Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Presents
An American in Paris

June 13-18, 2017

First National Tour of Most Awarded Musical of 2015

ST. PAUL, Minn. (May 11, 2017) — Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is thrilled to present AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, the most awarded new musical of 2015 and winner of four Tony Awards®, June 13-18 for eight performances only. Tickets for the national touring production start at $42 and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in-person at the Ordway ticket office.

Jerry Mulligan and Lise Dassin will be played by McGee Maddox and Sara Esty. Joining them are Etai Benson (Wicked) as Adam Hochberg; Emily Ferranti (Wicked, Dreamgirls) as Milo Davenport; Gayton Scott (Gypsy, The Women) as Madame Baurel; and Nick Spangler (The Book of Mormon, Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella) as Henri Baurel.

Leigh-Ann Esty (Miami City Ballet) and Ryan Steele (Newsies, Matilda) join the cast as the Lise and Jerry alternates. Rounding out the company are: Karolina Blonski, Brittany Bohn, Stephen Brower, Randy Castillo, Jessica Cohen, Jace Coronado, Alexa De Barr, Ashlee Dupré, Erika Hebron, Christopher M. Howard, Weston Krukow, Marina Lazzaratto, Nathalie Marrable, Tom Mattingly, Caitlin Meighan, Don Noble, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Alexandra Pernice, David Prottas, Danielle Santos, Bradley Schlagheck, Lucas Segovia, Kyle Vaughn, Laurie Wells, Dana Winkle, Erica Wong and Blake Zelesnikar.

Inspired by the Academy Award-winning film, An American in Paris is the romantic story about an American soldier, a mysterious French girl and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war. Directed and choreographed by 2015 Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon, the show features the music and lyrics of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and a book by Craig Lucas.

An American in Paris won four 2015 Tony Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Drama League Award for Best Musical, three Fred and Adele Astaire Awards and two Theatre World Awards. The musical was included on the Year’s Best lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, The New Yorker, the Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Masterworks Broadway Original Broadway Cast recording of An American in Paris was nominated for the Best Musical Theater Album Grammy Award.

The score of An American in Paris includes the songs "I Got Rhythm," "Liza," "'S Wonderful," "But Not For Me," "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise," and orchestral music including "Concerto in F," "Second Prelude," "Second Rhapsody/Cuban Overture" and "An American In Paris."

The production opened to widespread critical acclaim at the Palace Theatre on Broadway on April 12, 2015, after its world premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris November 22, 2014-January 4, 2015. The New York production was on stage for more than 500 performances, ending its run in October 2016. A West End production of An American in Paris opened in March 2017 at the Dominion Theatre.

The creative team is composed of Tony Award-winners Bob Crowley (set and costume designer) and Natasha Katz (lighting designer), Jon Weston (sound designer), 59 Productions (projection designer), Rob Fisher (musical score adaption, arrangement and supervision), Todd Ellison (musical supervisor), David Andrews Rogers (musical director/conductor), Christopher Austin and Bill Elliott (orchestrations), Sam Davis (dance arrangements), Telsey + Company/Rachel Hoffman, C.S.A. (casting), Rick Steiger (production supervisor), Dontee Kiehn (associate director) and Sean Kelly (associate choreographer).

The producers are Stuart Oken, Van Kaplan and Roy Furman by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical, Pittsburgh CLO and Théâtre du Châtelet.

An American in Paris is sponsored by U.S. Bank, part of the Ordway’s 2016-17 Musical Theater Series, sponsored by Bremer Bank. For tickets and more information, visit www.ordway.org.

ABOUT THE ORDWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Ordway is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading nonprofit performing arts centers and Saint Paul’s most elegant and inviting performance space. The Ordway’s Music Theater and Concert Hall attract diverse audiences with an array of productions showcasing the finest in American musical theater, world music, dance and vocal performance. Education and community engagement are integral to the Ordway’s mission, with major initiatives including the annual Flint Hills International Children’s Festival and Ordway Education programs that serve more than 50,000 students annually. Together with Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club, the Ordway is a member of the Arts Partnership and serves as the principal venue for their performances. For more information, visit www.ordway.org.