Broadway's 'An American in Paris': oui! oui!

Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild in An American in Paris, Palace Theatre, New York

This show is so good it's worth a second trip on the Gold Bus to New York to see it again.

Exaggerate? 

Mais non.

At the Tony awards Sunday night, An American in Paris won four of 12 nominations:  for Choreography (Christopher Wheeldon), Orchestrations (Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, and Bill Elliott), Scenic Design of a Musical (Bob Crowley and 59 Productions) and Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz). 

The stars are ballet dancers who can sing (!), Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope, both nominated in their respective categories, both making their Broadway debuts, and they are outstanding.  But, it's New York where the competition is fierce, and many on stage are outstanding.
 
Whatever!  The fun!  The music!  The dancing!  The 1940s costumes and set changes!  Oh, la, la!  Your head will spin as it tries to keep up with the action on all sides.

You like dancing?

And Gershwin?

You're in for a smashing night about an American soldier who stays in Paris after World War II and strikes up a romance with a French gal who is pursued by two others.  'S marvelous.  It's a different story from the 1951 film version which starred Gene Kelly (Fairchild's idol).

The big Gershwin hits are here:  "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful, “But Not for Me,” “Stairway to Paradise,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” "The Man I Love," "Shall We Dance?" and George Gershwin's orchestral music including “Concerto in F,” “Second Prelude,” and “Second Rhapsody.”

Mr. Fairchild, dancing, leaping, twirling while he breaks out in beautiful song, and yet, never relinquishing his dashing smile, dominates the performance, and Ms. Cope becomes a star in his sun's orbit, but their movements and timing show off their years of training plus...they can sing.

One of the most preposterous scenes are the jumps and skips from one department store cosmetic counter to another as the counters (and dancers) move in sync with the music, and everyone keeps singing.  You just hold your breath, hoping no one will fall in what seems like an Olympics ice skating competition.

An American in Paris, Palace Theatre, New York

In the audience, those to the right of me, those to the left of me at the preview (the week before it officially opened on April 12) came not for the music (tourists from Australia and Latin America who had never heard of George Gershwin (!)), but for the title, I suppose, and they got a treat off the street at the box office.

Maybe the play is 15 or 20 minutes too long, and maybe there are too many boyfriends (one whose role seems especially superfluous), but these are minor blemishes on this big and beautiful stage.

I think the show will last a long time on Broadway and on tour, likely much longer than the opening stars will dance it. 

Christopher Wheeldon's directorial debut and creation of this ballet musical is one unforgettable event. 
 
At last count, the Washington Post was weighing in with three (update:  four) glowing stories about the play. 

What:  An American in Paris

When:  Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. Dark Mondays.  Through April 3, 2016

Where:  Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

How much:  Tickets start at $57 ($65.75 with fee) at Ticketmaster (877-250-2929 or ticketmaster.com), or skip the fee and buy at the box office, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday, 12 - 6 p.m.  Do not make my mistake and buy through a ticket or "vacation" broker which tacked on big fees for horrible seats (first row with the orchestra pit in your throat; ditto at The Lion King) until the people beside me and I complained to the AIP house manager who promptly gave us better seats with the tourists who had bought their tickets moments earlier at the box office!

Rush tickets:  A limited number are available every day.  Cash only.  Two per person/maximum.

Age recommendation:  6 and up

Duration:  Two  hours and 40 minutes with one 15-minute intermission

For more information:  212-730-8200

For more reviews of An American in Paris and other plays, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Easter Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York City/Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in New York City can accommodate 3,000 persons, but on Easter Sunday, it was standing room only at the 10:15 a.m. service.

 

Dollars placed in the collection bags on the crowded day will help the church pay a portion of a massive renovation project estimated to cost $175 million.  The building's exterior and stained-glass windows are being cleaned, and improvements to crumbling brick and marble damaged by acid rain are underway.  Completion of the project is scheduled for this December, and $100 million has been raised. 

 

James Renwick, Jr. (1818-1895), who designed Washington's Smithsonian "Castle" on the National Mall and the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, is best know for St. Patrick's, which he created in the Gothic Revival or neo-Gothic style.  The church cornerstone was laid in 1858 but the Civil War caused construction to cease shortly thereafter.  It resumed in 1865, and the cathedral was completed in 1878/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

While an usher collects donations, the Archbishop of New York, His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, prepares the incense at the 10:15 a.m. Easter Sunday service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Archbishop of New York, His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, spreads the Gospel at the rear of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York during the 10:15 a.m. Easter Sunday service/Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The clergy takes a left turn at the rear of the church at the conclusion of the 10:15 a.m. Easter Sunday service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York.  This perspective looks in the main entrance where police blocked latecomers who formed a line for the next service.  Standing on church steps, latecomers had an elevated view of the finery in the Easter Parade underway on the street below. Seen on the right is an unknown Chinese message, one of few handwritten signs observed in the area/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

patricialesli@gmail.com

The 2015 Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue, New York

In your Easter bonnet/Photo by Patricia Leslie

With all the frills upon it (Darling, height means everything in the Easter Parade!)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

You'll be the grandest fellow in the Easter parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I'll be all in clover/Photo by Patricia Leslie

And when they look you over/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade (See the giant butterfly?)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the Avenue (There's a swan in here somewhere)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Fifth Avenue/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The photographers will snap us/Photo by Patricia Leslie

And you'll find that you're in the rotagravure (?)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oh, I could write a sonnet/Photo by Patricia Leslie

About your Easter bonnet/Photo by Patricia Leslie

And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York.  He forgot his bunny ears/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, New York/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A bonnet of recycled magazines/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

With apologies to Irving Berlin.

