Irene On The Scene guest blogger Victoria Cyr on a magical musical moment in Paris.
On a spring night in Paris there we were...in a festive atmosphere of a beautifully restored barge on the right bank of the river Seine. Just a few minutes from Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville. A night celebrating the wonderful works of women composers and lyricists of musical theatre. I was mesmerized by the melodious magic of the extraordinary talent of the Paris-based troupe American Musical Theatre Live.
In a cozy cabin down below with red candles aglow on every table and people reveling with food and drinks, the show opened with a huge splash of Broadway at its best with an ensemble number of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” that would make Ethel Merman proud. The lively performance made you want to jump on stage and quit your day job.....we were catapulted to Broadway while looking out the boat's portholes at Paris architecture on the romantic banks of the Seine.
From the swooning love song, "The Way You Look Tonight" performed by the effervescent and engaging Quentin Bruno, to the humorous tune interpreted by Marion Préïté who clearly didn't seem timid in her highly energetic Broadway-belting performance of “Shy”.
The touching ballad “Love Who You Love” with the emotionally expressive voice of Jérome Bortaud stole my heart. And I loved the beautiful, riveting duet by David Koenig and Miranda Crispin from the musical “The Secret Garden”. Crispin also rocked the house singing and playing piano with a song from “The Carole King Musical”.
Another highlight of the night featured three Paris-based women composers performing their songs, starting with the lovely Devon Graves who took the audience on a journey with her emotionally-charged vocals and her rocking guitar rhythms of her very catchy song “Crosswords”. “Ballerina Dance”, written and beautifully expressed by the powerful voice of Andrea Offner, was a wonderful homage for every woman in the audience. The charming Australian composer Kym Mc accompanied Quentin Bruno on her poignant song “Let You Down".
The impeccable comedic timing of Mary Louise Stott performing “I Want Them Bald” had the audience laughing all the way through the song. And the dynamic quips between Stott and the show’s brilliant pianist Mathieu Serradell (whom by the way, has a very full head of hair) were hilarious.
Another song performed by Graves, “Words Unsaid”, an English adaptation from the French show “Lemon Twist” by Stéphane Ly-Coung and Christine Khandjian, almost broke my heart, but in a really good way.
The music left us all wanting more...and I hummed show tunes all the way home through the streets of Paris.
For more information on upcoming performances visit the website of American Musical Theatre Live.
Follow Victoria on Twitter or Facebook for more Paris discoveries.
On a spring night in Paris there we were...in a festive atmosphere of a beautifully restored barge on the right bank of the river Seine. Just a few minutes from Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville. A night celebrating the wonderful works of women composers and lyricists of musical theatre. I was mesmerized by the melodious magic of the extraordinary talent of the Paris-based troupe American Musical Theatre Live.
In a cozy cabin down below with red candles aglow on every table and people reveling with food and drinks, the show opened with a huge splash of Broadway at its best with an ensemble number of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” that would make Ethel Merman proud. The lively performance made you want to jump on stage and quit your day job.....we were catapulted to Broadway while looking out the boat's portholes at Paris architecture on the romantic banks of the Seine.
From the swooning love song, "The Way You Look Tonight" performed by the effervescent and engaging Quentin Bruno, to the humorous tune interpreted by Marion Préïté who clearly didn't seem timid in her highly energetic Broadway-belting performance of “Shy”.
The touching ballad “Love Who You Love” with the emotionally expressive voice of Jérome Bortaud stole my heart. And I loved the beautiful, riveting duet by David Koenig and Miranda Crispin from the musical “The Secret Garden”. Crispin also rocked the house singing and playing piano with a song from “The Carole King Musical”.
Another highlight of the night featured three Paris-based women composers performing their songs, starting with the lovely Devon Graves who took the audience on a journey with her emotionally-charged vocals and her rocking guitar rhythms of her very catchy song “Crosswords”. “Ballerina Dance”, written and beautifully expressed by the powerful voice of Andrea Offner, was a wonderful homage for every woman in the audience. The charming Australian composer Kym Mc accompanied Quentin Bruno on her poignant song “Let You Down".
The impeccable comedic timing of Mary Louise Stott performing “I Want Them Bald” had the audience laughing all the way through the song. And the dynamic quips between Stott and the show’s brilliant pianist Mathieu Serradell (whom by the way, has a very full head of hair) were hilarious.
Another song performed by Graves, “Words Unsaid”, an English adaptation from the French show “Lemon Twist” by Stéphane Ly-Coung and Christine Khandjian, almost broke my heart, but in a really good way.
The music left us all wanting more...and I hummed show tunes all the way home through the streets of Paris.
For more information on upcoming performances visit the website of American Musical Theatre Live.
Follow Victoria on Twitter or Facebook for more Paris discoveries.
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