Darcey Bussell hosted a special Q&A with An American in Paris director Christopher Wheeldon
Ballet superstar and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell hosted a special event last week, offering a sneak preview of her friend Christopher Wheeldon’s reinvention of the Gene Kelly classic An American in Paris which will dance its way into London’s Dominion Theatre in March.
Wheeldon and his stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope joined Bussell for the one-off event in London which included clips from the hit Broadway production and a performance of the classic ‘’S Wonderful’ performed by the London cast.
Wheeldon, who won a Tony Award for his choreography on the show, revealed he was initially uncertain about taking on the task of bringing Kelly’s 1951 vibrant Oscar-winning film to life on stage: “When they asked me to direct and choreograph, initially I said no. Who am I to cut my teeth on a big budget Broadway musical?” said the artistic associate of the Royal Ballet.
“It took some convincing and they promised me that we would take it slow, stage by stage – see how a reading went, see how a workshop went. Once we started to understand how we were going to tell the story and the movement of the show I began to feel a bit more confident… Who could turn down the great music of the Gershwins?” he added.
New York City Ballet principal dancer Fairchild and Royal Ballet dancer Cope both won rave reviews for their performances in the lead roles on Broadway and are due to open in the show in London, Wheeldon said: “We had to find performers who could capture the spirit, but it was also important for me to have a very high level of dancing on the stage. We thought how interesting it would be to find two ballet dancers to play the roles of Jerry and Lise. So it was quite a search – I didn’t want it to be a case of people coming away saying ‘Oh their dancing was beautiful, but the singing and the acting…!’ ”
Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in An American in Paris (original Broadway cast). Picture: Matthew Murphy
Wheeldon found his perfect Jerry in his old friend and colleague Fairchild, admitting: “I’ve always admired his American showmanship in ballet.”
Leading lady Cope was cast after an impromptu audition via a dressing room shower, Wheeldon revealed. “I said: ‘Leanne I’ve heard you can sing, will you sing for me?’ She said: ‘I only ever sing in the shower.’ I took her to a dressing room, stood her in the shower – the acoustics are really good in the shower. She sang ‘The Man I Love’. The next day I called her to my office and put the script down in front of her and said: ‘Ok let’s read this together.’ ”
Wheeldon’s award-winning version of An American in Paris arrived on Broadway last year, following an equally successful debut in Paris.
The set and costumes are designed by the multi award-winning West End and Broadway designer Bob Crowley (The Audience, Mary Poppins and Wheeldon’s productions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale) with projections by the celebrated British designers 59 Productions (War Horse, London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony).
An American In Paris is due to open at the Dominion on 4 March, ahead of an official opening night on 21 March.
With music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and a new book by Craig Lucas, the creative team includes lighting designer Natasha Katz and sound designer Jon Weston.
The musical score is adapted, arranged and supervised by Rob Fisher with orchestrations by Christopher Austin, dance arrangements by Sam Davis, musical supervision by Todd Ellison and additional orchestrations by Don Sebesky and Bill Elliott.
The recently announced London cast includes Haydn Oakley (Sunset Boulevard), Zoë Rainey (Wicked), David Seadon-Young (Ghost The Musical), and veteran screen and stage star Jane Asher (Blithe Spirit). Ashley Day (The Book of Mormon) will be the alternate Jerry before taking over the role from 19 June 2017.
The company also features: Julian Forsyth and Ashley Andrews, Sophie Apollonia, Zoe Arshamian, Sarah Bakker, James Barton, Alicia Beck, Chrissy Brooke, James Butcher, Jonathan Caguioa, Jennifer Davison, Katie Deacon, Rebecca Fennelly, Sebastian Goffin, Alyn Hawke, Nicky Henshall, Genevieve Heron, Amy Hollins, Frankie Jenna, Justin-Lee Jones, Robin Kent, Kristen McGarrity, Julia J. Nagle, Daniela Norman, Aaron Smyth, Todd Talbot, Max Westwell, Jack Wilcox, Carrie Willis, Stuart Winter and Liam Wrate.
An American in Paris is produced in London by Stuart Oken, Van Kaplan, Roy Furman, Michael McCabe and Joshua Andrews.
Tal Fox
Additional reporting: Angela Thomas
Tickets for An American in Paris are available HERE.
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An American in Paris – Palace Theatre, New York – Review
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