People's Climate March photos and a nomination

Marchers from Virginia were well represented in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014 in New York City.  Under the stellar direction of Susan Bonney, the Sierra Club chartered 12 buses for 700 Virginia members and friends.  This was a scene on Central Park West /Photo by Patricia Leslie

The sign says: "Dear Big Oil, Our love affair is over.  You make me sick."  Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From the steps of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at the corner of W. 65th St. and Central Park W. The church generously opened its doors to marchers who needed bathroom facilities and maybe, a place to worship/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014.  Instead of metal and plastic posts for signs, the city approved cardboard signs and posts which the Earth liked better, too/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014. The police were well-behaved all day; some even smiled.  The People's Climate March had plenty of staff on hand to guide participants and answer questions.  Talk about organization!  The U.S. Congress would do well to take lessons from the People's Climate March. Think about it:  Who/what else could bring 400,000 together to march in an orderly fashion and deliver the most important message on Earth? More than kudos to the People's Climate March organizers! I nominate People's Climate March for the Nobel Peace Prize/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Looking up Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014.  Everywhere, all day long were people.  People up Central Park West, people down Central Park West.  We never saw the beginning nor the end of the People's Climate March. The people spoke.  And chanted. And sang and shouted, and chatted amongst ourselves.  And after two minutes of pre-planned "silence" at 12:58 p.m., 400,000 musicians blew horns, whistles, trumpets, and made merry with cymbals, strings, shouts, clapping, and bells at 1 p.m., in an explosion of sound which rolled up and down the streets, a wave of cacophonous medley unlike anything I have ever heard/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stopped to shake hands at W. 65th St. and Central Park West at the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

There they go, the new Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., up W. 65th St., at the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A moving statue on Central Park West in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Earth rolls along Central Park West in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Students from Drew University attended the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014.  Topless women with chests decorated a la Miley Cyrus came, too/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Central Park West with Green Mountain College in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Vegans were numerous in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014 in New York City.  About two trillion pounds of animal waste are deposited annually in the U.S., polluting drinking water, the environment, and people. My "bus buddy" was a vegan who educated me about the practice. What's life without cheese, butter, beer, and ice cream, I pondered.  He said some vegans shun honey because it comes from bees.  So, that's where they are. Bee waste.  I tell you, it's a problem. (He ate some of my honey-roasted nuts, and the chocolate cookies and breakfast bars Susan passed around, hidden that he was by the tall bus seats which provided cover from vegan scorn.  (Google that.) There was more than one vegan on the bus. Are you kidding?  This was the Sierra Club.)

To solve the problem and discontinue harmful consumption, why don't we just all starve and save the Planet?Photo by Patricia Leslie

The signs say (left) "All we are saying is GIVE EARTH a CHANCE" and (right) "A Fried Earth is No Yolk." The best sign of the day:  "There is no PLANet B."  Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Where's my daddy?  Where'd my daddy go?"  Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"There's my daddy! And my mommy."  Along Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Donald did not come out of his hotel to greet us on Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hold it!  Hold it right this minute for a ritual mid-street on Central Park West with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This couple played their guitars on Avenue of the Americas, and marchers joined them to sing "This land is your land" in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014.  Not far from here was the Bank of America building, protected by barriers, where marchers directed a loud, constant chant: "Bank of America!  BAD for America!" /Photo by Patricia Leslie

The sign says:  "Say No! Fracking, Keystone.  Say Yes! Wind, Solar" with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014 on Avenue of the Americas/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along Avenue of the Americas with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014, and the Earth rolls along on top/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Along W. 42nd St. with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On W. 42nd St., he said he had accidentally rubbed his horns into a woman who was not injured, in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Concerned Families of Westchester" with the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On 11th Avenue, maybe it's a big tree root with nest on top, powered by men on four sides riding parts of two bicycles, front and back, in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014.  Following them not far behind, an elderly couple stopped and asked us if we had seen an "ark" going by.  Maybe this was an ark?  It was easy to get separated from your party since just about 400,000 showed up to make a big statement/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A large tent lady on 11th Avenue in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The smartest people of the day, two women, natch, rode in style in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On 11th Street in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  For Asheville, N.C. participants, the final leg of the trip was just another 12 hours on the bus, but what's 24 hours inside a tube when the Earth is at stake?.Besides, 12 hours was probably enough time to sing"1000 bottles of beer on the wall." Along 11th Street in the People's Climate March, Sept. 21, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

patricialesli@gmail.com