The Late Show with Stephen Colbert gave a big fat thumbs up to the Broadway musical scene when it signed An American in Paris to be the first Broadway show to grace the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theatre during Mr. Colbert’s reign as David Letterman’s CBS-christened/fan-sanctioned heir apparent.
Set for the night of September 18th during the second week of Colbert’s premiere (once the “Colbert’s here!” ballyhoo dust settles, one desperately hopes), the multi-award-winning Gershwin dance musical will not only come to the studio with a dazzling production number—and since they’re all highly dazzling, it’s pretty much win-win for viewers—but also interviews with Tony-winning choreographer/director Christopher Wheedon and the show stars: England’s Royal Ballet veteran Leanne Cope and New York City Ballet principal dancer Robert Fairchild. Notably, Wheedon is a veteran of both the Royal Ballet and NYCB.
Photo: Angela Sterling
A theatregoer darling since it arrived on Broadway last spring, An American in Paris has managed to achieve and maintain above-average box office success. The show’s solid cachet—a result of luminous reviews, four Tony awards, word-of-mouth, and the 1951 Oscar-winning Gene Kelly-Leslie Caron film upon which it was based—didn’t hurt and should give Mr. Colbert plenty of interview fodder once the 18th rolls around.