An American in Paris

Director Notes

Dramaturgy

Special Thanks

Cast

Director Notes

My artistic journey began in fourth grade when I began to learn the violin. Not to discredit my role as Baby Bear in Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Kindergarten, but fourth grade was when the formal study of the arts began to permanently shape me.

I was the type of child to check out Tchaikovsky CDs from the library and then copy them to a cassette tape so I could listen to them over and over again. At my performing arts middle school, I switched my major to dance, but my love for symphonic music never left me.

Given my foundation, you can probably imagine the delight in my eyes when I discovered the musical version of An American In Paris as an adult. The dance, the music, and the story swept me away, and it is a dream come true to direct this production at Elon University.

When American Composer George Gershwin returned home from his trip to Europe, he composed a symphonic poem, titled An American In Paris, that would forever change his life and the course of history. He brought home with him Parisian taxicab horns he bought at the Avenue de la Grande Armée to include in his composition.

“The opening bars of the Gershwin rise, the rhythm is high-hearted, the percussion clacks and chimes, and though we know that the blues lie ahead, the first phrases still pierce our hearts as though we’d been struck by a jaunty woodpecker in a beret.”¹

When this piece premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1928, it received mixed reviews. It is often described as “filled with bright colors, dizzying Jazz Age energy, a sense of naive optimism, and pangs of homesickness. It is a vibrant fusion of jazz, blues, ragtime, and Ravel. The Charleston meets a walking bass line reminiscent of Bach’s pristine counterpoint.” ²

New York Evening Post, the critic Oscar Thompson dismissed An American in Paris as a fad. He conceded that, while it was all the rage in 1928, “to conceive of a symphony audience listening to it with any degree of pleasure or patience twenty years from now, when whoopee is no longer even a word, is another matter.”

Almost 100 years later, it’s clear that this critic could not anticipate the pleasure and joy that this music has brought to the entire cast and crew of this production.

I studied the early days of Gershwin’s life in preparation of our rehearsal process. Before working on this show, my sentiments of Gershwin’s work were reflected in this scholar’s thoughts below:

“Gershwin found inspiration in African American blues and jazz styles, Tin Pan Alley idioms, and the languages and forms of European art music. He achieved his synthesis through the identification and structural exploitation of musical characteristics shared among these diverse traditions.” ³

However, I have come to a different, perhaps deeper understanding of Gershwin’s artistic goals.

I believe he wanted to celebrate and elevate the uniqueness of the mixtures of sounds that were only possible in America, and he was determined to use his unique position to do so.

One of his first hits as a young man on the vaudeville circuit was the 1918 “The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag).” I believe the title and lyrics reflect an artistic statement that he continued throughout his artistic practice.

In 1951, the film An American In Paris, featuring George and his brother Ira’s songs, became an immediate classic Golden Age MGM musical. It took big risks in its day, including a 17-minute ballet sequence, and was one of the first films that was considered a critical and commercial success, winning six Academy Awards.

“For American in Paris, we wanted to do a ballet without an actual storyline or plot, a ballet that suggested, rather than narrated, a ballet which said more with things unsaid, than with things said.”- Gene Kelly

The film showcased the full glamour of Paris yet embedded in this story was a truth that was begging to be amplified.

Craig Lucas’s book for the 2015 musical version of An American in Paris answered that call by expanding Lise’s story; it still includes an expansive love story but also the artistic journey of Jerry, Henri, and Milo in their various mediums.

Our student dramaturgs researched many topics that allowed the performers to understand the world of post-World War II Paris and the acts of resistance that contributed to winning the war.

Our pre-show performance of Gershwin standards by our Jazz Vocal Quartet is intended to set us in the early years in Paris before the Great War, when Americans like James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters band, Louis Mitchell, and Josephine Baker were the toast of the town. These Americans laid the foundation for the Jazz age and nightlife in Paris.

The joy and light we found in our creative process and in the world where the show takes place is something I’m holding onto. In our darkest hour, there is still hope.

Picasso’s quote, “Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth,” sticks with me.

I hope the spirit of possibility and reimaging new futures for ourselves that we discovered in this process will also inspire you.

-Alexandra Joye Warren

1, Gopnik, Adam. “Americans in Paris.” The American Scholar 73, no. 2 (2004): 13–30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41222313.

