But make your passport-free plans now: it’s all happening on Sunday.
AN EVENING IN THE WEST END ON THE EAST SIDE (OF CHICAGO): I had the most magical time at the theater in London last night… in a movie theater in Chicago.
I hopped on over to my local AMC by the river (Chicago, not Thames), where I caught an early screening of Trafalgar Releasing’s live-to-tape performance of the West End transfer of the 2015 Tony-winning Broadway production of An American in Paris: The Musical, and IT WAS SO GOOD. Like, swaying-in-your-seat, humming-along, heart-swelling, floating-out-of-the-theater-on-air kind of good.
I’ve seen a few stage shows filmed for the big screen in my time, but none have swept me away and made me feel like I was actually there like this gorgeous production. And this weekend, you, too, can be transported to post-war Paris for nearly three hours of this can’t-miss live theater-in-a-movie theater experience, and you won’t regret one divine musical minute.
I SAY “OUI” TO LITERALLY ALL OF IT: Expertly directed and choreographed by former New York City Ballet principal Christopher Wheeldon, each dance step (including a wow-worthy 20-minute ballet sequence), set change and classic Gershwin song in the show is stunning in its artistry and vision.
Wheeldon’s inventive staging of beloved canon classics such as “I Got Rhythm,” “The Man I Love” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” brings them to vivid new life in unexpected ways that are beautifully realized by stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope—the same spectacular triple-threat duo who led the Broadway production to rapturous reviews—in pitch-perfect performances that anchor a spot-on supporting cast. These two will invoke only the most flattering comparisons to their counterparts in the original 1951 film, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, as you feel like you’re witnessing the next two big song-and-dance stars being born.
And all that’s not to say anything about the lush orchestrations of those Gershwin gems and the immaculate design elements—from sets to costumes—that compliment and enhance every moment of this feast for the ears, eyes and heart of any musical-loving romantic.
TIME TO GET YOUR TICKET TO PARIS: Like all fabulous things, though, your chance to catch An American in Paris: The Musical is fleeting, with most one-time only screenings at movie theaters across the country happening this Sunday, September 23rd.
So, to get your tickets and get into the Parisian groove before it’s too late, hit the link below and have yourself a truly S’Wonderful Sunday Funday at the London theater (jet lag not included).