On Stage (Bonus): An American in Paris hits Philly

Also: Thanksgiving Eve rocks out at TLA

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times 

If you’re looking for a great way to spend an evening during this holiday week, a tantalizing option is to attend the Philadelphia debut of the national tour of a Tony-winning musical which is on the road for the first time ever. From November 22-27, the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org) will host a special run of the hit musical “An American in Paris.”

“An American in Paris” was inspired by the 1951 Academy Award-winning film of the same name. The musical version opened at the Palace Theatre on Broadway in April 2015, following an engagement at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

The show received 10 Tony Award nominations – including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical and Best Book of a Musical. It won the Tony Awards in four categories – Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Orchestrations and Best Scenic Design of a Musical.

According to the tour’s Facebook page, “An American in Paris” is a “romantic story of a young American soldier, a beautiful French girl and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war” and “the kind of new Broadway musical you thought they didn’t make anymore—a musical filled with beauty, artistry and the unmistakable beat of the human heart.”

The talented cast of the national tour features Garen Scribner as Jerry Mulligan (American soldier/protagonist), Sara Esty as Lise Dassin (French ballerina), Etai Benson as Adam Hochberg (composer/fellow veteran) and Nick Spangler as Henri Baurel (Jerry’s French friend).

“This tour has been out about three weeks,” said Benson, during a phone interview a week ago from a tour stop in Buffalo, New York. “It opened in Boston a few weeks ago.

“I first auditioned for ‘An American in Paris’ four years ago when they were putting together a workshop for the Broadway production. I sent them a videotape and they liked it. I was called back for several more auditions but didn’t get the role.

“The show opened on Broadway and became a big hit. When they announced auditions for the national tour, I called my agent and said to him – I want that part (Adam Hochberg). I auditioned and the director even remembered my tape from before. The rest is history because here I am.

“I had seen the show on Broadway. My roommate was in the original Broadway company and I saw it twice. Then, I saw it again when they took the cast of the national tour to see the show on Broadway. It just closed in New York last month.

“Our two leads in the touring company – Garen and Sara – come from the Broadway cast. They were asked by the director to head the national tour. It’s cool to have them here. They’re really great leaders.”

The musical version of the story stands on its own.

“The way we describe our show is that it is inspired by the film,” said Benson, who majored in music theater at the University of Michigan. “It’s not just the film slapped on stage. The director and the book writer wanted to give it a little more dramatic weight that the film –especially with my role and Henri’s role. They’ve really added complexity to these characters. The book writer changed it from Paris in the 1950s to Paris in 1945 immediately after the liberation. He fleshed out the characters.

“The show looks at what happened after a period of darkness – how the people and the city came out of that darkness – how joy, hope and love can bring us out of darkness. My character is an ex-G.I. who stays in Paris and is trying to be a composer. When he finds Lise, she gives him inspiration to write music. The movie had technicolor and cheerful optimism – and we have that too. People who love the film are going to love this show.

“We had two full months of rehearsal and that’s a long time. The technical elements are so complex. All the set changes are transitioned to music. The director’s vision included the set. The set changes are just as choreographed as anything in the show.”

With a great story, talented acting, lively choreography and great music, the show overflows with audience appeal.

“Audiences love this show because it is a visual feast,” said Benson. “The choreography is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on stage. The level of the dance is really high. There are entire scenes that play out without words. The story is told through dance. And there is the Gershwin music – songs that people know and love.”

The music in the show, which was created by George and Ira Gershwin, features such timeless classics as songs “I Got Rhythm,” “‘S Wonderful,” “But Not for Me,” “Stairway to Paradise” and “They Can’t Take That Away.”

“Another reason people really love his show is that it is aesthetically pleasing,” said Benson. “It’s romantic, it’s really funny and it’s touching. And, we ask audiences to confront some big decisions. You will leave the heater humming a song — and thinking.”

Video link for “An American in Paris” – https://youtu.be/5Omefn67Hxg?t=3.

The play will run from November 22-27 with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There will also be matinees on Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20-$130.

On Thanksgiving Eve (November 23), there will be a mega-show at the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com) – “Crown The Empire: The Retrograde Tour” featuring Blessthefall, New Years Day, Too Close To Touch, Light Up The Sky and Crown the Empire.

Blessthefall – Beau Bokan (lead vocals), Eric Lambert (guitar), Jared Warth (bass/vocals), Matt Traynor (drums), Elliott Gruenberg (guitar) — is touring in support of its most recent album “To Those Left Behind.” The album, which came out on Fearless Records, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 when it was released.

“The album has been out for over a year,” said Bokan, during a phone interview last week form a tour stop in Pittsburgh. “Now, we can ease out of that support tour with a long tour opening for Crown the Empire. It feels good to play in front of new faces.”

