The memories of ‘An American in Paris‘ certainly won’t ever be taken away from me – what a beautiful, toe-tapping show!
Saturday, a friend and I ventured to the Dominion Theatre in London to see the much talked about show, ‘An American in Paris’. I will be honest that I did not know a lot about this show other than I heard good things and I knew it had been a film with Gene Kelly I had always meant to see but had never quite got around to (it has certainly shot to the top of the to-be-watched list now!). I, also, knew that it was the music of Gershwin so surely it was not going to disappoint – and it didn’t.
From the moment the first note was struck, you were enchanted with the set and the cast. The most beautiful choreography is used throughout the show to send you dreamily to post-war Paris and join the adventures of the three men trying to find their place in the world after the events of the years before. And the set, wow: such simply seamless transition from scene to scene with the most wonderful muted colours of the always romantic Paris. You cannot take your eyes from the stage even for a moment! Lise’s ballet scene in Act 2 is one of the most beautiful pieces of dance I have ever seen; I was truly mesmerised by the talent of every member of the cast on the stage.
Through all of this, you find yourself rooting for every character, whatever their story. However, you know in your heart of hearts that only one of the ever so charming men, Jerry, Henri or Adam can get the girl (and, let’s be honest, you will all agree that it is the right one in the end, as it is Lise’s heart desire). It certainly is a happy ending!
I think one of the things that also made the show so enjoyable for me was the number of people there who were clearly huge fans of the film and were reliving all their happy memories of it. I am sure that any fan of the film will not be disappointed by this production in any way at all.
This really is a wonderful traditional musical that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat. It only leaves the big question – what to see next and can anything beat this?