An American in D.C. Reviews "An American In Paris"

“Oh, you Yankee-cats!”

There is absolutely nothing I love more than Broadway. The regal theaters, perfectly choreographed songs and dances that seem so natural it should be an everyday occurrence in everyday life, and the beautiful story telling. Yes, there's nothing I love more than Broadway, except an old-time Broadway Classic. I was lucky enough to have Christmas come early this year and experience this type of performance on December 23 from An American In Paris at the Kennedy Center.

The show, which centers on a group of 3 men navigating love and artistic pursuits in Post World War 2 Paris, is a perfect celebration of art in all major disciples of visual art, dance, and music. The visual design of the show was overwhelmingly beautiful, but was cleverly utilized to assist in the moment of the musical. The visual themes change as the show progresses matching the shifting plot and reflecting actual changes in the art scene after the war, beginning as the stereotypical French impressionism watercolors and shifting to abstract art. There are other elements scattered throughout as well, in Henri’s dream sequence where he goes to New York City art deco makes a guest appearance true to the spirit of NYC. The scene changes intermingled the movement of dance as actors would come out with chairs, pirouette a few times around the stage, and then take their spot in the scene with their prop. The dancing itself was visually the main entertainment of the show, primarily ballet, but of course like any good old-time Broadway show, there’s a tap dance break. As for the music, I’ve personally been a musician for 12 years and performed in musical pits, but performing Gershwin tunes every night is a feat like no other. Gershwin is famous for the jazz and French influence in his music, and the compositions that are some of the hardest technically to perform due to the syncopation and range required. This degree of difficultly results in turbid, life-like music, and I’m biased because I love Gershwin’s work, but it’s the reason he’s a legend in modern day composing. The music itself tells the story, so there’s no need for dialogue, which is largely absent in the musical relying instead on dance to accompany the music. The entire musical is leading up to the namesake musical composition “An American In Paris”, acting as the climax both visually and narratively for the show. The 13 minute long piece is the center of a ballet performance, with the set design in the fashion of abstract art reminding me of Piet Mondrian’s Composition C, and dancers clad in bright primary colors. Overall it’s a beautiful production, with no detail being overlooked and every discipline is perfectly balanced so no one element overwhelms another. An American in Paris is easy to fall in love with and impossible to forget.

I had not been in the Kennedy Center in over 13 years, and it was an experience I truly missed. The tickets to the show were a present from my family, as they know how much I love musicals, but the seats could not have been better. As an individual who falls below the average height, I am often reduced to just hoping and praying no one over 6 ft. sits in front of me. However, my ticket was for row s, which is behind the handicap seating which drops down to ground leveling, leaving a clear view in front of the entire row. The theater is probably one of my favorites design wise, as it features a grand art deco design throughout with its signature chandelier overhead. It’s the perfect environment for this type of old-time Broadway show, and bonus you cannot help but speculate what celebrity sat in your seat during this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.

Bottom Line:

I love this show. Like LOVE this show. It’s a heartwarming tale of love and recovering from war, told through every principle of art. I was heartbroken to learn that the West-end production closed on January 6, before I arrive in London, but guess I’ll just have to settle for experiencing what it’s like to be an American in Paris first hand.