‘An American in Paris’ brings life, light and exquisite dance to Hale Centre Theatre
Juliet Doherty as Lise and Myles Woolstenhulme as Jerry Mulligan in Hale Centre Theatre's regional premiere of "An American in Paris."
Juliet Doherty as Lise and Myles Woolstenhulme as Jerry Mulligan in Hale Centre Theatre's regional premiere of "An American in Paris."
Juliet Doherty as Lise and Wesley Valdez as Jerry Mulligan in Hale Centre Theatre's regional premiere of "An American in Paris."
Juliet Doherty as Lise and Wesley Valdez as Jerry Mulligan in Hale Centre Theatre's regional premiere of "An American in Paris."
After four long years of Nazi occupation in the city of lights, in August of 1944, a war-torn Paris finally began witnessing some glimmers of hope.
Though violence lingered, art, music and dance heralded in a new era of optimism most beautifully encapsulated in George and Ira Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.”
With a book by Craig Lucas, the show is most fondly recognized as a 1951 musical starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, but it found new life as a stage musical in 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, followed by a Broadway run in 2015. Now, the awe-inspiring work is showing on the stage of the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy as never been seen before: in the round.
“The Hale was given special permission directly from the Gershwin family to produce ‘An American in Paris’ in Utah,” said Sally Dietlein, vice president and executive producer at the Hale Centre Theatre. “Given Utah’s extensive dance community, it’s the perfect fit for this glorious show.”
According to show director Dave Tinney, the Hale’s take on the production follows pretty closely to the Academy Award-winning film.
“This new musical adaptation keeps the same basic plot of the original film, but gives it much more gravitas,” he shared in Director’s Notes from the show’s opening night. “Set in war-torn Paris almost immediately following the liberation, the character of Jerry (played originally by Gene Kelly) is part of a trio of artist friends who choose Paris as the place to recover from their experiences during the war. Of course as one might expect in a musical, each of the friends falls for the same beautiful young ballet dancer, Lise, who carries secret war wounds of her own. As they all navigate the aftermath of the occupation and are swept up in the excitement of the new artist’s movement, ‘An American in Paris’ becomes more than a simple love story between a French girl and a soldier. This beautiful adaptation … is a celebration of resilience, recovery and renaissance. It is an American love letter to the city of lights.”
Rather than a war story, according to Tinny, the original film’s “thin plot” was “mostly a vehicle to celebrate the music of George Gershwin and the talents of its stars,” a fact that holds true for the theatrical production as well.
Starring nationally recognized actress and dancer Juliet Doherty as Lise, the production transcends the normally perfect and polished Hale show standards to create an experience that both captivates and amazes throughout the evening, due largely to the jaw-dropping and stunning dance that’s integrated into every facet of the show, from set and scene changes to musical interludes and central action.
“It’s a monumental project,” said choreographer and associate director Jennifer Barlow, who has choreographed at the Hale for the last decade. “I feel like I am just so grateful for the past 10 years of experience I’ve had leading into this show — it’s really prepared me to take on something this mammoth.”
According to Barlow, “An American in Paris” was quite the undertaking, factoring in a similar process of choreography that was then “multiplied by 10 in terms of time and commitment.”
“I think it just elevated me as a choreographer to a different level, and I think it elevated choreography for productions at the Hale to a different level,” Barlow continued. “Personally for me, it will always hold a huge place in my heart: I just know a project like this is so rare, so I’m just enjoying every single moment of it even though it’s so demanding. I’m completely committed and passionate about it.”
As I saw Barlow sit alongside Tinney and other show creators along a back row during the opening night production, I couldn’t help but think of a comment she shared:
“It feels really surreal and I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s always a vulnerable place to sit in an audience. To have toiled and toiled and then sit back — you get really nervous like you’re baring your heart and soul. Whether you’re on stage or off stage, you’re giving a bit of yourself to everyone around you and hoping they appreciate the love and passion you put into it.”
That much was clear throughout the show as audiences burst into applause at unconventional moments and then rose in waves for a standing ovation as the lights dimmed, then returned and the cast began congregating on stage.
At the center of it all was Doherty, who did an absolutely brilliant job as Lise, bringing to life not only her exquisite dance, but also a spectrum of emotion that came as a result of her character’s experiences with the war.
”I think through research we’ve both been able to broaden our understanding … we definitely had a history lesson on top of all of our rehearsals we’ve had, so I feel like I’ve discovered a lot more about the emotional pull and I have an understanding of her background now,” Doherty said. “When you first meet her in the first act, she’s kind of closed off; shut down and so aware of her responsibilities during this time she can’t really be who she is. With all these different characters introduced you get to see a part of her that gets brought back to life. You get to see kind of her eccentric, spontaneous, joyful side, and I love that whole arc and growth.”
”I think we all have people that bring out our best sides and make us more fun and loving and carefree, so I definitely relate in that way,” she continued.
As to an ultimate takeaway, Doherty said, “I just hope they get swept away in the romance and enjoy of it all. With the understanding of the depth of the story, since it really is coming from a dark, tough place in our history, you can see just all this beautiful renaissance of music, dance, life and so much joy that can come out of really hard times and dark places.”
Doherty has been dancing her entire life, and comes from a family of dancers – a fact that’s clearly evident throughout her performance in the show. She carries herself with grace and a movement that belies her young age, and is accompanied by a cast that also raises the bar for talent and mastery of art.
“(The show) is so heavily focused on story told through dance and choreography,” Doherty said. “It is a beast of a show. We spent more than 120 hours in the rehearsal room just setting the choreography and all the content throughout all the dance numbers of the show. … It’s a huge thing to take on, but it’s been super fun in the process. Everyone in the cast is just lovely and fun to work with, and it made the process just fly by as we’ve stepped into story every single day. It’s hard and challenging to sing and dance and act all at the same time and tell a compelling story, as well as remember the lines, remember the steps and not be out of breath, but I think at a certain point you just get comfortable and kind of fall into the story.”
And that’s exactly what audiences witnessed Monday night as Myles Woolstenhulme as Jerry Mulligan, Andrew Robertson as Adam Hochberg, Adam Dietlein as Henri Baurel and Brighton Hertford as Milo Davenport took to the stage for the opening performance, combining art, music, dance and vocals into an awe-inspiring production.
A subtle yet exquisite set, carefully planned and constructed costumes and properties, and well-timed and orchestrated lighting combined with gentle story flow that was amplified again and again with lengthy dance interludes. Though a strong cast led the show, there were no unimportant roles, as all the performers brought incredible skills to the stage with coordinated music and dance that, especially presented in the round, enraptured on levels I haven’t experienced before.
“An American in Paris” will run at the Hale Centre Theatre nightly excluding Sundays through April 6.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
What: The classic Academy Award-winning Gershwin musical romance brought to life on stage
Where: Hale Centre Theatre at 9900 S. Monroe St. in Sandy
When: Showing now through April 6 with performances Monday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 12:30 and 4 p.m.
Cost: $22-$44
Info: hct.org, (801) 984-9000