An American in Paris

When my parents first got a video player in amongst the Carry On movies was a healthy collection of musicals. From big names like South Pacific, The King and I and West Side story to less familiar ones like Gigi and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers I loved them all. So when La La Land came out I was excited, finally another great musical to add to my back catalogue, but I was disappointed, checking my watch throughout. It had potential, but the singing felt weak, it relied on one song throughout and the dancing was not up to scratch, it left me wanting to go home and raid my collection of Golden Era musicals.

But yesterday was a different story, I finally got to see An American in Paris, created for the stage from the original Gershwin film (not one I have seen) and I was beyond excited. From the minute I heard the production was being put together I couldn't wait to see it, it was a long wait from the opening in Paris, through the Broadway run and US tour before it finally hit the London West end stage, but it was worth it. 

From the first sight of the poster I had a feeling this was going to be a musical I would love, well before any of the awards were won, I had my eye on a ticket. So last night we took our seats in the stalls with an empty stage and a single piano set ready for magic. It was a classic musical story, with love at its, core but of course it wasn't simple, there were turns and troubles on the way and the ending? Well check out the poster and you'll figure it out.

Part of my excitement was the involvement of Christopher Wheeldon, I love his ballets and I was excited to see what he had done with an American in Paris. The choreography had his distinctive touch, but with the classic musical elements firmly in place, all beautifully danced by Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild and the cast around them. The dancing felt natural within the story, one of the advantages of a musical set around a ballet company and a cafe with a piano. 

Despite never having seen the film, we found many old favourites in the score, I Got Rhythm, S'Wonderful, I'll Build a stairway to Paradise and You Can't Take That Away From Me. The score carried you through the evening, set change were seamlessly carried out by the cast, often a dance in themselves. The design was fresh, clean and bright from the costumes to the set, the team managed to keep it modern without losing the post-war chic. I would have happily paid to watch the second ballet as part of any triple bill and the girls costumes were among some of my favourite ballet costumes. 

An American in Paris is truly a trip back to the Golden Era, I danced my way home on a musical high (ignoring the sideways glances of my fellow commuters), still singing the songs and my review summary is shamelessly stolen from the words of Ira Gershwin, the evening was 'S'wonderful! S'marvellous!'