An American in Paris Broadway

The show was captivating! Great story as well as dancing.
The theatre was pretty cold, so do bring something to keep you warm. Also, please refrain from eating during the musical, and avoid fiddling with shopping bags/​plastic bags during the show.

The show was amazing. It feels magical, sounds magical and looks magical. Wonderful performance, music, lighting, singing, dancing, acting, orchestra and design. Highly recommended for music and ballet lovers.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed this show. The Dancing was beautiful. I suggest sitting in the first rows in the balcony to see the dancing from above. A must see. Gave four stars because there were a few parts that were a little drawn out but otherwise it was great.

LONGGGGG DRAWNNN OUTTTT musical with a two sentence plot. Countless (and endless) song and dance numbers are needless and have NOTHING to do with the short (two sentence) plot. Nasty nasty nazi employees will bark at you to move and stop and don’t stop and keep moving every move you make in there. No one wasted there money at the no excuse for a bar. Beer was Budweiser only in a $ 10 can. Please! If you call to ask a question they will not answer it. An all around unsatisfactory experience.

The show itself is VERY, VERY touristy, a real trap for the out-​of-​state group. The dancing was the strongest part of the show– it would be a super-​bomb if it wasn’t because the plot is so light, the songs dated and stereotypical, and the singing mediocre at best. The ballet would be a better choice if you want to see beautiful dancing.
But it’s the physical layout and management of the Palace Theater that makes this show go down 2 stars, at least. They sell & allow for big noisy drinks (swishing ice, crushable water bottles) that are disturbing when watching a live show. ALSO, the ushers were not great with showing people seats, we noticed more than a few couples who sat in the wrong spots after being shown them. The WORST though, is their «come whenever you feel like getting there» policy, there was so much late seating, it was distracting. The worst I have ever encountered. My tolerance for lack of theater etiquette is wearing thin; I propose a petition to have «no late seating» a rule all theaters must abide by. A few are doing it, all should. Sorry for whatever reason makes a person late, but don’t make the rest of the audience suffer.

The show itself was good — dance and choreography truly exceptional. However the venue, Palace Theater, is horrible — and pretty much ruins the experience. Run down, fairly shoddy — and air conditioning blasting on upper levels — so much so, that everyone kept their winter coats on throughout the show (May 1^st), theater management couldn’t care less — attitude is clearly: «its a group of tourists on a one-​shot deal, so who cares?». Finally, seating is such that if the person in front of you leans forward — they fully block ¹⁄₃ of the stage — so entire section is leaning forward and back in ripple — kinda funny, but unintended humor, I think.
Try another show and venue on this one.

During my frequent trips over the years to London, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego, I have seen many Broadway Musicals, and have loved every one of them. This is not one of those shows.
They are marketing this show as a new musical. It is certainly not a musical — it is a ballet. While many people love the ballet, I am not one of those people and had I known it was a ballet I would have rather spent my $ 245 a ticket on a different show.
The story line is confusing, and hard to follow, the singing is flat and the singers, who are not singers because they are actually dancers, have no oomph or passion in their voices. There is no chemistry among the actors, because they are, once again, ballet dancers, not actors. It is very flat overall.
I don’t understand all the hype. If you haven’t seen a lot of Broadway shows, see Finding Neverland, Book of Mormon, Matilda, Lion King, Aladdin, Les Mis, Kinky Boots (my favorite), Hamilton, if you can find a ticket, Jersey Boys, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beautiful, etc. They are all brilliant and streaks ahead of this one.

Wonderful show! lovely music and dancing. Maybe a little TOO much dancing. definitely represents an older era of musical movies.

I was invited to go watch this show on Broadway. I was pretty bored and was wishing it was over sooner.
The good:
+ great set design
+ impressive ballet performances
The bad:
— very bad character development
— confusing, flat plot
— dance numbers are too long and repetitive
— no conflict until ²⁄₃ of the way through (plot issues)

Sorry but this was not one of my favorite shows on or off Broadway right now. I was expecting to love it more but it felt quite empty at times. I loved the dancing and I love shows so that part I am going to give it a 3-​star review for. It fell short of my expectations. I hear raves about this show and the show just didn’t match all the hype. I felt the main characters were a little boring. It was not enough character development and I didn’t feel emotions from these characters… when I can tell them apart!
Some of the music I am already familiar with so maybe that is why I loved the music.
Here is another thing I had a problem with… the 3 main male characters all looked so similar! It was hard to tell them apart! I had to memorize clothing to figure out the three main male actors. There was not enough to differentiate them. Their personalities were quite blah. As far as love stories go, this is not one of my favorite.
And the Fidgety Feet number was ridiculous to me. Why was it even there? Just to fit another dancing number into the show? You can cut out that entire number and no one would miss it. Some of the dance numbers didn’t really advance the plot… which there was hardly a plot to begin with. There is just some things missing from this play to become a great one. Better actors are needed, better screenplay/​plot. It just didn’t flow as well as I would have liked it.

