A dozen or so Gershwin classics, dance sequences galore, and a pair of sensational star turns steal the show in Musical Theatre West’s latest crowd-pleaser, An American in Paris.

Book writer Craig Lucas’s ingeniously tweaked adaptation of the 1951 MGM movie musical classic transports us to the titular City of Lights at the end of its darkest hour while adding darker shades to the film’s original screenplay.

The year is 1945, and Paris is still shrouded in black when just-discharged aspiring painter Jerry Mulligan (Luke Hawkins) decides to stick around for inspiration in an entirely danced opening sequence set to George Gershwin’s “Concerto In F” and featuring baguette lines, vengeance on a Nazi collaborator, and Jerry’s first glimpse of shop girl/ballerina Lise (Sareen Tchekmedyian) as swastikas get torn down, the French flag flies again, and Paris is awash in glorieux Technicouleur once more.

A chance encounter with Jewish-American songwriter Adam Hochberg (Louis Pardo) not only provides Jerry with his first American-in-Paris friend, the ballet rehearsal pianist’s suggestion that our hero come sketch the dancers has him meeting—and falling for—the very same brunette pixie who’d previously caught his eye.

Also in attendance is American heiress Milo Davenport (Rebecca Ann Johnson), so taken by Jerry that she commisions the fledgling artist to design a new ballet to be composed by Adam, danced by Lise, and financed by her own deep pockets.

Unfortunately for Milo, Jerry’s affections lie with an elfin French mademoiselle and sadly for Jerry, the object of his infatuation (and of Adam’s as well) happens to be dating a textile fortune heir named Henri (Michael Bullard) who’d rather be a Broadway song-and-dance man than join the family business.

Engaging as this storyline may be, it’s the musical’s multitude of dances that are An American in Paris’s principal calling card, ranging from ballet to jazz to tap, some them set to Gershwin in classical mode (most famously the titular seventeen-minute ballet) while others add fancy footwork to George-and-Ira pop gems.

Director-choreographer Jeffry Denman’s dance moves may not be quite as demanding as Best Choreography Tony winner Christopher Wheeldon’s were (the cast was, after all, given only about two weeks to learn and master them, a tiny fraction of a Broadway rehearsal period), but they look plenty fancy to this reviewer’s eye as performed by the production’s Grade-A song-and-dance ensemble.

Still, there’d be no An American In Paris without its Gershwin score, cleverly inserted jukebox style as when Jerry declares “I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck” at meeting Lise, who dreams of meeting “The Man I Love,” or when a bored Jerry’s “Fidgety Feet” at a pretentious dance recital soon gets the entire room a-dancing.

And speaking of Jerry and Lise, Musical Theatre West lucked out big time in discovering its two triple-threat-astic leads, Hawkins giving Jerry a winning combination of all-American boy-next-door charm, tap dance prowess, and Broadway pipes, and Huntington Beach’s very own Tchekmedyian makes for the most enchanting of leading ladies, exhibiting balletic grace galore to match her crystal clear soprano.

Louis Pardo’s dynamic, passionate Adam, Bullard’s très charmant Henri, and Johnson’s divalicious Milo lend terrific support as do L.A. theater mainstays Martin Kildare and Leslie Stevens as Henri’s tradition-bound parents Monsieur and Madame Baurel.

Ensemble members Samantha Bell, Bianca Brandon, Quintan Craig, Giovanni Da Silva (Mr. Z, Returning Soldier), Matti Endsley, Brandon Halvorsen, Antoine Lee, Ryan Perry Marks, Katie Marshall (Returning Soldier’s Wife), Emma Park, assistant choreographer-dance captain Liza Piccoli, Spencer Ramirez, Liliana Rodriguez (Olga), Lizzy Sheck, and Nicholas Sipes deliver the dance goods to impressive effect throughout the show, with special mention due the musical’s two full-ensemble showcases, the Act One closer “Rhapsody Ballet” and Act Two’s seventeen-minute “Paris Ballet,” the latter featuring ballet standout Sipes as Premier Danceur.

While David Arsenault’s set and Michael Salvatore Commendatore’s projections can’t match the shear gorgeousness of An American in Paris’s original Broadway designs, they do make clever use of a turntable stage, something rarely seen in an MTW productions, and though Jean-Yves Tessier’s otherwise excellent lighting design does tend to wash out Commendatore’s impressionist projections, Bradley Allen Lock’s costumes are colorful recreations of post-WWII Paris fashions and more traditional French looks.

Music director David Lamoureux conducts a splendid pit orchestra, with Julie Ferrin providing her accustomed accomplished sound design mix.

An American in Paris features Therese Levasseur’s mid-1940s wig designs. Julie Lamoureux is associate music director. Bren Thor is associate producer. Steve Calzaretta is production manager. Donavan Dolan is stage manager and Lydia Runge is assistant stage manager.

Even despite an occasional Opening Night set or lighting glitch, first night audiences were treated to a ballet-and-tap-meet-Gershwin extravaganza on the Carpenter Performing Arts Center stage, and unless you’ve got thousands of bucks to spare for a trip to the City of Light over the next two weeks, An American in Paris at Musical Theatre West is the next best thing to being there.

Musical Theatre West, Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach.
www.musical.org

–Steven Stanley
April 15, 2023
Photos: Caught In The Moment Photograpy

Tags: Craig Lucas, George & Ira Gershwin, Los Angeles Theater Review, Musical Theatre West