What follows is a review of Swinging Life, a musical review that was onstage at the Alhambra in July 2009. The show returns to the same theater from Oct.-Dec. 10, 2011.
Paris, July 3, 2009—Last night, expectations low, I attended Swinging Life, a musical revue of soul, jazz, gospel, and blues songs that have been heard on Broadway, playing through July 31 at the Alhambra, a 600-seat theater in the Canal Saint Martin Quarter. I went to Swinging Life because the PR rep offered me a ticket and because the theater is 300 yards from my apartment, certainly not because I thought I was in for an entertaining evening.
Paris may have an impressive record of playing adoring host to African-American music and musicians, but it also has an underwhelming reputation when it comes to Broadway. There’s a tendency for small productions, and sometimes large, to try to ride high on great songs without the voices, the musicians, the acting, or the choreography to adequately back them up.
Case in point earlier this year was Hair, which set out from January through March to show how meaningful that tale of peace, love, and freedom can be 40+ years down the road, only to reveal how little the producers and the director knew about musical comedy.
In 2007 I wrote for an American theater magazine an article about how national and international theater producers were becoming increasingly tempted by the adventure and finances of bringing Broadway to the City of Lights. Two years later Broadway-sur-Seine—or West End on the Right Bank, if you prefer—is definitely on the up-and-up.
Case in point, Swinging Life.
Swinging Life is not a musical per say but rather a four-act assembly of choice soul, jazz, gospel, and blues tunes previously heard on Broadway (Broadway opening year in parenthesis): Play On (1997), Blues in the Night (1982), The Life (1987), The Color Purple(Broadway, 2005), Smokey Joe’s Café (1995), Dreamgirls (1982). All of the songs are sung here in English with only an occasional line of French dialogue between songs, so the show if fully accessible to non-French-speakers.
What surprised me last night was how proficient and professional the show was, especially considering the ticket price: 30€ for 1, 45€ for 2; 15€ for students.
Only in the past few years has Paris has truly begun to renew with the tradition of the actor-singer-dancer that is so familiar in the United States and England. With a dearth of opportunities until recently, it’s understandable that there hasn’t been a huge pool of well-rounded talent the strength in all three areas. Things are apparently now swinging in the right direction.
Swinging Life may not have Broadway/West End-quality singer-actor-dancers through and through, but the eight performers in Swinging Life maintain the rhythm, movement and voice of the show at a consistently good level, with notable performances by Germaine Depry, Anandha Seethanen, and Mélina Mariale. Significantly, all but one of the eight had a role (mostly minor) in Paris’s recent production of Le Roi Lion (The Lion King), which to me is a sign that the actor-singer-dancer talent pool in France, while still shallow compared with the U.S. and the U.K., is deepening.
Here’s a video of one of their voice rehearsals that will at least give you a sense of the spirit of the show.
The adept orchestra led by Jan Stumke, the arranger, on piano, reinforces the fine professionalism of the show. And I was especially surprised by the quality of the direction and choreography since that’s where I’ve learned to keep my expectations especially low in Paris for musical revues. Though the emphasis in Swinging Life is more on singing than dancing, Jean-Michel Fournereau’s direction is both efficient and energetic, with wise use of the limited stage space and only a few what-the-hell-was-that-all-about distractions.
The one failing of the show is that on several occasions the performers were unable to capture the emotion of the song, particularly in the first and third of the four acts, due in part to the absence of a storyline in which to embed the emotion of the song. Nevertheless, Swinging Time is well worth considering for English-speaking travelers and residents in Paris this month.
A further attraction is the fact that the Alhambra is in the canal quarter, an ever-so-pleasant area for an evening stroll, with plenty of laid-back, non-pricey cafés-restaurants to choose from within a two-minute radius of the theater. The show ends shortly before 11 p.m., when most places in the area stop serving food, other than salads, so you might come at around 7/7:30 for an early dinner before the show. Afterwards take a romantic walk along the canal, perhaps stop into a café to prolong the evening, as everyone else will seem to be doing. Altogether an enjoyable evening for a couple or a family, without New York or London prices.
Swinging Life, Tues.-Sat., July 2-31, 2009, at 8:30 p.m. at L’Alhambra, 21 rue Yves Toudic, 10 arrondissement, Metro République or Jacques Bonsergent. The show lasts two hours, plus a 20-minute intermission. Reservations: 01 40 20 40 25. Tickets: 30€ for 1, 45€ for 2; 15€ for students. Since the Alhambra has open seating and is unlikely to fill in summer, I suspect that little to no advance reservation is necessary. Dress lightly, the theater can be warm in summer. For more information seewww.myspace.com/swinginglifemusical.
The Alhambra, a 600-seat theater in the Canal Saint Martin Quarter, is largely devoted to concerts by contemporary artists (hip-hop, jazz, rock, pop, etc.). For a schedule of concerts see www.alhambra-paris.com.
© 2009, Gary Lee Kraut