Something appealing, Something appalling, Something for everyone:
A comedy tonight!
These are the brilliant lyrics by Stephen Sondheim from the opening song, A Comedy Tonight, from the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which is having its premiere in Paris.
In the early 2000s, Jean-Luc Choplin, the director of the Chatelet Theater, launched a series of classic American musicals to Paris for the first time. The series included many Broadway-style productions of Sondheim musicals such as A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Passion, Into the Woods, and Sunday in the Park with George.
The iconic Lido nightclub retired its dated, topless girlie shows and converted the venue into a theater. Last year they had a successful production of Cabaret and last month they presented A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, another Sondheim favorite.
I was invited to the show last week and went with a friend. The Lido 2 is on the Champs Elysees (of course!) and we walked down a long, glamorous red-carpeted hallway to get to the theater. Inside, the venue was more like an elegant, Vegas lounge with tufted velvet banquettes with tables for light food and drinks.
The show started at 8 pm, and for the next 2.5 hours, we were thoroughly entertained with laugh-out-loud pranks, puns, broad physical comedy, and slapstick, clever lyrics and memorable songs, and a fantastic cast of first-rate British actors and singers. A standout is the satirical but touching ballad Lovely.
The show was a welcome, lighthearted relief from the strife of bad politics and wars going on in the world today.
Note: The show is performed in English.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Until February 4, 2024
Lido 2
116 bis Avenue de Champs Elysees, 75008
https://billetterie.lido2paris.com/en/manifestation/7/a_funny_thing_happened_on_the_way_to_the_forum
Eye Prefer Paris 18th Anniversary
In 2024, I will celebrate 18 years of bringing you Eye Prefer Paris. I want to thank and acknowledge everyone who has read Eye Prefer Paris, and especially want to thank my loyal subscribers who have received my posts by email over the years.
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