BETHESDA, Md. — There’s no place like home for the holidays, especially for Broadway stars.
After appearing in the original Broadway cast of “An American in Paris,” Bethesda native Allison Walsh returns home for the national tour at the Kennedy Center (Dec. 12 to Jan. 7).
“I’m so excited to be home for the holidays,” Walsh told WTOP. “I’m home for an entire month and I’m going to live with my mom. She’s ecstatic. … The Kennedy Center Opera House was actually the first professional stage I ever performed on. When I was 9, I danced with the Joffrey Ballet, who used to perform at Kennedy Center every Christmas for ‘The Nutcracker.'”
She also trained at Maryland Youth Ballet, attended Walter Johnson High School and joined The Washington Ballet under Septime Webre, who’s since handed the reins to Julie Kent.
“Kent’s mother, Mrs. Cox, was my very first ballet teacher,” Walsh said. “I grew up hearing about Julie and obsessing over how incredible a ballet dancer she was. It’s so inspiring and empowering that she’s taken over the company. … I actually worked my very first year out of high school with The Washington Ballet, so it’s great to be home among friends and family and to see all these great people from the ballet world and theater world coming together.”
Based on Vincente Minnelli’s 1951 movie musical and the 2015 Broadway adaptation by Craig Lucas (book) and Christopher Wheeldon (director/choreographer), “An American Paris” tells the story of U.S. Army Lieutenant Jerry Mulligan (McGee Maddox), who lives in 1945 Paris after World War II and falls for a mysterious French ballet dancer named Lise Dassin (Walsh).
“He decides not to go home from Paris after the liberation,” Walsh said. “It really is about a group of young people, all artists, who are coming out of the war trying to find themselves through art and love. … Our show is different than the movie in that it takes place right after World War II, not a bit later. It’s also not quite as Technicolor. It has a darker, post-war feel.”
While the time period is different, the show features the same tunes by George and Ira Gershwin, including “I Got Rhythm,” “S’Wonderful” and the “An American in Paris” ballet.
“It’s incredible the access the Gershwin Trust gave us,” Walsh said. “The opening ballet is incredible, then of course it finishes with the final ballet. In between [are] songs everyone knows — ‘I Got Rhythm,’ ‘S’Wonderful,’ ‘The Man I Love’ — but also songs I wasn’t that familiar with, like this beautiful song Matt Scott sings called ‘But Not For Me.’ … It’s very moving the way they orchestrate the entire evening. It’s seamless, it’s classic, it’s iconic, it’s Gershwin!”
However, there is one notable exception. The movie’s signature soft shoe number by the river Seine, “Our Love is Here to Stay,” did not make the cut for the Broadway songbook.
“It’s funny, we actually did sing it in the original workshop,” Walsh said. “But I can’t remember if we took it to Paris and decided not to sing it there. I forget why they ended up not using it, but I still hum it because I practiced it so much when we were in the initial rehearsals!”
No matter, “An American in Paris” remains a first-rate production that won four Tony Awards for Choreography (Wheeldon), Lighting Design (Natasha Katz), Orchestrations (Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky and Bill Elliott) and Scenic Design (Bob Crowley and 59 Productions).
“This show blends ballet, jazz, tap, singing and acting in a way that I don’t think people had seen before,” Walsh said. “It brings out the best of every performer because we’re asked to be triple threats and everyone is asked to do something that is perhaps new to them. The entire cast manipulates the stage. There’s no automation, there’s no turntable, you’re not reliant on any projections. That’s a really amazing element of the show — we are creating the sets.”
Walsh has seen such elements evolve since the workshop phase four years ago.
“I’ve been with the show since its inception,” Walsh said. “It was incredible to premiere in Paris —we sold out our entire run — then on Broadway with the incredible original cast, then take it on the road with a fresh company. It’s been really cool to see it in all its different variations.”
Ironically, she hadn’t previously seen the 1951 film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.
“The first time I saw it in its entirety was when I auditioned,” Walsh said. “I had seen other Leslie Caron movies like ‘Gigi’ and ‘Lili,’ [but] I hadn’t seen ‘An American in Paris.’ … I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie Caron on Broadway! She is still just as elegant, intelligent and graceful as the movie. … She saw the show and was so complimentary afterwards. We were all a little worried [but] Bobby Fairchild twirled her with this incredible smile on her face.”
Now, it’s Walsh’s turn to twirl across the Kennedy Center stage like she did in her youth.
“It’s incredible to come full circle and perform on the Opera House stage for a full month,” Walsh said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. … I think that’s what is so special about growing up in the D.C. area — all of the cultural and arts institutions you have access to.”
Instead of “An American in Paris,” the new title should be “A New Yorker from Bethesda.”
“I’m not sure we’d sell as many tickets,” Walsh joked.
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