In 1791 President George Washington commissioned architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant to design the capital of the United States. The French-born architect sought inspiration from some of Europe’s most beautiful cities including Milan and Amsterdam, but most of all Paris. Considering the romance evoked by Washington D.C.’s architecture, the majesty of its monuments, the beauty of its tree-lined avenues and the sense of possibility that attracts people to visit every year, it makes sense that producers would choose the breathtaking American capital as the place to hold the pre-Broadway run of the Paris-set Gigi.
The production currently being shown at The Kennedy Center cleverly combines the sense of romance evoked by Paris with the idealism suggested by D.C. Inspired by the Academy Award-winning musical (itself an adaptation of a novella by Colette) and tells the story of the title young woman (played by Vanessa Hudgens), a feisty, vivacious student perplexed by Parisians’ obsession with romance. Her grandmother Mamita (Victoria Clark) reluctantly sends her to her Aunt Alicia’s (Dee Hoty) where she is to train in order to become a high society courtesan. But Gigi mostly wants to learn about the world, and if she doesn’t understand love, she’s even more baffled by the limitations society has imposed on her gender.
She sees how family friend Gaston Lachaille (Corey Cott) gets to spend his time romancing and dumping as many women as possible, even leading some to suicide attempts, and wonders why are her options so limited? Of course things get complicated when Gaston realizes he might have feelings for the young woman. Unlike before, this Gigi isn’t sassy just for the sake of it, she is now a full fledged, self-aware human being. This seemingly slight alteration in the book, is what makes this Gigi one of the year’s essential musicals. The book has been heavily adapted by Heidi Thomas (Call the Midwife and Upstairs Downstairs) who moved around the position of the songs, altered the importance of the characters and turned what was basically one of the most misogynistic theatre pieces of all time, into a bona fide feminist musical.
For starters Thomas has reduced the appearances by aging lothario Honoré Lachaille (Howard McGillin) and most importantly has taken away from him the privilege of singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”, a song which as performed by Maurice Chevalier and Alfred Drake in the previous versions, was downright pedophilic. Instead, now the person singing this is Mamita, who laments the inevitability of Gigi’s impending adulthood, and seems to ask the angels for just a little bit more time to spend with her beloved child. As performed by Clark, the song is effectively heartbreaking, the actress evoking her character’s entire history with just a few notes. We don’t even need to know what happened to Gigi’s parents to understand how devoted her grandmother is to her.
Honoré and Mamita get more scenes together, in which the book suggests a torrid love affair decades before, but even there, Thomas doesn’t give Honoré the pleasure of the last word, instead she uses this affair to showcase Mamita’s intelligence in having chosen to spend her life with a man who would bring her more good than passion. Interestingly enough, this is the same reading one could apply to George Cukor’s version of My Fair Lady (coincidentally also featuring a book & music by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner). Unlike Vincente Minnelli who directed the film version of Gigi, Cukor understood that by the end of the story what Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) feels for Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) is more akin to economic loyalty than unbridled romantic devotion. It was a bold, if misunderstood move back then (people instead complained about the lack of chemistry between the leads), and it’s a bold move now as well.
In keeping up with the feminist changes, the delightfully dark “The Contract”, shows Alicia effectively turning around the greedy intentions of a group of lawyers, going as far as having the lawyers’ dance moves (choreographed by Joshua Bergasse) be submissive, to the point where Alicia looks like she came out of a Madonna video. While intelligent and complex, all the changes to the book have retained the romance of the plot, except they have changed its axis. Gigi is no longer just an object of affection and admiration, now she’s realized that what will determine her transition from girl to woman is how much dignity she grants herself.
When Gaston confronts Gigi and asks her if she thinks he has an easy life because he’s rich, without hesitation she replies that the reason why his life is simpler is “because you’re a man”. Hearing those words coming out of a former Disney starlet who had mostly been at the service of mediocre productions is downright subversive, and Hudgens makes the most out of it. Those who doubt her ability, will be pleasantly surprised to discover she is the kind of generous star who knows just how and when to turn off her scene-stealing, to allow other actors to shine. Her voice sounds absolutely pristine, and when she first opens her mouth, few would even expect such vocal prowess to come from such a petite package. As one of many singers in “The Night They Invented Champagne” she is effectively effervescent, all giggles and squeals, while in the touching “The Letter” she uses her instrument to show how much Gigi has changed in so little time.
Clark and Hoty are equally wonderful, the former exuding the warmth she has accustomed us to (be prepared to take out your hankies when she sings “Say a Prayer”), the latter, bringing a comedic relief performance for the ages. Cott is suave and charming, while McGillin plays the first version of Honoré that won’t repulse audience members.
Gigi features breathtaking scenic design by Derek McLane and the costumes by Catherine Zuber are so spectacular that audience members often burst into applause each time Hudgens appeared in a new design (the curtain call look is simply astonishing!) If there is one minor flaw in the production is that both the end of the first act and the eventual conclusion seem anticlimactic, but under the direction of the wonderful Eric D. Schaeffer, a few tweaks will most likely have it ready by the time it reaches Broadway. With an updated book set to inspire young women and fantastic performances by the ensemble, this Gigi is something one can really thank heaven for. It will send you out of the theatre in a magical daze, feeling as sophisticated and smart as the Paris envisioned by its revolutionary heroine.
Gigi is now playing at The Kennedy Center. For tickets and more click here.
