An American in Paris is a musical about love in Paris after World War ll. The main character is a girl named Lise who is a professional ballet dancer, played by Sara Etsy. Three friends, Jerry, Adam, and Henri all fall in love with the same girl and compete for her love. All of the men fall in love with her even though she was engaged to Henri. During the Holocaust, Henri (Nick Spangler) and his family hid Lise and managed to save her life so she agrees to marry him in return for saving her. Adam is a musician who is hired to write the music for Lise’s performance.  On the day of tryouts, he encourages her to go out and perform, so afterward she gives him a flower. Adam, of course, falls in love with her too and uses her as his inspiration for every song he writes. Lastly, is Jerry (Ryan Steele) who is an artist hired to create backgrounds for the ballet performance. He and Lise meet often and he convinces her to follow her heart and do what she believes is right. Eventually, she leaves Henri and ends up with Jerry while Adam realizes he doesn’t need the girl when he has his music. It all seems to end easily, but doesn’t it seem like too much of a happily ever after?

I saw this play on Saturday, April 2nd and I personally thought it could have been better. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was an amazing performance and the actors were brilliantly talented. I am a huge Newsies fan so it was great to see Ryan Steele, former Specs as Jerry Mulligan. All the advertisements say it is a musical but I think differently. Sure, it had a lot of songs played by the orchestra but the actors sang maybe two out of the seventeen songs. Also, the plot itself, of three separate men fall in love with one woman at the same time, seemed like a very are a stretch that brought the viewer out of the plays experience. Even furthering this point Lise seemed harsh while all of the men were hilarious and relatable. Overall, it was a good play but I would change a few small details about the songs and the first act. If you intend to see this play, I would highly recommend it but if you are looking for a full-on musical, it may not be your ideal show.