the characters are far more developed and more likable than in the movie (as, to adam.peterson's point, below, is Jerry) and are very well played by Jill Paice, Max von Essen and Mr. Uranowitz).
But tough noogies, we don't.
Both the movie and show are mediocre.
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 06:58 AM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 8:01am
Much of the score from the movie is gone and is replaced by lesser quality songs from the teams trunk
The movie had Kelly & Caron. The movie had more of a heart whereas the show just seems cold & sterile. The leads are ok but they are no match for Kelly & Caron
To the poster above who called it mediocre, as Idina Menzel would say, "WTF". It is a classic & it won a Best Picture Oscar which is something most movie musicals do not do. I could watch the movie over & over whereas once was enough for the show. If choreography is your thing, this is the show for you. As a complete show, it left us flat and wondering why it has gotten all the unanimous praise
To each his own.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 8:18am
I agree with nearly everything above. How the show is being hailed as the frontrunner for the Tony is beyond me. It's sweet, but ultimately the dance is the star, which means the book is thin and lacks real connection and has too many loose ends.
The afternoon I saw it, it did not receive a full standing O, but rather 2/3 to 3/4 of the audience stood.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 8:43am
The film is a celebratory musical fantasia on the triumph of art, love, and integrity over postwar cynicism and commercialism.
The stage musical is a cynical and commercial melodrama about the triumph of a Holocaust survivor and a closeted homosexual, with some indiscriminate (Milo? Really?) dancing and singing clumsily shoe-horned in.
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 08:43 AM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 8:47am
Your take on the musical is spot on
This type of story & gutting of a classic movie is apparently what sells on Broadway these days.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 10:06am
"To the poster above who called it mediocre, as Idina Menzel would say, "WTF". It is a classic & it won a Best Picture Oscar which is something most movie musicals do not do."
Roxy, I don't happen to agree with the Academy's choice of best picture in every year.
Nor do I happen to love every single classic movie.
It's called independent thinking.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 10:14am
Yeah im not a fan of the film either, its one of the only classic musicals I cant get on with at all.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 10:37am
And, just for context, a few other classics from that year (some of which were truly oscar worthy):
A Place in the Sun
A Streetcar Named Desire
The African Queen
La Ronde
A Christmas Carol
Strangers on a Train
Miracle in Milan
Rashomon
Detective Story
Decision Before Dawn
The Blue Veil
Miss Julie
The River
The Tales of Hoffmann
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Tale of Genji
Kind Lady
The Man in the White Suit
Quo Vadis
And two other MGM musicals, Royal Wedding and Show Boat
(And, Roxy, as for the movie's score being replaced with second-rate songs from the Gershwins' trunk, I'd take The Man I Love and But Not For Me (hardly trunk songs) over Tra-la-la and By Strauss! any day.... wouldn't you?)
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 10:37 AM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 11:50am
The stage version made the main character much more sympathetic than the jackass version of Jerry in the film, and that made the stage version much more enjoyable to me. In contrast with an earlier poster, I could only watch the film once but have already purchased a ticket to return to the stage musical, which i found much warmer than the film.
SPOILERS BELOW
In the film version, Jerry enters into a relationship with Milo in order to get the financial benefits of having a sugar mamma/sponsor of his artistic endeavors. He then cheats on her and then ditches her for Lise, having used Milo for money without ever caring about her. In the stage version, none of that transpires. He turns down Milo's advances because he is not attracted to her, and pursues only Lise. The one time he kisses Milo in the stage version is right after he finds out that Lise is with Henri, and it is clearly indicated that he is rebounding due to being hurt emotionally, not just trying to use Milo for money. But then soon afterward, he clarifies that he does not want to start things with her, and continues pursuing Lise.
Changing the protagonist from a jackass to a basically good guy changes the whole tone of the show for me and makes the stage musical a far superior work, in my opinion.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 12:29pm
It's a fairly common opinion among most movie buffs that Best Picture that year should have gone to Streetcar.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 12:37pm
^or A Place in the Sun (which won the Oscar for direction, the Golden Globe for best drama (AAiP won best musical/comedy), the National Board of Review best film award, and the DGA and WGA awards)
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 12:37 PM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 12:37pm
Making Jerry a mensch from the start robs him entirely of his character arc. The whole point in the film (ultimately expressed by the film's final ballet) is that jackass Jerry finally sees his flaws and errors and breaks free of his American cynicism.
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 12:37 PM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 12:46pm
Jerry is much more pleasant in the show but, along the lines of ghostlight4's comment, I'm not sure that's exactly an improvement.
