‘An American in Paris’ Comes to Broadway in 2015

A brand new stage adaptation of An American in Paris is set to hit the Broadway stage in Spring of 2015 as announced by show producers October 17. This will follow a late premiere December 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

An American in Paris, which is based on the 1951 Academy Award winning film, tells the story of World War II Army Veteran Jerry Mulligan who is eager to begin a new life after facing the brutality of combat. He selects newly-liberated Paris as the place to make a name for himself as a painter and begin anew. However, he soon finds himself in a romantic tangle after meeting Lise, a young Parisian shop girl with her own secret and discovering that friends Adam, a Jewish American composer, and Henri, a Parisian aristocrat also desire Lise’s love.

In a statement producers Kaplan, Choplin, and Oken shared, “We’re incredibly fortunate to present a new adaptation of one of the most iconic movie musicals of all time. Our creative team, led by Christopher Wheeldon, has taken a fresh approach to a story audiences have enjoyed for generations about life in post-war Paris and come up with something we believe will have surprising depth and resonance. This material also provides an ideal opportunity for US and Paris based producers to share development and production of a show with a unique history and meaning to both countries.”

The production will mark the Broadway directorial debut of Christopher Wheeldon who also choreographs the show. It is produced by the Pittsburgh CLO (Van Kaplan)  and Théâtre du Châtelet (Jean-Luc Choplin) by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical (Stuart Oken, Michael Leavitt, and Five Cent Productions).

The production features a book by Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Craig Lucas and a musical score by George and Ira Gershwin, with adaptation and supervision by Rob Fisher. The creative team features Tony Award winners Bob Crowley with set and costume design, Natasha Katz with lighting design, and Scott Lehrer with sound design. Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher serves as the musical’s creative consultant.