An American in Paris transfers to the Dominion Theatre in 2017
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
THE UK premiere of the Tony Award winning musical, An American in Paris, will open at the Dominion Theatre on March 21, 2017, following preview performances from March 4.
Based on the Academy Award-winning film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, An American in Paris has a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and includes the hit songs I Got Rhythm, ‘S Wonderful and They Can’t Take That Away From Me.
Eager to begin his life anew after the brutality of combat, World War II Army veteran Jerry Mulligan chooses newly-liberated Paris as the place to make a name for himself as a painter. With the assistance of fellow ex-pat Milo Davenport, a wealthy American with a past she wishes to forget, Jerry’s life becomes complicated when he meets Lise, a young Parisian shop girl with her own secret. Soon it becomes clear that Jerry’s friends – Adam, a Jewish American composer, and Henri, a Parisian aristocrat – also vie for Lise’s love.
Directed and choreographed by British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, the London production will star Robert Fairchild (a New York City Ballet Principal dancer) as Jerry Mulligan and British Royal Ballet dancer Leanne Cope as Lise Dassin. Fresh from originating their roles on Broadway, both will be making their West End debuts, leading a company of over 50 actors, dancers and musicians.
An American in Paris premiered in 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris to ecstatic reviews before transferring to The Palace Theatre on Broadway, where it’s now in its second hit year. It has become the most awarded musical of the 2015/16 season, including four Tony Awards. A major North American tour begins later this year.
An American in Paris is designed by Bob Crowley, with lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound by Jon Weston and projection designs by 59 Productions. Further casting for the London production has still to be announced.
Also at the Dominion Theatre: The Bodyguard, starring Beverley Knight as Rachel Marron and Ben Richards as Frank Farmer (July 15, 2016 to January 7, 2017).