I Prefer Paris

Hello Dolly at the Lido Paris 2

One of the most beloved and popular American musicals of all time, Hello Dolly, has arrived in Paris. The original production on Broadway, based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman, opened in 1964, and became one of the longest running musicals on Broadway. It starred Carol Channing as Dolly, who make the role indelible, performing in it over 5000 times over a four-decade span.

I saw the revival in New York in the mid-1990s with Carol Channing, and she was superb.

The Paris production, celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Broadway debut, performed in English with French subtitles, gets the flavor and spirit very well, executing the songs, and the book with verve and high energy.

Dolly is played by Caroline O’ Connor, and even though I never heard of her, she has an impressive resumé, having preformed in shows such as Cabaret, Gypsy, Chicago, and Funny Girl, on Broadway, the West End in London, and in Australia. As Dolly, she hits the mark more so with her comedic gestures and funny antics, and the supporting cast backs her up perfectly.

The show is accompanied by an excellent orchestra, who bring out the best of the musical numbers, especially Before the Parade Passes By, with the brass section playing to the hilt.  

Although the stage is small, the production has a much larger presence due to the clever choreography and staging. The costumes are gorgeous and the scene when Dolly walks down the staircase to make her entry into Harmonia Gardens to sing Hello Dolly, accompanied by waiters in cropped red jackets with white shirts and bowties, is a knockout.

Hello Dolly

Until January 5, 2025

Lido 2

https://lido2paris.com/en/upcoming-events/hello-dolly/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuryUzIHriQMVI6doCR0U4hqcEAAYASAAEgKhM_D_BwE

EYE PREFER PARIS POSTCARDS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS

I am offering a holiday sale of free shipping on Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards. In addition, if you want to send them as a holiday gift, I can handwrite a personalized card for you.

For a set of 18 cards, you will save $12, and for a set of 9 cards, you will save $8.

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

IMPORTANT! You must order your cards before December 10, as I mail them from Paris, and it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to arrive in the U.S.

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65 Includes Free Shipping.

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping 

Postcards are hand-wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French-blue envelope. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

Blue Doors

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors

Wood Doors

Door Knockers

 

SAVE THE DATE: NOV. 8, 2024

You are invited to the Paris premiere of my partner Vincent's new short film UNTITLED (AMERICAN STORY) screening at ASVOFF 16 Film festival on November 8th, 7 PM. I look forward to seeing you there. 

 

CLICK HERE TO BUY A TICKET 

DOVER STREET MARKET PARIS

35-37 RUE DES FRANC BOURGEOIS 75004

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet at Chatelet

Romeo and Juliet, the timeless story of star-crossed lovers by Shakespeare, has been performed endless times around the globe over the centuries. It’s been translated, rebooted, and modernized to attract new generations to the universal theme. It’s been a film many times over, an opera, and immortalized in dance and ballet. 

Matthew Bourne, the British choreographer and director extraordinaire, has brought a fresh new twist to Romeo and Juliet. Debuting in 2019 in London at Sadler’s Wells in London, the full-length ballet is set in the Verona Institute, a mental hospital with music by composer Sergei Prokofiev. It was huge hit with glowing reviews and is now being performed in Paris. 

When the curtain opens, the spare but striking almost black and white set by Lez Brotherston (who also designed the all-white costumes) sets the tone for the next two hours. The harsh reality of the institution gives way to an even more heartbreaking but poignant retelling of the story. The fast paced and powerful choreography is sensational, and the movement of dancers is downright breathtaking. The love scenes between Romeo and Juliet are beautiful and tender. 

Even though there’s no dialogue, the dance and music tells the story powerfully. 

Romeo and Juliet 

Theatre du Chatelet  Until April 28, 2024

https://www.chatelet.com/en/programmation/season-2023-2024/matthew-bournes-romeo-and-juliet/

Egyptian Pharaohs at Atelier des Lumieres

 

Pharaohs and ancient Egypt come alive on the walls of Atelier des Lumieres for the new 2024 exhibition. 

