New York City Ballet's Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope & More to Star in Broadway-Bound An American in Paris

New York City Ballet dancer Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope and more will star in the Broadway-bound production of An American in Paris, which will receive its world premiere at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. As previously reported, the tuner, inspired by the classic Oscar-winning film of the same name, will be directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, feature music by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas. The production will begin Paris performances in December before coming to Broadway in the spring of 2015.

In addition to Fairchild and Cope, who will play Jerry Mulligan and Lise Dassin, respectively, the cast will include Veanne Cox as Madame Baurel, Jill Paice as Milo Davenport, Brandon Uranowitz as Adam Hochberg and Max Von Essen as Henri Baurel. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Fairchild is currently a member of the New York City Ballet, and has appeared as a soloist since 2007 and a Principal Dancer since 2009. Cope has created several roles for the Royal Ballet School company, where she was promoted to First Artist in 2009. Cox’s Broadway credits include A Free Man of Color, La Cage aux Folles and Caroline, or Change. She was last seen off-Broadway in The Old Friends. Paice is currently starring in Matilda on Broadway as Miss Honey. Her additional Broadway credits include The 39 Steps, Curtains and The Woman in White. Uranowitz, who recently starred in Torch Song Trilogy off-Broadway, made his Broadway debut in Baby, It’s You!. Von Essen recently appeared in the revival of Evita, and has also starred on Broadway in Les Miserables, Dance of the Vampires and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Eager to begin his life anew after the brutality of combat, World War II Army veteran Jerry Mulligan (Fairchild, played in the movie by Gene Kelly) 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 (Paice), a wealthy American with a past she wishes to forget, Jerry’s life becomes complicated when he meets Lise (Cope), a young Parisian shop girl with her own secret. Soon it becomes clear that Jerry’s friends—Adam, a Jewish American composer (Uranowitz), and Henri, a Parisian aristocrat (Von Essen)—also vie for Lise’s love. This romantic tangle can only be untied through the miracle of dance set to some of the greatest music and lyrics ever written.