'An American in Paris' Offers a Modern Take on a Classic Romantic Tale

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The pedigree of An American in Paris: A New Musical, which is coming to Milwaukee for a one-week engagement starting June 26, is both fascinating and unique to the annals of the stage musical. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon, the history of the piece goes back to American composer George Gershwin’s attraction to the music of French composer Maurice Ravel and a serendipitous trip to Paris Gershwin made in 1926.

Though Gershwin’s desire to become Ravel’s student didn’t come to fruition, the great French composer introduced him to composer, conductor and teacher Nadia Boulanger, which did bear fruit. Two years later, when Gershwin returned to Paris intent on formal studies with Boulanger, she quickly discovered him to be well beyond her teaching prowess.

But it was that momentous first trip to Paris that inspired Gershwin to compose what he described as “a rhapsodic ballet,” An American in Paris, dedicating it to his French hosts. “My purpose is to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city,” Gershwin wrote, “and listens to the various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere.”

While the public loved the new piece, critics scoffed at the idea of its appearance on concert programs that might include music of “serious” composers like Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven or Johannes Brahms. “It’s not a Beethoven symphony, you know,” Gershwin responded to critical comments such as these. “It’s a humorous piece; nothing solemn about it. It’s not intended to draw tears. If it pleases symphony audiences as a light, jolly piece, a series of impressions musically expressed, it succeeds.”

‘It Succeeds’

The work’s popularity proved the critics wrong. Enough so that, in the ensuing decades, An American in Paris grew ever more popular in both live concert performances and on records. In 1951, director Vincent Minnelli and producer Arthur Freed created one of the greatest movie musicals ever in the MGM film of An American in Paris, complete with a magnificent, 17-minute dance sequence set entirely to Gershwin’s original “rhapsodic ballet” score. The story was fleshed out by script writer Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin provided the lyrics to the many hit songs, and the film memorably starred Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron and Oscar Levant. It was a box office smash, garnering eight Academy Award nominations (winning six, including Best Picture, Writing and Music), as well as other movie industry honors. It was the first time a full-scale musical film had ever emerged from an orchestral piece.

In 2014, Paris’ Théâtre de Châtelet saw the world premiere of a stage musical version of An American in Paris as adapted by Wheeldon. Like its original orchestral tone poem and feature film versions, An American in Paris: A New Musical, with book by Craig Lucas, has found success—as well as a seemingly permanent home on the world’s theater stages. Among its many accolades are four Drama Desk and four Tony awards (the latter for Best Choreography, Lighting and Scenic Design and Orchestration). The Broadway production closed in October 2016 after more than 600 performances, with a U.S. national tour soon following (a London West End production took place last year). The upcoming Milwaukee engagement marks the final city for the American tour.

An American in Paris is a romantic story about an American soldier, an enigmatic French girl and, of course, the “City of Light,” Paris—all striving for a fresh beginning in the aftermath of a shattering world war. Like the film, the show pays homage to the timeless music and songs of George and Ira Gershwin, in fact, drawing upon several more of their works beyond the orchestral original. In adapting the iconic film for the stage, Wheeldon and Lucas have not merely changed genres from film to stage but have, in fact, created a new piece of musical theater not beholden to the ’51 film.

‘A Different Kind of Journey’

“We set about making our version of the story, but we didn’t want to completely turn our backs on the movie,” Wheeldon says. “We were eager to make a show that would appeal to people who love the movie, but at the same time take those who hadn’t seen it on a different kind of journey.” The bare bones of the story are the same as the movie, but the characters have been rethought and fleshed out, and the narrative reconsidered and deepened for a contemporary audience.

“The show is about the characters’ struggles to find life, love and happiness again after this dark period,” Wheeldon explains. “The movie was made [when] the war was still very fresh, so Paris was treated in a kind of hyper-unrealistic way. With the distance of time, there was so much more we could do… [We could] talk about what the city was like after the Nazis left and how romance, art and music were balm to the wounds. Paris behaves as a character in the show, and we see the city open up and breathe again—and take on all the beautiful qualities that we associate with it.”

For those wondering if the great American in Paris ballet sequence survived in the reimagined show, Wheeldon offers reassurance; it is the production’s culminating point. “It contains the first truly romantic moment for [the characters of] Jerry and Lise,” he says. “Earlier in the show, they have a flirtatious dance by the Seine, which marks the beginning of their romance. The pas de deux is the emotional, romantic climax of the whole show.”

An American in Paris: A New Musical plays June 26-July 1 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts’ Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org/show/an-american-in-paris.