An American in Paris Coming to Australia
Stop Press: An American in Paris Adelaide and Perth seasons postponed
The Australian Ballet and GWB Entertainment today (January 17, 2022) announced that due to the current impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, next month’s Adelaide and Perth seasons of An American in Paris will be postponed.
New season dates will be announced as soon as possible for both cities, with ticket holders urged to hold onto their tickets until new dates are confirmed.
The Melbourne and Sydney seasons of the production will perform as scheduled, from 18 March at Arts Centre Melbourne, and 29 April at Theatre Royal Sydney.
The Company is looking forward to resuming its Brisbane season at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre on Tuesday 18 January, after a brief pause due to challenges presented by Covid-19.
The Australian Ballet and GWB Entertainment have announced that the musical An American in Paris will have its Australian premiere in 2022.
The four-time Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical tells the entrancing story of a young American soldier and a beautiful French girl, set against the iconic backdrop of the most romantic city in the world.
Inspired by the Academy Award®-winning MGM film, acclaimed director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon brings the enchantment and magic of Paris alive on stage with popular songs by George and Ira Gershwin, including “I Got Rhythm”, “S Wonderful”, “But Not For Me” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”.
In a ground-breaking collaboration between The Australian Ballet and GWB Entertainment, the Australian production of An American in Paris will premiere in Brisbane in January 2022 before seasons in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David Hallberg said, “An American in Paris has been adapted for the stage by one of the world’s most in-demand choreographers and we have a great and long-standing relationship with Christopher. It’s exciting to be collaborating with him again but this time on a musical, and we welcome the opportunity for a number of our dancers to perform in this incredible production and broaden their skills as artists.”
GWB Entertainment’s Richelle Brookman said: “We fell in love with An American in Paris after seeing the production in Paris at Théâtre du Châtelet and immediately set our sights on bringing the musical to Australian audiences.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with David Hallberg and The Australian Ballet and are excited for audiences to experi- ence Director-Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s extensive ballet scenes performed by classical ballet dancers at the peak of their artistic craft, woven into a blockbuster Broadway musical that celebrates love, beauty, art, and the timeless music of Gershwin.”
With a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Lucas, and Tony Award-winner Bob Crowley’s swoon-worthy set and costume design, drawing inspiration from some of France’s most famous artists, An American in Paris opened to widespread critical acclaim at the Palace Theatre on Broadway in April 2015 after its world premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. It has since gone on to tour London’s West End, Tokyo and Beijing.
The musical won four 2015 Tony Awards including Best Choreography for Christopher Wheeldon, four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Drama League Award for Best Musical, three Chita Rivera Awards and two Theatre World Awards. It was also included on the ‘Year’s Best’ lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, The New Yorker, the Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter.
The Australian premiere season will run at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre from 8 to 30 January 2022, followed by seasons at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide from February, Crown Theatre, Perth from February, State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne from March, and Theatre Royal Sydney from April.
The national tour of An American in Paris is supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative.
Tickets for the Brisbane season at QPAC are on sale Wednesday 20 October 2021 via qpac.com.au or 136 246
Join the wait list to be notified when tickets go on sale for Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
Photographer: Tristram Kenton
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