An American in Paris

I've been waiting to read the reviews until I wrote this blog post, because I don't want my thoughts to be influenced by what's written in the New York Times.

While I haven't read any reviews yet, I have checked http://www.didhelikeit.com/ just to see which way the thumb was pointing (check out the site and you'll understand what I mean if you don't already).

Here's a hint . . . the thumb is pointing up.

Deservedly so, in my opinion, because "An American in Paris" is stunningly gorgeous in every way. From the set to the costumes to the lighting to the projections to the acting to the dancing . . . it's all beautiful.

You might be thinking, "But Emily doesn't like old-timey musicals! How could she have such great things to say about this one?!" Over the last few seasons, I've learned that it takes two things to get me really into a classic musical -- an unbelievable cast and unbelievable dancing. "On the Town" for example, has both. "An American in Paris" has both.

Usually it's the music that gets me, but that wasn't the case here. Yeah, the songs are nice and pretty and classic, but it's the dancing that pulled me in here. The dancing left me awestruck. I swear to you my mouth was hanging open in shock half the time. Everything else that happened during the two and a half hours on the stage of the Palace Theater was secondary to the dancing, and only served to enhance the beauty of movement.

I don't even feel the need to single anyone out to discuss their performance, because the entire ensemble as a whole was just that good. Obviously there were moments when my eye was drawn to certain actors over others -- Charlie Sutton was just too perfect not to watch at times -- but everyone was on the same level.

The three men -- Robert Fairchild, Max von Essen, and Brandon Uranowitz -- all steal your heart at different moments throughout. They each brought something different to the show as a whole. Fairchild, obviously, is the dancer, von Essen is the singer, and Uranowitz is the actor. But Fairchild and Uranowitz could sing and act when called upon, von Essen and Uranowitz could act and dance, and Fairchild and von Essen could act. It just worked.

Shocker: Leanne Cope was fantastic. You couldn't help but root for her and hope she got the happy ending alluded to throughout. The costumes added to the float-y feel of the whole show. Also, all set pieces (except for what was flown) was brought in by the ensemble, or rather danced in. I thought that was a lovely touch.

Don't you wish your family was as fantastically amazing as the Fairchild family? (Figure out who Robert's sister is you didn't understand that reference.)

"An American in Paris" comes highly recommended from me and Charles Isherwood. So you really must go see this show.