I’m not really a fan of romance plots unless it serves a minor role in the story line. I prefer more suspenseful and mysterious plots. This show is an all out romantic show, so I wasn’t exactly hyped when I watched it. The story line is fairly typical of the love triangle affair and the ending is predictable.
That said, the cast were amazingly talented. The main female character displayed such intense emotions whether she was dancing, singing, or acting. The set up and usage of stage props were very clever, watch this show to see what I mean. Overall, I would recommend people to watch An American in Paris. For those who love romance, this is a must watch show.

We picked up last minute tickets to this show. I had heard great things from friends and the Tony nominations, but the show fell short of my expectations. I think it’s important to go to this show with the right expectations, which are to expect a lottt of ballet, a little singing, and average acting. To start, the dancers were absolutely incredible and beautiful and deserve all the awards they’ve been nominated for. However the show turned out to be 90% dancing, including long (10 minute) interludes of ballet dancing. I felt myself getting really bored/​falling asleep during these long breaks between the typical «musical» songs.
The songs, when they finally got to them, were very catchy and I found myself singing them the rest of the night. I just wish there were more of them and I didn’t have to wait so long in between them. The acting was not the best in my opinion as these actors are definitely dancers first, actors second. But not bad. All in all the show was good if you’re expecting more of a ballet.

Snore fest. My friends and I got seats to this show with the 2 for 1 Broadway week offer… and luckily they were cheap because this performance was disappointing. I also nodded off to sleep a few times during the show. Acting is subpar, and expect a LOT of ballet. I thought the plot would be like the movie Midnight in Paris (the one with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams in it) but I was sorely mistaken. My friends and I were itching to leave by the intermission but stuck it out. The only redeeming quality of the performance is the ballet, which if you’re a fan is definitely worth watching. Otherwise, pass — it’s not worth a full priced ticket!

The dancing was definitely GREAT but the writing fell short of the original story and 1951 film.
A lot of details that made the original story interesting about Jerry and Milo’s relationship is lost in this production. Another issue I had was with the three characters of Jerry, Adam, and Henri. The three are too similar and became confusing on the stage.
I was lucky to have watched the performance from the mezzanine seats which had a better view of the dancing.
The sound system at the Palace Theatre could be better. The mezzanine seats were tight.

I have been seeing one Broadway show a month. Not sure if I have reviewed any of them. I don’t feel write righting reviews for them and yes I did that on purpose just nao.
What can I say about this show? I liked it. It had charm to it. My only real gripe with it was that 2 of the 3 major male characters looked alike and I didn’t realize they were two different people until they shared the stage together.
The whole time I’m like «I thought this dude was an artist, why he talking like an aristocrat?» But other than that… I guess I have to watch the movie?
Just kidding, if you are just looking for an amazing show, go for it. I’m more into the technical stuff that happens on stage when the show itself isn’t exactly Michael Bay.
I’ll watch love stories, don’t get me wrong… but I feel like it tried to adapt the film (which I haven’t seen) and when that happens I feel like you’re left out if you haven’t seen the source material.
But when I put that to the side, I liked it.

When I decided at the last minute to have a weekend escapade in New York, this was the one Broadway show I knew I had to see. Previously I held a bias against musicals that were basically remakes of familiar movies since the librettos struck me as too ready-​made, more or less, but once I saw how the Broadway adaptations of «Once» and «Kinky Boots» improved on their source films, I got over my unfounded prejudice. I don’t view this Broadway production as necessarily an improvement over the classic 1951 MGM musical, but it was different enough for me to see it as a reinterpretation which enhanced my memories of the original movie.
Craig Lucas wrote the book for this production based on the same characters but added more complexity to them without losing focus on the swooning Gershwin music which is the real reason why anyone pays attention to the slight story being told. The story again starts with Jerry Mulligan, an ex-​GI who decides to stay in Paris to paint. He meets aspiring composer Adam Hochberg who is also a rehearsal pianist for the local ballet. Hitting it off immediately, he gets Jerry hired to sketch the dancers, and there he meets Lise Dassin, a dancer who moonlights as a shopgirl at the Galeries Lafayette. He is immediately smitten, but she is already committed to Henri Baurel, an heir to a textile fortune who is also an aspiring nightclub entertainer.
Meanwhile, Jerry is pursued by socialite Milo Davenport who gets him a job to create the ballet’s set designs. This set-​up will sound familiar to anyone who’s seen the movie, but the story takes on darker tones since it takes place right after the war ends in Europe. Jerry is much more of a self-​absorbed opportunist here, and it turns out Adam is also in love with Lise, thus making this a five-​pointed romantic roundelay complicated by Henri’s own questioning about his sexual preferences. Casting actual ballet dancers in the leads was a masterstroke on the part of director Christopher Wheeldon himself a modern ballet choreographer of international renown.
Fortunately, both Robert Fairchild, a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, and Leanne Cope, an English dancer with the Royal Ballet, can sing and act as well. While he lacks Gene Kelly’s bantam-​size physical assurance and battery tap skills, Fairchild uses his own classical technique to advantage and manages to make Jerry’s bravado more likable than one would expect. Cope captures Leslie Caron’s sprightly charm and tentative manner and frankly from my front mezzanine seat, looks just like her down to the chipmunk smile. Her graceful dancing feels effortless and ethereal, and together they achieve genuinely sublime moments such as the sexy pas de deux toward the end of the concluding ballet.
Understudy Will Burton does a fine job channeling Oscar Levant’s acerbic manner as Adam and proved to be a much better singer as well, while Jill Paice plays Milo with a predictably jaded glamour but with a warmth that suits the life-​of-​the-​party character well. The charismatic Max von Essen (whom I last saw as tango singer Agustin Magaldi in the «Evita» revival) steals the show as the sexually confused Henri and sings the classic «I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise» with uncommon style. Speaking of which, George and Ira Gershwin’s music and lyrics never age and only resonate over time. Some songs have been switched out from the film perhaps to avoid undue comparison.
For example, there was the unwelcome appearance of the novelty number, «Fidgety Feet», at the beginning of Act II, and the complete disappearance of «Our Love is Here to Stay», perhaps the quintessential moment of the original movie as the leads danced next to the MGM-​stylized Seine River. Still, it was great to see the three male leads perform classics like «I Got Rhythm», «S’Wonderful» and «They Can’t Take That Away From Me». It would have been unrealistic to think Wheeldon could have replicated the cinematic magic of the final ballet sequence from the movie, but the expert dance company led by Fairchild and Cope make magic all their own.

