Favorite Songs in An American in Paris

You can check out the OBC Recording on Amazon ($11.99), Spotify, and Youtube!

***This may give away small details from the show, so if you like walking into a broadway show not knowing anything about it you might want to wait until after you've seen this show (if, you plan on seeing it that is) and then read this post...***

Note: I love all of the songs in this musical, and it's quite hard to pick and choose... but right now I am picking the songs that moved me the most and left an impact on me long before I listened again to the recording...


First Act:
Concerto in F- This was just gorgeous. The piano in the first 20 seconds plays to the sound of the nazi flag falling and from there the music gets a proud upbeat, because finally Paris is liberated. When Jerry then salutes the planes flying above, that is his own symbol of starting over and beginning again and really that's what this whole song and the rest of the show is about- new beginnings.

I Got Rhythm- Come on- everybody knows this song! I actually never knew this song came from this musical up until I decided to research it before buying tickets. This is a very feel good song, and it got the people in the cafe excited and cheerful again after the tiredness of the war.

The Man I Love- I am partial to liking this song because it's actually the only time we hear Lise sing. This is in part, I love because of Lise's hopefulness that maybe she will find love and someone who will make her happy. She's not sure of what is yet to come of her future, or the twisted marriage knot she's tied up in. It's in part finding love in someone else, or with the one she is scheduled to marry.

Liza- This is the first time Lise and Jerry really good to know each other. Though arguably, that could be considered to be part of the song, Beginner's Luck. They're is a part in the beginning where they confess to each other the secrets they've kept, and realized they have the same ones. It's here that Lise forgets about her troubles, and accepting Jerry's nickname for her- Liza as a way to start over. You can tell that Jerry is the man she loves, but she doesn't want to think that because of the obligations she has. From here on, they meet in the park for an hour, just as "friends" in secret. Although it is never brought up again, we assume they continue on with this plan as a way to better get to know each other because in the second act it is clear that they have something going for them just by the arguments that get brought up from the problems in the first act.

Second Rhapsody/Cuban Overture- The scene this song plays in is very suspenseful and I won't include the details... leaving you to have some surprise when you watch the movie or see the musical. I like the song over what happens in the musical, so I'll just leave it at that.

Second Act:
But Not for Me: This is heartbreaking, and many of the cast members in a video say that this is one of their favorite songs (see link below). This song occurs right after Milo gets dumped and after the arguments occur between Lise and Jerry at the party. Adam as the narrator and being in love with Lise, takes it upon himself in a self-deprecating way and is accepting the fact that Lise will probably never love him due to what he saw at the party... and what he realized was happening between Lise and Jerry. Milo knew Jerry didn't love her, but she just didn't want to believe in it. The two most heartbreaking lines that come out of this song are "I was a fool to fall and get that way," (Milo) and "When every happy plot turns into a marriage knot," (Adam). Adam is not only mourning the love he lost, but the friendship that came down with it.

I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise: This is a very catchy song with an excellent set design. This is basically the 11 o' clock number, as most people have described it. It's probably the climax of the show, as things start being resolved after the ballet.

They Can't Take That Away From Me: This is basically all of the men- Henri, Adam, and Jerry expecting the worst from this love triangle. Jerry didn't know that Henri would drop Lise off at the park, and that Adam stopped loving her all together. Each one is recalling of the small things they love about Lise and how it'll end up staying in their minds and maybe end up in their music/art. Jerry's "memories" that he sings about amount more to Henri and Adam's because you can tell he's more deeply in love with her than the two other guys. Jerry's memories include- "when she danced till three," and "the way she'd haunt my dreams," and it seems like Lise was on his mind more than just the times he'd see her. When you're in love with someone, you tend to want to observe everything about them, morning and night. Though it isn't sure how Jerry saw Lise dancing at three in the morning, we can assume he watched in secret out the window of the ballet, Jerry would fall asleep after sketching the ballerinas and would wake up and still see Lise dancing, or the ballet was across the way from the apartment Jerry rented above the cafe. But this song... just speaks to me. Maybe it's because of how it's the final number and conclusions are being drawn.

The song works in this show are absolutely brilliant that it is quite hard to pick and choose songs! It is very surprising that this didn't win a TONY award all together, but I found out that this show was already successful and made a lot of money so they wanted to get Fun Home to make money. But I love Fun Home, too but I thought it was already making money before hand. But I guess it does help it make its case, since it's neighbors with Wicked. To be nominated for a TONY is an incredible honor, and I think even that attracts business.


LINKS:
An American in Paris Cast and Creative Song Favorites: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJh2Cu3pn9g)


UPCOMING POSTS:
How to Tell if A Broadway Show is Closing
TONY Awards 2015- Favorite performances and more! (two and a half months late... I just really want to discuss this!!)

Newsies Review- Coming Soon... it has been written but since it gives away a lot of details I will probably trash it because I want you to watch it to find out.