The touring company from the 2015 Tony Award-Winning musical AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is dazzling audiences at the Hollywood Pantages through April 9, directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, featuring the glorious music and lyrics of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and a book by Craig Lucas. Jerry Mulligan and Lise Dassin are played by Garen Scribner and Sara Esty, who performed these leading roles on Broadway. Their incredible ballet skills highlight the production, with Mulligan’s gravity-defying leaps inducing gasps of wonder. Joining them in featured roles are Etai Benson as piano player Adam Hochberg, Emily Ferranti as wealthy arts supporter Milo Davenport, and Nick Spangler as wannabe Broadway star Henri Baurel, all supported by an incredibly talented ensemble of triple-threat entertainers and an marvelous orchestra conducted by Music Director David Andrews Rogers.
Inspired by the Academy-Award winning film, “An American In Paris” is the romantic story about an American soldier, a mysterious French girl, an American piano player, a mysterious third-rate nightclub singer, an arts patron looking for her next big client, and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war. The story of these lovers plays out with the incredible score, including the songs “I Got Rhythm,” “’S Wonderful,” “But Not For Me,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me, “and the biggest production number of the evening, “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” which dazzles from the moment it begins and leaves you begging for more, especially with the Tony Award-winning set and costumes designed by Bob Crowley.
The performance schedule for “An American in Paris” is Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Opening Night is Thursday, March 23 at 8 p.m. and is recommended for ages 6 and up. Tickets begin at $35 and I encourage all of you enamored of big musical productions to get your tickets now by phone at 800-982-2787 at www.HollywoodPantages.com or www.Ticketmaser.com as this extravaganza is bound to sell out.
Or for a more salacious evening of “adult” delights, head on over to L.A. Live’s Event Deck for the #1 Greatest Show in Las Vegas history at Caesar’s Palace, ABSINTHE, hosted by the filthy rich and just plain filthy Gazillionaire and his idiotic sidekick Daisy Dibbles. He invites you to sit back, enjoy a stiff drink, and let the show just pour over you like a champagne shower. With the audience uncomfortably and intimately gathered on wooden folding chairs around a tiny, nine-foot diameter stage, you are as close to the action as you can legally get as an array of scantily clad international acrobats treat you to mind-boggling feats of physical prowess. Imagine watching sexy Olympic-quality gymnasts flying through the air in the most revealing costumes, which leave little to the imagination, and you get the idea!
The cast includes the delightful Green Fairy who lands sylph-like on stage and ignites the evening with her seductive song, buff Russian gymnasts The Lost Boys in tight white pants dazzle between shots of vodka, Mr. & Mrs. Slutspurt fly above our heads in a captivating pas de deux restrained only by their tight, sweaty bondage straps, muscled muchachos Los Dos Tacos become a living foosball match on the horizontal bars, Bubble Girl rises in a large hard plastic encasement in which she gyrates seductively, chiseled bodyguard Max Matterhorn balances on poles, Venice Beach roller skaters The Twizzlers twirl and spin dangerously, stripper Misty West 88th Street dazzles to her tassels, and the Silicon Valley Girls perform their amazing feats of strength and grace dressed is red-sequined underwear.
I totally agree with The New York Times assessment, “Imagine Cirque du Soleil as channeled through The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” That is exactly how the show is presented, complete with audience participation that had the crowd roaring with laughter. Fans of burlesque and Vaudeville – this is the show for you! Tickets for ABSINTHE by Spiegelworld, presented by L.A. LIVE, start at $49 on sale at Abinsthela.com. Performances on Tues/Wed at 7:30p; Thurs/Fri/Sat at 7:30p and 9:30p; and Sundays at 5:30p and 7:30p. L.A. LIVE’s event deck is at 1005 Chick Hearn Ct., Los Angeles CA 90015, on the roof of West Garage Lot W.