Blessthefall is a metal/hardcore band that was formed in 2004 in Arizona. The hard-hitting quintet has released five albums – one every other year since 2007. They are “His Last Walk” (2007), “Witness” (2009), “Awakening” (2011), “Hollow Bodies” (2013) and “To Those Left Behind” (2015).

“We definitely are the heaviest band on this tour,” said Bokan. “We sort of have more of a metal vibe but we throw in some of our lighter songs. We give the audience some heavy and some light.”

During the summer, Blessthefall was one of the heaviest bands on the Vans Warped Tour.

“It was the same with the Warped Tour with audiences,” said Bokan. “The Warped Tour has been adding son poppy bands. It’s such an eclectic group of musicians. We’ve done the warped Tour four times. When kids go to Warped, they can walk around and hear a whole spectrum of music. We got new fans with every set we played on the tour.”

With the release of “To Those Left Behind,” Blessthefall moved to a whole new level of creativity – sonically and emotionally.

“We recorded the album in Manchester, Michigan with Joey Sturgis,” said Bokan. “He lives out in the middle of nowhere. That recording session feels like a lifetime ago. I did a lot of the voice tracks with Erik Ron. I flew out to L.A. to work with him. He’s helped come up with some crazy melodies.”

Having established a pattern of releasing an album in every odd year, Blessthefall knows what is expected from the band in 2017.

“I love ‘To Those Left Behind’ and right now our set list consists of the last two records,” said Bokan. “Now, I’m excited about writing a new album. After this, we don’t know what’s coming next. We might change things up a bit.

“We don’t want to start writing until we feel creative – and that time is starting to come. We’re getting into that space. We already have three or four scratch demos that we’re playing with right now.”

Video link for Blessthefall – https://youtu.be/ESG3k-vq_HQ?t=5.

The show at TLA, which also features New Years Day, Too Close To Touch, Light Up The Sky and Crown the Empire, will start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $18.

Another band that records for Fearless Records will be playing in Philadelphia on November 23 when Real Friends performs at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com).

When Chicago-based Real Friends –Kyle Fasel- bass; Dave Knox- guitar; Dan Lambton- vocals; Brian Blake- drums; Eric Haines- guitar —  played in Philly in the spring, they were on a cross-country tour where tickets are only $5. They wanted to give their fans a chance to see their energetic live show in an intimate and unique setting — for a low price.

According to Fasel, “We thought this would not only be a fun experience for our fans, but for the band as well. We want to create an experience that no one will forget. It’s a shot at us taking things back to our roots a little bit. The $5 tour was just an idea we had where our fans could see us play in a small setting with a $5 ticket.”

Real Friends has always had a blue-collar vibe.

“We’re just a product of being in local bands in Chicago and meeting each other,” said Fasel. “It’s not a huge story. It was a natural way for the band to start. We formed the band in 2010. We actually recorded before we played our first shows. We felt it was important to have music to sell at the shows. If fans like what they hear being played on stage, they want to have music to take home with them. We had our first EP out before we ever played a show.”

Real Friends is now touring in support of its sophomore album “The Home Inside My Head,” which was released a few months ago. The band put out its debut album “Maybe This Place Is The Same And We’re Just Changing” in 2014. The band is currently on tour with The Wonder Years, following a whirlwind summer on the Main Stage of the Vans Warped Tour. The 31-date tour kicked off on October 15.

“We did the Warped Tour all summer and that was a great opportunity to get out to the masses,” said Fasel in last week’s phone interview.  “It really helped get our songs out there. And, Warped Tour is always a good time but it’s the hardest tour to do. It toughens the skin.

“We’re in Atlanta now. Philly is our last date then it’s home sweet home. We recorded the new album in January and February in California – L.A. and Garden Grove. We recorded with Steve Ebbetts in his studio and did three tracks with Mike Green. We did a week of pre-production with Steve and we were really prepared.

“With the new songs, we’ve taken a more natural progression into the band we want to be. Some songs have a poppy aspect. We widened our influences. But, we still always maintain that mentality we built in with the pop-punk genre.

“When we did the pre-production, it was all of us un a room together. Then, we recorded tracks separately when we were actually making the album. We spent more than a year writing for the album. It was a tough time deciding which songs to put on the album.

“We had more songs than we needed. We were in the studio for five weeks We used two songs as extra tracks on a Target release. Fearless has done a lot of releases through Target stores. It’s really cool because it’s mainstream.”

Video link for Real Friends — https://youtu.be/uPqho1yuos0?t=5.

The show at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com), which also features The Wonder Years, Knuckle Puck, Moose Blood, Seaway, will start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.

Other shows over the next few days at Fillmore Philadelphia are Party Next Door & Jeremith on November 20, and K. Flay and Nightly on November 22.