It’s an unusual departure for Atelier des Lumieres, as they have presented shows by major artists of the 19^th and 20^thcentury in the last seven years including Van Gogh. Monet, Cezanne, and Klimt. 

The mesmerizing light show traces the history of Egypt, beginning with the remains of old Egypt that were uncovered by French scientists during the Egyptian Campaign of 1798 to 1801, with drawings by artists David Roberts. It continues with depictions of the enormous construction sites used to build the pyramids and chronicling the workers. The wondrous temples from Luxor to Abu Simbel are also displayed along with the Valley of the Queen’s and King’s.

A shorter show of 15 minutes, The Orientalists, Ingres, Delacroix, Gerome… follows Egyptian Pharaohs. When the gateways of the Orient began allowing painters from Western civilization, it opened a new world for artists such as Ingres, Delacroix, and Gerome and a host of lesser-known painters. Their exotic paintings come to life as we enter a world of mystery and fantasy.

Until January 5, 2025

28 rue Saint Maur, 75011 https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en

Experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens, and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Shopping Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, Emily in Paris tours, and Chocolate and pastry tours.

Tours start at 275 euros for up to 3 people, and 85 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.

 Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Lido 2 Paris

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. 

Many blogs these days, are using platforms such as Patron or Substack, where you have partial access to their content, and to view the full content, you must pay a monthly or yearly fee.

I would like to continue posting on Eye Prefer Paris free of charge but there are costs involved in maintaining the blog, including a monthly fee to send my posts to my subscribers, and the platform I use to distribute the blog, Typepad.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could support me with a donation so I can cover my costs and continue to bring you Eye Prefer Paris free of charge.

CLICK HERE  to make a PayPal donation (You don’t need a PayPal account to donate; you can just enter your credit card info **and be sure to opt for paying friends or family so a fee is not deducted.) I can also receive donations by Zelle and you can use my email address [email protected]

Or if you prefer to send a check, please email me at [email protected] and I will advise on mailing instructions.

SPECIAL INCENTIVE:

Anyone who donates $75 or more will receive a gift of a packet of 9 Eye Prefer Paris Door Photos.

Chagall, Paris-New York & Paul Klee at L’Atelier des Lumieres

Every year L’Atelier des Lumieres launches its latest event in mid-February. I have had the pleasure of being invited to the press showing each time since 2018, and the shows have always been a joy to experience.

Chagall, Paris-New York is the main event and the Paul Klee- Painting Music, is the secondary, shorter show.

One of the things I like most about Chagall, Paris-New York was there was more of a narrative, than other L’Atelier des Lumieres shows in the past, paying more attention to Chagall’s journey as an artist. Chagall lived in Paris until 1941 but then moved to New York to escape the Nazi invasion of Paris (Chagall was Jewish), returning to France in 1948 and moving to the Cote d’Azur. The beginning of the show starts with romantic images and paintings of Montmartre in the early 1900s, and mid-way through, there are a number of black and white photos of New York from the period and of Chagall splashed on the walls, while a gorgeous soundtrack of Ella Fitzgerald singing songs from Porgy and Bess plays in the background. Other types of music played include classical music, klezmer, and jazz, all accurately appropriate for Chagall and his work.

Paul Klee- Painting Music, is a celebration of art and music. Paul Klee was an accomplished violinist and singer, in addition to being a great artist. Most of his painting was informed and influenced by music. The music accompanying the show is from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Chagall, Paris-New York & Paul Klee at L’Atelier des Lumieres

38 rue Saint Maur, 75011

https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/events

Important Note: It’s best to book tickets in advance and the show starts at 5 minutes before the hour, so book your tickets 15-20 minutes before.

The photos below are from Paul Klee- Painting Music

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

https://eyepreferparistours.com/

Christmas in Paris 2022: Mini-Mondes Illumination Show at Jardin des Plantes

Continuing with my Christmas in Paris 2022 posts, today is about the wonderful Mini-Mondes Illumination Show at Jardin des Plantes. Throughout the park is a magical world of over 100 gigantic, bugs, insects, snails, dragonflies, plants, centipedes, butterflies, and spiders all  lit up in glorious Technicolor.

