An American in Paris' Craig Lucas on Having the "Titanium Balls" to Bring Paris to Broadway | Playbill

Tony Awards An American in Paris' Craig Lucas on Having the "Titanium Balls" to Bring Paris to Broadway Craig Lucas, who wrote the book of An American in Paris, the stage adaptation of the popular movie musical that received 12 Tony nominations, opened up about the risks of bringing a musical dominated by dance to Broadway.
Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in An American in Paris Angela Sterling

Inspired by the 1951 musical film of the same name, An American in Paris — featuring an all-Gershwin score — follows a complicated romance including a composer (Brandon Uranowitz), the American ex-pat Jerry Mulligan (Robert Fairchild) and a wealthy French man Henri (Max von Essen). The three men vie for the affection of aspiring ballerina Lise (Leanne Cope).

“There’s no wont of praise for the Gershwins, and I don’t think there ever should be,” Lucas told Playbill.com. “The amazing thing to me is that these producers took so many risks. They wanted to put together a musical that used dance, ballet in particular, for narrative, and that takes titanium balls. Let’s face it.”

The production received nominations for scenic design, lighting design and orchestrations, among others. Uranowitz, von Essen and Fairchild received nominations for Featured Actor and Leading Actor in a Musical, respectively, as well as Cope for Leading Actress.

Read Playbill.com's exclusive interview with Fairchild here and his onstage romantic rival Uranowitz, here.

Cope shares the memory of meeting the film star Leslie Caron with Playbill.com.

 
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