Set in the magical world of La Belle Epoque in turn-of-the-century Paris, GIGI is a timeless romantic comedy about a young woman groomed in the custom of her family to be a companion to a bored, wealthy playboy, until the two unexpectedly realize this is in fact true love.
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the debut of Gigi on Broadway. Lerner and Loewe's Tony Award-winning score was first heard in the 9-time Academy Award-winning Best Picture of the same name, directed by Vincente Minnelli. The movie, which was the last of the classic MGM musicals, was based on the Broadway play by Anita Loos and the popular novella by Colette.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's beloved musical GIGI will return to Broadway in a production directed by Tony Award-nominee Eric D. Schaeffer (Follies), in a new adaptation by acclaimed British playwright and Emmy-nominated screenwriter Heidi Thomas ("Cranforde," "Upstairs Downstairs," "Call the Midwife".)
Happily, the Broadway 'revisal' that just opened -- headlined by 'High School Musical' star Vanessa Hudgens -- does a fine job retooling the plot so it's more in line with modern ideas about women and romance...Heidi Thomas' retooled book isn't quite a feminist call to girl power, but at least her Gigi's making deliberate choices considering the limited options available to women back then. And while her trebly voice has limited range, Hudgens is comfortable onstage and gives the character a playful assurance...she has a warm rapport with Clark and Hoty, and you want to see Gigi with them rather with puppyish Gaston and his suave uncle, Honoré (Howard McGillin). Director Eric Schaeffer ('Follies') has given the story an elegant casing...This honorable 'Gigi' may be a good pick if you can't get into 'Wicked' on Take Your Daughter to the Theater Day.
The production's desperation to appeal to tweens instead of their parents results in a disastrous if not deliberate misreading of the tale. Perhaps that wouldn't matter if the show worked on its own terms, but it did not in 1973 when Lerner brought Loewe out of retirement to expand the movie into a stage property, and it certainly doesn't now. There is still, mercifully, the score, which even if all jumbled about still contains five truly great songs and several good ones too. (Most of the newly interpolated ones are distinctly third-drawer, however.) And visually there is much to admire. Derek McLaine's Art Nouveau settings are an elegant solution to the problem of a story in which one of the stars is Paris itself; Catherine Zuber's costumes are a marvel of shapeliness, accuracy, and detail. (That's a good thing in a show that often fails to hold the attention; you can always count buttons.) But most of the other decisions made by the creative team - the director is Eric Schaeffer - reduce rather than enhance the story.
2015 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Kennedy Center Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
2015 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Catherine Zuber |
2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Victoria Clark |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Victoria Clark |
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