One of three new musicals being produced this summer by Goodspeed Musicals at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT, My Paris begins performances July 23 and runs through Aug. 16. As previously reported by Playbill.com, it will feature a score by Charles Aznavour with English lyrics and musical adaptation by Jason Robert Brown, his first new project since Honeymoon in Vegas earlier this year. The libretto is by Alfred Uhry, who collaborated with Brown on Parade, and who has won the Tony, the Oscar and the Pulitzer Prize for his various projects, including Parade, Driving Miss Daisy and The Last Night of Ballyhoo.
My Paris will be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.
Goodspeed describes the show thus: "A new musical about the life and times of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the artist who captured the gaiety, color and heartbreak of Montmartre, Le Can-Can, and the world of Le Moulin Rouge. Inhabited by the colorful people he painted, it’s the story of a great artist who loved a world that never quite loved him back. Music and lyrics are by legendary French performer Charles Aznavour. The book is by Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, Alfred Uhry, with English lyrics by three time Tony winner, Jason Robert Brown. Tony winning director/choreographer, Kathleen Marshall, brings it all to whirling, spinning and sassy life. C’est magnifique!"
Toulouse-Lautrec wil be played by Steggart (Mothers and Sons, Big Fish). Davi (A Chorus Line, Irving Berlin's White Christmas) will play Suzanne Valadon. Also in the cast: Chad Jennings (as Aristide Bruant), Tari Kelly (as La Gouloue), Cameron Adams (as Jane Avril), Greg Hildreth, John Riddle, Paul Castree, Chad Jennings Jeffrey Pew, Jermaine R. Rembert, Kate Marilley, Shawna Hamic and Wendi Bergamini.
The production will have set design by Derek McLane, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Donald Holder, sound design by Jay Hilton and music direction by David Gardos. The other two Norma Terris Theatre shows this summer will be The Theory of Relativity and Indian Joe.
The Theory of Relativity, a 2014 Goodspeed Festival favorite, features music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill. Billed as “A Chorus Line for Millennials," performances are scheduled for May 7-31. The tale of a beauty pageant queen and a homeless man, Indian Joe, features music and lyrics by Elizabeth A. Davis and book by Davis and Christine Henry and will be seen Oct. 22-Nov. 15.
The Norma Terris Theatre is located at 33 North Main Street in Chester. For more information call the Goodspeed Box Office at (860) 873-8668 or visit www.goodspeed.org.
