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NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The new musical "An American in Paris" is to open on Broadway in the spring of 2015, following its world premiere in December 2014 in Paris, producers said. Featuring music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas, the show will be directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon for his Broadway directing debut.
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The musical is based on the Academy Award-winning 1951 Gene Kelly film, which was inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin.
"We're incredibly fortunate to present a new adaptation of one of the most iconic movie musicals of all time," said producers Van Kaplan, Jean-Luc Choplin and Stuart Oken in a joint statement Thursday. "Our creative team, led by Christopher Wheeldon, has taken a fresh approach to a story audiences have enjoyed for generations about life in post-war Paris and come up with something we believe will have surprising depth and resonance. This material also provides an ideal opportunity for United States and Paris based producers to share development and production of a show with a unique history and meaning to both countries."
The musical will be presented at Theatre du Chatelet in English by the 26-member Broadway cast with a score that includes the songs "I Got Rhythm," "S'Wonderful," "But Not For Me," "Stairway to Paradise," "Our Love Is Here To Stay", "They Can't Take That Away" and orchestral music including "Concerto in F," "2nd Prelude," "2nd Rhapsody" and "An American in Paris."
"Eager to begin his life anew after the brutality of combat, World War II Army veteran Jerry Mulligan chooses newly-liberated Paris as the place to make a name for himself as a painter," a synopsis said. "With the assistance of fellow ex-pat Milo Davenport, a wealthy American with a past she wishes to forget, Jerry's life becomes complicated when he meets Lise, a young Parisian shop girl with her own secret."