2. Judd, Timothy. “Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’: A ‘Rhapsodic Ballet’ Born in the Jazz Age.” The Listeners’ Club, March 20, 2024. https://tinyurl.com/3m55tcbm.

3. Starr, Larry. “Ives, Gershwin, and Copland: Reflections on the Strange History of American Art Music.” American Music 12, no. 2 (1994): 167–87. https://doi.org/10.2307/3052521.

Dramaturgy Website

Special Thanks

Dan Hartung, Jonathan Poquette, Elon Bands, Michael Huestis, Carey Harwood, President Connie Book, Provost Rebecca Kohn, Dean Hilton Kelly, Performing Arts Chair Fred Rubeck, Guylene Deasy

Cast

Adam	J.T. Loveless
Jerry	Gabe Tobierre
Lise	Anya Jones
Henri	Elliot Sullivan
Milo	Sammy Azúa
Madame Baurel	Averly Burns
Monsieur Baurel	Gabe Waits
Madame Dutois, Ensemble, u/s Lise	Angelina Mancuso
Monsieur Dutois, Ensemble, u/s Monsieur Baurel	Alex Prejean
Ensemble, u/s Madame Dutois	Michayla Catron
Ensemble, u/s Jerry	Isaiah Flowers
Ensemble	Sage Grimpe
Ensemble	Ana Sofía Hernández López
Ensemble	Maddie Hewgley
Ensemble, u/s Henri	Nate Krohmer
Ensemble	Noah Macam
Ensemble	Maddie Milner
Ensemble	Helena Padial
Ensemble	Addy Reese
Ensemble, u/s Adam	Aden Richman
Olga, Ensemble	Gabriella Scarpace
Ensemble	Sophie Seitchik
Mr. Z, Ensemble, u/s Monsieur Dutois	Jonah Uffelman
Jazz Quartet, Swing	Kai Gaeta
Jazz Quartet, Cabaret Singer	Trevor Hudson
Jazz Quartet	Leilani Miranda
Jazz Quartet, u/s Milo	Mackenzie Tammara
Swing	Jackie Harris
Swing	Kevin Rodriguez
Swing, u/s Madame Baurel	Sierra Safran
Swing	Jordyn Sutton

Creative Team

Director	Alexandra Joye Warren
Choreographer	Courtney Liu
Student Assistant Choreographer	Malia Horst
Tap Choreography	Whitney Goodman
Asst. Choreographer for Ballet Partnering	Forrest Hershey
Dance Captain	Gabriella Scarpace
Music Director	Chris Rayis
Dramaturgs	Grey Carr Lauren Catherine McHenry Addie Rankin
Dialect Coach	Kirby Wahl
Intimacy Choreographer	Kim Shively
Scenic Designer	Jessica Hightower
Projections Designer	Jessica Hightower
Costume Designer	Kayla Higbee
Asst. Costume Designers	Mallory Caballero Maverick Powell
Lighting Designer	Eli Goldberg
Asst. Lighting Designer	Lillian Chen
Sound Designer	Michael Smith
Stage Manager	Lindsey Chambers
Asst. Stage Managers	Allie Joseph Addison Ryan Julia Sgoupis

Production Team

Production Manager	Suzanne D. Lucas
Technical Director	Luis Silva
Asst. Technical Director	Eliza Gregory
Staff Asst. Technical Director	Anthony Cacchione
Carpenter	Luke Schmura
Scenic Charge	Justin A. Miller
Projections Engineer	Michael Smith
Deck Crew	George Eastman Sebastian Gonzalez Layton Niko Rinaldi Jack Shaffer
Costume Shop Manager	Heidi Jo Schiemer
Wardrobe Supervisor	Sadie Gompf
Wardrobe Crew	Lainey Gaston Victoria Salisbury Grace Santo Yaira Spears
Props Supervisor	Jessica Hightower
Light Board Operator	Jaden Carlisle
Followspot Operators	Elliot Choate JonAshton Reid
A1	Casey Spielman
A2	Eddie Fermanian
Sound/Projections Operator	Micah Cabot
House Manager	Lachlan Apple Isabella Carl Lillian Chen Madelyn Neal Laird Stearns
Poster Design	Sydney Dye