An American in Paris,the importance of ideas

5-22 May 2016 Dell’angelo theatre (Rome)

Inspired by the film of 1951 directed by Vincent Minnelli, on music of the Great George Gershwin, a special exhibition pays homage to the extraordinary Gene Kelly (2 February 1996-2 February 2016 marks the twentieth of artist’s death) and to the artful Vincent Minnelli (July 25, 1986-25 July 2016 marks the thirtieth anniversary of director’s death) and to the French Impressionist painters.

It’s not a Musical but a spectacle of theatre and dance enriched by exciting choreographic creations celebrating the extraordinary conception of a movie that was a cinematic ballet.

“The importance of ideas.” Not a political idea, not a religious belief but a philosophy of life that drives us to unite, to be free in diversity and tolerance to give voice to our hearts because if we are men it is only love that we need and it is only positive energy that we have to feed ourselves.

Sonia Nifosi weaves the plot of the movie with the real historical reality that the troupe of an American in Paris lived during the filming. A continuous contrast, white on black. The attempt to escape and feel free from the constraints, the desire to find a universal way without political, religious and social labels. The show focuses on McCarthyism and the famous witch hunt: in America, a very tough phenomenon that sowed panic, terror, devastation and death for anyone who could have communist ideas. Especially the artists had the worst. They sought aggregation thinking to be free to express themselves through their creations and works. Exiles, they were forced to leave their own country in order to survive, in order to flee the threats of a mad senator.

Through the show that rooted in the history of the American painter, war veteran in search of luck in Paris met and fell in love with the young Lise, we deviate from the narrative themes to open historical-temporal gates where one can learn the fear, the terror, the atrocities of the unjustified political McCarthy’s persecutions.

As in a kind of metatheater “an American in Paris-the importance of ideas” is narrated and represented through the set up of the movie set to bring out anecdotes and curiosities that were just behind the scenes during the filming . This last strand is a link between historical reality and the imaginative plot of the movie, giving the spectacle a character not only narrative and descriptive but also historical, of denunciation. A crescendo of genres: from tip tap to classic, passing through jazz and coming to the contemporary

Direction and choreography: Sonia Nifosi

Music: George Gershwin

Lyrics: Sonia Nifosi, Dario Fani, Kenneth Monna

Lighting Design and Video contents: Nicola Manuel Tallino

Costumes: Red Bodò and Andrea Yamila Romano

Scenery: Pantera Studios

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