‘American in Paris’ glistens at every turn in breathtaking and bold Drury Lane staging

Leigh-Ann Esty and Josh Drake star in “An American in Paris” at the Drury Lane Theatre.

War isn’t over when it’s over. That bitter pronouncement opens Drury Lane’s lavish production of “An American in Paris,” the 2014 musical inspired by the 1951 movie of the same name. With music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas, the musical is a love letter to the resilience and beauty of Paris in the wake of the Nazi occupation.

But throughout the musical’s 1945 Parisian setting, fear is never far from the surface. When a fuse blows and the lights abruptly go out in a rollicking bar, the joie de vivre of “I’ve Got Rhythm” morphs to terror in the space of an eighth note. How, asks one of the erstwhile revelers, can you be liberated when your city has been crushed and its people traumatized?

‘An American in Paris’

american in paris

When: Through March 29

Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace

Tickets: $60 - $75

Run-time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission

Info: DruryLaneTheatre.com

That question lies at the heart of the opulent Drury Lane production (by special arrangement” with Theatre du Chatelet, Elephant Eye Theatrical and Pittsburgh Clo) directed by Lynne Kurdziel-Formato. Every character on stage is haunted and desperate for a clean slate. When U.S. vet Jerry Mulligan (Josh Drake) talks about combat, you can hear the bile and the panic rising in his throat. When ballerina Lise Dassin (Leigh-Ann Esty) dances, she’s poetry in motion. When she’s not dancing, she carries herself like she’s desperate to be invisible: Head down, no eye contact, fear palpable.

The movie Paris of 1951 was swept clean of scars from the the Vichy regime. Not so here. Sometimes those scars are obvious as fire, as in the opening moments when we see starving Parisians fighting for a place in the breadline, and a woman wearing a Swastika armband carried off, screaming, by a mob. Sometimes they’re subtle, as when aspiring composer Adam Hochberg (Skyler Adams) gulps down a drink before he plays the piano.

Josh Drake and Erica Evans (front) with the cast of “An American In Paris” at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Brett Beiner Photography — Josh Drake and Erica Evans (front) with the cast of “An American In Paris” at Drury Lane Oakbrook.

Like Lise, Adam and Jerry, Henri Baurel (Will Skrip) and his repressed, still-terrified parents (Neil Friedman and Caron Buinis) are determined to start over. They all hope they can use art to sculpt futures untainted by the past. Henri pours his soul into his nascent nightclub act. Adam scores a ballet for Lise. Jerry feverishly sketches the city and its people.

In many respects, “An American in Paris” was ahead of its time. Henri is a closeted gay man ready to marry Lise because he loves her dearly (platonically) and because he knows his mother will otherwise live in fear for his safety. Adam and Jerry both fall in love with Lise, creating a messy triangle among best friends that can’t possibly have Disney musical ending. Wealthy American arts patron Milo Davenport (Erica Evans) snarls the threads further when she falls in unrequited love with Jerry.

The intricate storylines complement the Gershwins’ kaleidoscopic score, which features a roster of hits, from his melancholy piano preludes to the jaunty “‘S Wonderful” to that epic masterpiece of an epic title tune. Music director/conductor Chris Sargent is the production’s unseen star, leading a seven-person orchestra that captures George Gershwin’s vast musical palette.

Kurdziel-Formato’s choreography is also a defining element. The movie’s dance scenes are so iconic it’s tough to expunge the shadows of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron from any stage production. But Drake and Esty make the show their own. Drake oozes open-hearted charm and fleet-footed grace. Esty makes Lise bare her every emotion in dance, whether alone at a ballet barre or backed by a city clamorous with heat, light, hope and tragedy.

Kevan Loney’s projections and Lee Fiskness’ lighting design breathe life into Kevin Depinet’s open set as the cast of “An American in Paris” kicks up its heels in the Drury Lane Theatre’s dazzling production.

Even when the lyrics are dated (“Liza” is basically Jerry telling Lise to smile more because she’s so pretty), the cast makes the music gleam. Skrip’s silky vocals and elegant tap are perfect for the old-school dazzler “Stairway to Paradise.” And when Evans duets with Adams on the melancholic “But Not For Me,” the ache is exquisite.

Kevan Loney’s projections and Lee Fiskness’ lighting design breathe life into Kevin Depinet’s open set. The bell towers of Notre Dame loom during “Can’t Take that Away from Me.” The Eiffel Tower glows in sunset at the very moment Jerry rips up his ticket back to the States. Massive swastikas burn in the opening moments, the tattered tricolor of the French flag emerging from the flames.

Karl Green’s costumes look couture, from Milo’s liquid-looking black bombshell gown to the Dior-reminiscent circle skirts whose extravagant volume was fashion’s middle finger to the deprivations of war. Even the headpieces are meticulously rendered: Picasso is celebrated at a masked ball. When Henri dreams of Broadway, his backup dancers sport Statue of Liberty headpieces.

When Evans’ Milo delivers a climactic monologue about the power of art in times of strife, it’s clear that “An American in Paris” isn’t just talking about post-war Paris. George Gershwin died of a brain tumor in 1937, when he was 39. That his music is still celebrated generations later speaks to his genius. Like “American in Paris,” it’s an example of art and triumph.

Catey Sullivan is a local freelance writer.