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S46 Ep2

An American In Paris The Musical

Premiere: 11/2/2018 | 00:00:31 |

Experience one of the most famous musicals of all time with a celebrated new adaptation featuring the original Tony Award-nominated stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope. The acclaimed production was directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon.

About the Episode

Premieres Friday, November 2 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Streams Saturday, November 3 at pbs.org/gperf and on PBS apps

Described as an extended symphonic tone poem, George Gershwin’s 1928 composition “An American in Paris” was commissioned by conductor Walter Damrosch and rapidly became one of his most famous compositions. The 1951 MGM film starring Gene Kelly was inspired by Gershwin’s score and became one of the studio’s most acclaimed and famous movie musicals, winning six Academy Awards. In 2015, Paris finally came “home” to Broadway in a thrilling new stage adaptation of the film, directed and choreographed by dance wunderkind Christopher Wheeldon, which earned four Tony Awards. Happily for Broadway, dance and Gershwin fans, the Broadway production makes its television debut on Great Performances with its original stars, Tony nominees Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope.

Credits
Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, book by Craig Lucas, directed and choreographed for the stage by Christopher Wheeldon. Directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon and produced by Joshua Andrews, Stuart Oken and Austin Shaw.

 

About Great Performances

Great Performances is produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40-year history on public television, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.

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Features

Clip | Getting Jazzed for Broadway’s Best: An American in Paris The Musical
Clip | “Beginner’s Luck”
Clip | Ballet Pas De Deux excerpt
Clip | “Stairway to Paradise”
Clip | “I Got Rhythm”
TRANSCRIPT

[Narrator]: From Great Performances comes one of Broadway's best musicals: the Tony-winning 'An American In Paris.'

And when this boy meets this girl, Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope dance their way into a gloriously old-fashioned love story.

[Singing]: 'Oh s'wonderful.... s'marvelous!'

[Narrator]: With a sensational Gershwin score... [Singing]: 'Who could ask for anything more!'

[Narrator]: Look for 'An American in Paris The Musical.'

[Fairchild]: 'C'mon it'll be fun!'

[Narrator]: Only on Great Performances.

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