“An American in Paris”

I went to go see the Broadway show “An American in Paris” about a week ago. I quite liked it honestly, although a lot of people apparently didn’t. But I’m a little biased since the music and dancing is very good.

It’s based on the 1950s movie of the same name, which starred Gene Kelly. The stories are kind of similar, but the characterizations are slightly different which is a little strange. They also try to bring in WWII a little more and make it funnier. The endings for the characters are also different and in a few cases I think the movie wrapped it up better, but you can watch and judge for yourself.

The important point is that all of the songs used are Gershwin tunes! This includes (same as the movie) an entire ballet sequence set to the piece “An American in Paris”. The dancing in the musical is spectacular as nearly everyone in the cast is a professional ballet dancer. So those aspects are gorgeous and amazing.

One other aspect that I liked is that the set design was very well done. It consisted mostly of blank panels (there were also some mirrors and actual set pieces) that were moved about the stage by the actors. Images are then projected onto the pieces, which looks really cool and can add animations in. This adds a nice touch since the backgrounds can be “drawn on” as it’s being set up. Since one of the characters is also an artist, it can also show what he’s doing in a clear manner.

I think I prefer the movie, but if song and dance is your thing, then definitely go see the musical as well.