An American in Paris.....

Last night my precious, Mr Wonderful and I went to go see The Gershwin's An American in Paris.  It has everything you want in a Broadway performance: upbeat music, wonderful dancing and belly-aching laughs.  Playwright Ken Ludwig does an incredible job of reworking this classic.

The dialogue is hilarious if you follow closely to all of the sarcastic innuendos and dry witticisms.  At times you seriously feel like saying "Who's on first?"  We spent so much time laughing so hard we had to hold our breath to make sure we did not miss more of Ludwig's brilliantly written banter.  The sets the pace for a perfectly placed mixture of George and Ira Gershwin songs, familiar and some virtually unknown, yet still appreciated.

On one or two occasions the gags were "hit and miss".  Only once did I find the lead trying a bit too hard to deliver the lines with comedy.  Aside from some "punchy" deliver the script is just simply funny.  The slapstick complications in Act two (bedroom scene), built a crescendo to a substantial payoff.  

Ludwig poetically coincides the Gershwin tunes to fit his format.  I immediately fell in love with the casting of Harry Groener as the lead of Michel.  He pulls off the role as the  pompous Playboy Parisian with effortless ease. 

John and I were guests of our friend Margaret last night.  Her philanthropic  trust underwrote this season's performance.  After dinner with Margaret, Joan, Diane and Rose we prepared to settle in our seats and I said "these are not are usual seats do you know which ones we are?"and John replied "the seats in front of my in-laws"  I must have looked really confused until it dawned on me he was referring to Beverly and Winston his former Mother and Father in-law. They looked great and met us with big warm hugs and smiles.  They invited us for an after theatre nightcap but we had to get home since it was a "school night"

At the intermission John mentioned one of the cast seemed very familiar.  I forgot to peruse the Playbill since we were tardy getting back to our seats seeing many of our friends.  When we got home and crawled into bed we heard (pitty-pat-pitty-pat) and Sinclair peeking her head around the corner "Mommy - Daddy, need hugs, please!"   We had a big snuggle- tickle session and settled back in to reading our Playbill.  

The role the whole room seemed to embrace the most was Meredith Patterson who was a key energizer as the saucy "Yvette".  She seemed so familiar to both John and I.  It dawned on us she was the crazy on-again off-again, Broadway show tune obsessed wife of Tom Selleck  in our favorite quirky dramatic comedy, Boston Legal.

I love the way that Director Gregory Boyd gives the production a 1940's "Louie Mayer" feel of tradition when Hollywood was run by one man and one woman, gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper.  

If American in Paris is another example of putting vintage wine in new bottles, the content is fine and the container is a Jeroboam!