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 12:46 PM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 4:27pm
There were some great movies that year, good points German. It has been years since I saw the movie and didn't get to see the show, but I remember liking a bunch of those movies Henrike showed better.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 4:29pm
Never liked the On The Town movie either, but Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, almost all thr RH's were favorites. It's strange because I will listen to Gershwin before Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 5:20pm
"Both the movie and show are mediocre."
Oh, for crap's sake.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 9:27pm
I really went in wanting to love AAIP.
I came out liking it. It was visually stunning in many ways. And the dance was just awesome. It was entertaining, and I'm glad I saw it.
But as I left the theater there was still something that left me feeling a bit empty…..something I couldn't really put my finger on at the moment.
The more I thought on it though, the more I came to realize that the disconnect was the story….it just didn't get the job done for me. As some have noted on here.
The ambiguity of Henri. Telling his mother that he does like women, but then passes innuendo to the other characters, playing coy. I didn't get the need for that.
Also the added love interest that Adam had for Lise. I didn't quite see that as necessary either. Just leave the love triangle in place between Jerry, Henri and Lise.
I also would have liked to see some slightly different music choices too. I wasn't enthralled by what they chose. Fidgety Feet was a cute number, but it was just kind of there.
So maybe in the end I did expect it to be a little more like the movie.
Certainly, nothing wrong with adding some edginess to it, but some of the tweaks they made I found a little odd. To be honest, I ended up not really caring about who ended up with who.
Again, I didn't see any depth of feeling for Lise on the part of Henri. I didn't see much development in Adam's feelings for her. It was there, but not much was done with it. And Jerry was just kind of, well, there, as well. She ends up choosing him and they live happily ever after.
Just not a lot to sink your teeth into, story wise.
I know it's not really a deep story anyway, but I was expecting a little more continuity or connection.
Updated On: 5/26/15 at 09:27 PM
Posted: 5/26/15 at 9:45pm
The film AAIP is one of my all-time favorites, although I find myself overlooking all sorts of awkward turns in the screenplay in order to enjoy the superb musical numbers one after another. Its best scenes (the floating-camera opening introducing the characters, I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise, the AAIP ballet) are among the greatest ever created on film, and the pinnacle of the MGM Freed Unit.
The stage show AAIP is my absolute favorite of this season, although I find myself overlooking the awkward turns in the libretto in order to enjoy the superb musical numbers one after another. It has a woefully disappointing second act, which includes their very puzzling new version of the AAIP ballet. But I didn't care-- that first act with its gorgeously sad opening, thrilling I Got Rhythm, and stunning sequence in the Galleries Lafayette made me so happy I was floating on air for most of the night. Best of all, it told a passionate new story the film never tried to show: the bittersweet tale of wartime depravation blossoming into the rebirth of the city, it's fashions and its sense of romance. That story made me cry repeatedly as the show washed over me. I've now bought tickets for my folks, my sister, my husband and friend to all join me when we see the show again on June 26.
Posted: 5/26/15 at 10:00pm
I love the movie. One of my favorite MGM musicals ever. Actually one of my favorite movies period.
There is an underlying melancholy to the story and all the characters in it, despite moments of pure joy, imagination, humor, and humanity. There is a bittersweet quality that, for me, deepens the entire film. It resonates long after I see it.
And the last 20 minutes are among the finest in any movie. The best visual and audio storytelling. And no dialogue.
Posted: 5/31/15 at 12:37pm
I saw AAIP last night (The Clintons were there! I talked to Hillary!) and was very confused about the ballet (my boyfriend whispered to me at one point "what is going on??" and I couldn't tell him). It literally had nothing to do with the story in any way. The movie (which I didn't love but I've seen) made much more sense, story-wise. I enjoyed the show but thought it basically had nothing to do with the film except similarly named characters in a similar situation.
Posted: 5/31/15 at 6:58pm
"The one time he kisses Milo in the stage version is right after he finds out that Lise is with Henri, and it is clearly indicated that he is rebounding due to being hurt emotionally, not just trying to use Milo for money. But then soon afterward, he clarifies that he does not want to start things with her, and continues pursuing Lise."
Don't look now, but that's EXACTLY what happens in the movie. Jerry makes it clear throughout the movie -- except during the scenes described above -- that he does not want a romantic relationship with Milo. He accepts her sponsorship because (a) she pretends not to want a romantic relationship with him either, (b) he needs the financial help and she keeps telling him that she believes in his talent and really wants to help him succeed, and (c) he promises to pay her back when he can afford to. Maybe he's being naive or delusional or both, but at least he makes every effort to treat the whole thing simply as a business partnership, as Milo herself insists to him that it is.
Posted: 5/31/15 at 7:11pm
On last Fridays Theater Talk, the 4 critics were not that thrilled with the shows book. The Post critic absolutely eviscerated it.
