An American in Paris – limited engagement

Three weeks – that is all the time you have to catch this fantastic show at the Oriental Theater. This multiple award-winning production (earning four Tony Awards, among many others) is a feast for the eyes and will make your heart beat faster.

Inspired by (but a different plot than) the Academy Award winning 1951 movie, An American in Paris the musical reimagines the tale of a U.S. Soldier who decides to remain in Paris after WW II. He meets an enigmatic woman and chases her while pursuing his own happiness in a post-traumatic atmosphere. If that’s not enticing enough, mix in unrequited love and family secrets to spice things up.

The show is part musical and part ballet. It features the infamous music of George and Ira Gershwin (from the original score), the brotherly composers who earned reputations for composition respectively, before teaming up to write dozens of scores for movies and theater productions in the 1920s and 30s.  The music is deliciously familiar with the new plot woven wonderfully in, around and through so you don’t have to wait long for your favorite song to take place.

The masterful choreography of Christopher Wheeldon combined with the breathtaking costume and set design by Bob Crowley will leave you standing at the end desperately wanting more. You may not be a ballet aficionado, or even remotely interested in the classical style but this production weaves traditional ballet with modern dance and even a bit of swing that will cause you to have “fidgety feet”, a song reference in the show. One scene in particular is part Las Vegas showstopper, part Radio City Music Hall extravaganza, part fantasy and the result is breathtaking.

The set design includes nods to artistic greats such as Picasso, Monet, Renoir, and Matisse, cleverly woven in with the malleable and undulating set pieces representing different scenes from dance studio to riverside by the Seine, café, or various characters’ home lives.

The multi-talented cast does a magnificent job and is accomplished in their own right as not only ballet dancers, but singers and actors as well. Each character will draw you in as they dance and sing their way into your heart.  You’ll want to see it a second time, but hurry, as three weeks will go by very quickly.

For ticket information, click here. The Oriental Theater is located at 24 West Randolph Street.