I haven’t seen the movie. I didn’t even know what the musical was about. I did a little research prior to attending as my friend got us tickets.
Let me say: THE DANCING. OH MY GOODNESS, THE DANCING IS AMAZING IN THIS SHOW! I like ballet but I don’t know if I could sit through a whole ballet without getting eventually sleepy. So this was the perfect blend of a musical and ballet show.
The story is one you know and have heard of before. Multiple guys in love with one girl. Who does she pick in the end?
The humor was spot on. There was just enough to get you chuckling at the right points yet feeling the proper emotions at other points.
The cast is absolutely amazing.
The costumes for Mrs. Davenport were gorgeous.
The set design is great. I loved when the three males were singing and behind them, there was a screen where you saw a drawing of Lise dancing.
Definitely a great show and worth it to see!

This theater is definitely one of the bigger ones that I’ve been to! There’s also bathrooms on all three floors, though the bottom floor has the most stalls and goes by the quickest, fyi. They also have an elevator to skip all those stairs, especially if you’re seated in the balcony!
Anyways, we got balcony seats in the second row, which wasn’t bad-​and we paid $ 57 for our tickets at the box office.
Onto the show-​it was cute and different, in that there was a ton of ballet dancing. The dancers’ moves were really beautiful and elegant to watch, and I liked all of the pretty outfits! There’s not too much dialogue, but tons more singing and dancing to see. I think the plot could’ve been developed a bit more, but it is a creative and unique show to watch overall.

An absolutely wonderful new show on Broadway! Based on an early 1950’s Gene Kelly film, this show is an elite spectacle of song, dance and stage.
The staging is as elaborate and as intricate as I’ve seen on Broadway with many moving parts and people. The sets change at record speed and precision, and bless them if they can pull this off every night without a glitch. Sophisticated animation enhances the background at times. A Hollywood Golden Age look and feel. Excellent.
The dancing fuses broadway and ballet style, the choreography is thorough and demanding and performed with stunning excellence. The current leads will be remembered for these performances.
The music is all-​Gershwin, from his orchestral work «American in Paris’ to a variety of familiar and unfamiliar tunes cherry-​picked from his past musicals. The music and book are not the same as the film version. Gershwin is one of our most famous New Yorkers and it’s wonderful to hear his music on Broadway. The book tells the tale of a post-​war love triangle centered around a French ballet dancer, a composer, an army G.I. and a French aristocrat (or is that a love square?) The music and the book work very well together.
A couple of areas I’d consider for four stars would be: the sound was a bit too low in the first act, and the actor’s voices and even the orchestra seemed a bit muted. It opened up better in the second act. I saw the show in previews and I imagine this was perfected since then.
Also, I’m a fan of all generations of music, but to some who love Broadway for Elton John, Carole King, and Frankie Valli, the tunes of Gershwin may feel dated. You need to love, or at least be open-​minded to an evening of classic Americana songwriting and popular song of the past.
In retrospect I’d say that I highly recommend the show for evening of dance, song, and stage spectacle worthy of your Broadway dollar. Enjoy!

Perfect.
This review should just be that one word. I have never been to a show this good before. I have seen so many shows but never one that thought through and perfected every foot placement, every look, every word.
I was swept up in the magic from the opening scene and laughed and cried throughout. I am so impressed by the immense talent in this production from the set design, lighting, singing, dancing, acting, orchestra and more. If I could give you a million stars I would!