MUSICALS IN FRANCE Part I -Cultural Diplomacy
- Beth Blatt
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
WHEN WE SING TOGETHER, OUR HEARTS MEET.
Musicals - or "comédies musicales" are booming in Paris.
Which is surprising.
And may also be a sign of something – bigger. (IMHO)
Musicals are a typically American art form. They tend to be sunny, optimistic, open-hearted and open-throated. Even when there is darkness – as in my two favorite musicals, Man of La Mancha and Fiddler on the Roof - there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the Greeks would say, catharsis.
This kind of heart-on-the-sleeve, WYZIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) is not really France’s style. I believe it’s the only country where Les Miserables – about France! - didn’t make money. Apparently, people actually laughed when singers burst into such emotionally exalted - read over-the-top - song.
Oddly, Germany - strict, by-the-book, buttoned up Germany - loves musicals. Rocky, the musical version of the film written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty actually premiered in Hamburg in 2012, two years before it moved to Broadway.
BREF - musicals have been pretty rare in Paris - until now.
This fall (2025), there are 20 musicals playing in Paris.
Yes, some - like Notre Dame de Paris - are home-grown. These tend to be more pop-rock spectacle than true musical (think Jesus Christ Superstar).
But now, joining them sur les pistes are very traditional musicals including Gypsy, Rocky Horror, La Cage Aux Folles, Lion King, The Producers, Hello, Dolly!, Phantom of the Opera.
And the biggest breakthrough? The multi-award-winning Dear Evan Hansen is playing - with not only the book in French, but the lyrics, too! This is very rare, because that tranlation is very tricky to do.
More about Cher Evan Hansen in my blog Musicals Part II...
It feels like we are at the beginning of a major wave.
The first one to make ripples may have been the super-talented (and generous and lovely) Miranda Crispin. Back in 2015, she created American Musical Theatre Live. It continues to host monthly OPEN MIC'S -
on a barge in the Seine -
and they are mind-boggling!
Packed with young French people
belting out show tunes.
THEY EVEN DID MY UN WOMEN SONG FOR INT'L WOMEN'S DAY!
AMT Live also presented concert versions of “songbooks.” Pasek and Paul have stopped by, as has Stephen Schwartz.
Now here comes Atlantic Theatre Arts, founded in 2022. There are other English-language groups in Paris, but none focuses on musicals and performance like they do. They even do Shakespeare (recently, Much Ado). They stage a quarterly Broadway sing-along. They packed the American Church with their Wicked event. In February, they’re doing that fave of mine - La Mancha.
They offer classes in performance - including their new Broadway Studio, that lets emerging and established performers learn and work together on their craft. Classes are taught by echt American artists Adam Alexander and Lauren Van Kempen. Again, other companies do this – but often the focus is on children (which pays the bills).
They are also offering classes in musical theatre writing (one of which I just taught).
To me, this is not just fun to see these musicals in Paris - which it, of course, is.
It is a sign of a growing shared sensibility between our two countries, especially amongst the Young Folk.
I was in a Harvard-run study group led by the inspirational cultural diplomat and opera singer Carla Canales. She says about “Soft Power” -
…the arts are essential. They build bridges within — and between — societies. It’s why a single song can make the world a little better by helping us to collectively imagine a better future.
This is why when, two days ago, I was in a room full of French and Anglophones singing “Let It Go” from Frozen, I cried.
WHEN WE SING TOGETHER, OUR HEARTS MEET!
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