An American in Paris expected in 2015

A musical based on 1951 MGM musical film An American in Paris, which was inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin, is to arrive on Broadway in 2015 following its world premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in Dec 2014.

An American in Paris features a book by Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Craig Lucas ('Prelude to a Kiss' and 'The Dying Gaul'), direction and choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

Christopher Wheeldon said,

I am thrilled to have been trusted with the great Gershwin property that is An American in Paris. We are all looking forward to building on its storied history and bringing a fresh perspective for today's audiences. Who could wish for a more glorious first Broadway show to direct, and for a more exciting first opening than in Paris.

Casting, theatre and dates to be announced.

An American in Paris: Eager to begin his life anew after the brutality of combat, World War II Army veteran Jerry Mulligan chooses newly-liberated Paris as the place to make a name for himself as a painter. With the assistance of fellow ex-pat Milo Davenport, a wealthy American with a past she wishes to forget, Jerry's life becomes complicated when he meets Lise, a young Parisian shop girl with her own secret. Soon it becomes clear that Jerry's friends-Adam, a Jewish American composer, and Henri, a Parisian aristocrat-also vie for Lise's love.

The musical is produced by The Pittsburgh CLO (Van Kaplan) and Théâtre du Châtelet (Jean-Luc Choplin) by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical (Stuart Oken, Michael Leavitt and Five Cent Productions).

An American in Paris is presented at Théâtre du Châtelet in English featuring the 26-member Broadway cast with a score including the songs "I Got Rhythm," "S'Wonderful," "But Not For Me," "Stairway to Paradise," "Our Love Is Here To Stay", "They Can't Take That Away" and orchestral music including "Concerto in F," "2nd Prelude," "2nd Rhapsody" and "An American In Paris."

The 1951 MGM film - directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant and Georges Guétary - tells the story of three friends struggle to find work in Paris. However, things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.

They have been earlier stage adaptations of An American in Paris, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein attempted one in the 1990's, and an adaptation by Ken Ludwig played in Houston in 2008. This new stage adaptation by Craig Lucas is unrelated to either of these earlier works.