Review: Reagle Ravishes with 'An American in Paris'

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston brings the hit Broadway stage adaptation of the classic film to town with a production, and a cast, that does the show justice.

Adapted from the 1951 Vincente Minnelli movie starring Gene Kelly, the stage musical – boasting a book by Craig Lucas – ups the romantic entanglements, turning a classic love triangle device into a thornier, more complicated configuration. The story follows American serviceman Jerry (Jack Mullen), recently discharged from the military with the end of World War II, as he decides against a return to America and seeks a career as a painter in Paris. A fleeting encounter with a young woman named Lise (Samantha Barnes) on the streets of the romantic city turns into a story of love as Jerry and Lise run into each other once more at a ballet studio, where Lise is auditioning for a show and Jerry is hoping to scare up some work.

Henri (Christopher Lewis), the scion of a prominent family, has designs of his own for marrying Lise, however, even as Jerry's composer friend Adam (Jared Troilo) – who also narrates the play – is just as smitten with her as Jerry is. Complicating matters is the entrance of Milo (Rebekah Rae Robles), who takes such a shine to Jerry that she promises the head of the ballet company, Maestro Z (Dom Pappagallo), money for the company's performances... but only if one of those shows is a commission starring Lise, scored by Adam, and with scenic design by Jerry. Maestro Z needs the funds, but even so his scorn is hard to overcome – especially when it comes to Jerry, who the Maestro rejects on the grounds that he already has designers working for him.

Maestro Z, however, doesn't reckon with how Milo, Adam, and the others will work on him, and as the commissioned work takes form he is gradually swayed.

That's a less intractable problem than the one Lise faces. Unwittingly agreeing to marry Henri, but won over by Jerry's charms, she struggles to find a solution. The musical touches on darker undercurrents from the characters' pasts – they've just been through the most destructive war in history at that point, after all – but much is resolved as Adam finds his way toward a brighter, happier style of music. Art, it seems, can enhance and improve life, not simply imitate it.

Director and choreographer Rachel Bertone makes full use of her talented cast. Mullen, just out of conservatory, is already the recipient of an Elliot Norton award for his work in Reagle's "Oklahoma!" last season, and it's easy to see why: His stage presence is undeniable. Troilo proves himself a powerful belter – which is handy, since the music eclipses the singers' voices on occasion – and radiates confidence in his mastery of the material. Barnes, as Lise, possesses a gamine-like quality: You completely buy her tragic backstory and everything that comes with it, including her romantic dilemma (actually, make that a trilemma).

Robles, meanwhile, is wonderful as the force-of-nature Milo, who sweeps Jerry off his feet and into a relationship that's convenient in a number of ways even if it's not grandly romantic. Lewis plays Henri with complexity that matches the character's multi-faceted nature; he dreams of performing in night clubs, but is terrified that his family, who are obsessed with appearances, will be disappointed in him if they find out about his secret passion. As the play unfolds, more about Henri and his family becomes clear, and theirs is one of the play's more dramatic subplots.

Bertone also explores the myriad possibilities for the play's staging and choreography, bringing joyous energy and moments of brilliance to the dance numbers – which, like the play overall, are enhanced by (literally) 500 costumes (credit is given to Emerald City Theatrical), along with a movement style that feels of a piece with the post-WWII Parisian setting. The scenic design here would delight even the skeptical Maestro Z, as an iconic arch from the base of the Eiffel Tower soars above, which helps to frame the action. (Cameron McEachern does the set design, while Franklin Meissner, Jr., helms the lighting.)

The result is an expertly assembled production that runs like clockwork while feeling anything but mechanical, bursting with George Gershwin's music and songs (many of which are standards from the Great American Songbook at this point). One scene brings whole new levels of meaning to "The Man I Love," and you haven't lived until you've heard "S'Wonderful" in three-part male harmony, as you will here. The monumental ballet that serves as an artistic and narrative culmination of the show is such a delight you have no sense of the nearly 20 minutes it takes, nor does the show's overall three-hour run time feel nearly that long.

Bertone, who has done such excellent work on Boston stages in the past, knocks it out of the park once more. Catch this show during its brief run – it's only here through next weekend.

"An American in Paris" continues through Aug. 18. For tickets and more information, follow this link.