The award-winning, dance-filled Gershwin musical An American in Paris ends its critically acclaimed Broadway run October 9 at 3 PM at the Palace Theatre. Upon closing, the musical will have played 623 performances.
American in Paris had earlier announced a January 1, 2017, closing date, but producers Stuart Oken, Van Kaplan and Roy Furman stated July 26 they would close the Broadway production a few months early: “Although it was our intention to play through the end of the year, in reconsidering the current theatrical landscape, we decided it best to close our production of An American in Paris on Broadway on October 9, 2016.”
The new stage incarnation of the classic Gershwin film arrived on Broadway after a Paris world premiere. The new musical, inspired by the Oscar-winning film of the same name, features a score by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas.
An American in Paris received 12 Tony nominations, winning awards for Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations, Best Set Design and Best Lighting Design. The musical also won four Drama Desk Awards; four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Musical; the Drama League Award for Best Musical; three Fred and Adele Astaire Awards; and two Theatre World Awards.
The cast currently includes Dimitri Kleioris as Jerry Mulligan, Leanne Cope as Lise Dassin, Veanne Cox as Madame Baurel, Jill Paice as Milo Davenport, Matthew Scott as Adam Hochberg and Max von Essen as Henri Baurel with Caitlin Abraham, Kyle Brown, Attila Joey Csiki, Taeler Cyrus, Megan Dickinson, Ashlee Dupré, Laura Feig, Kurt Froman, Stephen Hanna, Derek Hanson, Dustin Layton, Cory Lingner, Nathen Madden, Gia Mongell, Christy Morton, Charlotte O’Dowd, Candy Olsen, Kristin Piro, Rebecca Riker, Sam Rogers, Shannon Rugani, Bradley Schlagheck, Jeffrey C. Sousa, Sam Strasfeld, Charlie Sutton, Tory Trowbridge, Mindy Wallace, Allison Walsh and Scott Willis.
An American in Paris, according to press notes, “transforms the timeless story of love in a city rebuilding from the heartbreak of World War II - into a new Broadway musical of hope, redemption and romance.”
The creative team also includes Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (sets and costumes), Natasha Katz (lighting), Jon Weston (sound), 59 Productions (projections) with the musical score adapted, arranged and supervised by Rob Fisher, orchestrations by Christopher Austin, dance arrangements by Sam Davis, musical supervision by Todd Ellison, additional orchestrations by Don Sebesky and Bill Elliott and musical direction by Brad Haak. The associate director is Jacquelin Barrett, and the associate choreographer is Dontee Kiehn. Casting is by Telsey + Company/Rachel Hoffman.
The score of An American in Paris includes the songs “I Got Rhythm,” “Liza,” “’S Wonderful,” “But Not For Me” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” as well as orchestral music including “Concerto in F,” “Second Prelude,” “Second Rhapsody/Cuban Overture” and “An American In Paris.”
The producers are Stuart Oken, Van Kaplan, Roy Furman, Stephanie P. McClelland, Darren Bagert, Carole L. Haber, James Nederlander, Five Cent Productions, Michael Leavitt, Apples and Oranges Studios/Dominion Pictures, Roger Berlind/Arch Road, Simone Genatt Haft/Marc Routh, Triptyk Studios/Spencer Ross, Ed Walson/Peter May, Adam Zotovich/Celia Atkin, Eugene Beard/Julie Boardman/Kallish-Weinstein, Stuart Ditsky/Jim Herbert/Sandy Robertson, Suzanne Friedman/Independent Presenters Network/Wonderful Productions, The Leonore S. Gershwin 1987 Trust/Jenkins-Taylor/Proctors, Harriet Newman Leve/Jane Dubin/Sarahbeth Grossman, Caiola Productions/Jennifer Isaacson/Raise the Curtain, by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical, Pittsburgh CLO and Théâtre du Châtelet.
(Updated October 9, 2016)
