The London casting for Christopher Wheeldon's An American in Paris has been announced. Madame Baurel will be played by none other than → → → →
Who among us dares to admit being old enough to remember Jane Asher from the earliest Beatles days? She was the inspiration for And I Love Her and Here, There, and Everywhere.
Sir Paul really messed up with her, didn't he. Anyway, she continued on building her career as an actress and has become one of England's national treasures on the stage and screen. What a fab, fab, fab addition to an already incredible cast for the London run that includes Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope.
Jane Asher is 70 now. [The crowd screams: Nooooooo.] Yes, she is. Here she is at 70 with her husband of 35 years, Gerald Scarfe:
We doubt that the GettyImages peeps did anything to enhance this photo.
The cast also includes Ashley Day who will alternate with Robert Fairchild as Jerry before taking on the role full time on June 19th. What will Fairchild do then? Spend the summer getting back into ballet shape? That would be nice, but we suspect he has bigger plans.
Haydn Oakley (Henri Baurel), Zoë Rainey (Milo Davenport), David Seadon-Young (Adam Hochberg), Julian Forsyth and Ashley Andrews, Sophie Apollonia, Zoe Arshamian, Sarah Bakker, James Barton, Alicia Beck, Chrissy Brooke, James Butcher, Jonathan Caguioa, Jennifer Davison, Katie Deacon, Rebecca Fennelly, Sebastian Goffin, Alyn Hawke, Nicky Henshall, Genevieve Heron, Amy Hollins, Frankie Jenna, Justin-Lee Jones, Robin Kent, Kristen McGarrity, Julia J. Nagle, Daniela Norman, Aaron Smyth, Todd Talbot, Max Westwell, Jack Wilcox, Carrie Willis, Stuart Winter and Liam Wrate. We think that Aaron Smyth is on the verge of skyrocketing into major musical theater and may never look back over his shoulder at the ballet world.
London is about to be treated to one of the most terrific musicals in years. Previews open at the Dominion Theatre on March 4, 2017.
––––––––––––––––––––
Meanwhile, Paris is in for a special treat tomorrow when Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo take the stage in the penultimate performance of Sleeping Beauty at the Opéra Bastille. We read that it's sold out. Good for them. Sorry for those who couldn't get a ticket and will miss the show, because these two artists define what this restoration is all about. Sarah and Herman are, of course, the couple who is most faithful to the Petipa choreography as notated by Stepanov. We fear that the Parisians may try to sneak these two into their pockets and take them home. Jist Fuggedaboutit.
Photo: Rosalie O'Connor
4 responses to “observations 9-9”
Wow! Thanks, Hagland, for that blast from the past! For kids back then, Jane Asher was the absolute “It” girl, the one you wanted to be. In addition, I’ve also read that the only show of the ABT Paris run which sold out beforehand was the Sat. matinee. A slap in the face to the ABT AD, peut-etre? Hope you’ve been able to enjoy the snippets of video which have been posted to Instagram during the run by fans & dancers alike. I’ve had a happy couple of weeks viewing bits of laughter and some wonderful dancing!
Wow! Thanks, Hagland, for that blast from the past! For kids back then, Jane Asher was the absolute “It” girl, the one you wanted to be. In addition, I’ve also read that the only show of the ABT Paris run which sold out beforehand was the Sat. matinee. A slap in the face to the ABT AD, peut-etre? Hope you’ve been able to enjoy the snippets of video which have been posted to Instagram during the run by fans & dancers alike. I’ve had a happy couple of weeks viewing bits of laughter and some wonderful dancing!
Hi, LLF.
It’s made me quite happy, too, to see those snippets of Sarah Lane’s rehearsals. You know, Herman was busy in Argentina with Alessandra preparing for a gala during the first week and the week prior to the Paris run. If he had been available on opening night, maybe Sarah would have gotten the performance.
As for Jane Asher – holy cow, what a trip down memory lane! You can see McCartney’s regret in the faces of all of the women who came after her. 😉
Hi, LLF.
It’s made me quite happy, too, to see those snippets of Sarah Lane’s rehearsals. You know, Herman was busy in Argentina with Alessandra preparing for a gala during the first week and the week prior to the Paris run. If he had been available on opening night, maybe Sarah would have gotten the performance.
As for Jane Asher – holy cow, what a trip down memory lane! You can see McCartney’s regret in the faces of all of the women who came after her. 😉