Mini-Mondes Illumination Show at Jardin des Plantes

Until January 15, 2023

Open 6pm-11pm every night, last entrance 60 minutes before

https://www.jardindesplantesdeparis.fr/fr/programme/galeries-jardins-zoo-bibliotheques/mini-mondes-voie-dillumination-4349

 

Save the Date, November 13: Invitation to a Special Screening of After Louie, a Film by Vincent Gagliostro

In 2017, my partner Vincent Gagliostro premiered After Louie, a film he directed and co-wrote, starring Alan Cumming.

After Louie toured the film festival circuit around the globe in 2017 and 2018, with screenings in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Toronto, Oslo, Tel Aviv, and San Francisco. It premiered at the BFI Gay Film Festival in London with two sold out screenings and was the closing night selection of Frameline Festival in San Francisco, screened at the legendary Castro Theater, with over 2000 people in attendance.

There’s going to be a special screening of After Louie (as part of A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival) in Paris at 12pm on Sunday, November December 13 at 35/37 Cultural Center, 35-37 rue de Francs Bourgeois, 75003 and Vincent and I would love for you to attend.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

After Louie follows Sam (Tony Award winner Alan Cumming), an artist and activist from ACT UP who lived through the early years of HIV/AIDS a man scarred and still struggling with survivor's guilt. Cemented into an oppressive past, he is bewildered by a younger generation of carefree gay men with their uninhibited use of social media, sexting, and seeming political indifference. But when he meets the seductive young Braeden (Zachary Booth), an intergenerational relationship blossoms between them -- one capable of reawakening Sam's artistic soul and reviving his wilted heart.

After Louie Screening

November 13, 2022 @ 12pm

35/37 Cultural Center, 35-37 rue de Francs Bourgeois, 75003

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

https://filmfreeway.com/ASVOFF/tickets

If you can’t attend the screening, CLICK HERE to rent After Louie on I Tunes.

CLICK HERE to watch a trailer of After Louie

Vincent

Atelier des Lumieres 2022: Kandinsky, The Odyssey of Abstraction

The second part of the Atelier des Lumieres 2022 exhibition, is the 10-minute-long Kandinsky, The Odyssey of Abstraction, which I thought should have been longer.

Kandinsky, The Odyssey of Abstraction explores the two major phases of Kandinsky’s trajectory in Russia and France; his first part shows more figurative and landscape works, influenced from Impressionism, and the second part shows more of his abstract work of form and color.

The show started off with images of landscapes of villages and the countryside which I hadn’t seen before. It then graduated to the bold, architectural shapes and spellbinding color saturations of Kandinsky floating across the walls, and when it ended so abruptly, I begged to see more.   

Kandinsky, The Odyssey of Abstraction

Until January 2, 2023

Atelier des Lumieres

38 rue Saint Maur, 75011

Open Monday to Thursday: 10am to 6pm. Fridays and Saturdays until 10pm and Sundays until 7pm.

https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/home

Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris. 

I am excited to launch a new series of Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris. 

The limited-edition series of Eye Prefer Paris Door Collection Postcards are available three different ways.

18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65- Free shipping 

9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

Each postcard is printed on thick matte coated card stock, similar to traditional vintage postcard stock, that enhances the vibrancy of each image. Eye Prefer Paris Postcards come in classic postcard size (6”x 4.25”), perfect for collecting, framing, or sending to that special someone. 

Each order is specially hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. Postcards take about 4- 7 days to arrive in the U.S. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection make a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family, and I can write a handwritten note for you and include it in the envelope. 

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65- Free shipping 

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, December 1- Tuileries Christmas Market Tour

Please join me for a very special Facebook Live tour with Atout France of the festive Tuileries Christmas Market on Wednesday, December 1@10am East Coast Time, 9am Mid-West Time, 7am West Coast Time & 4pm Paris Time. 

As is the custom each year, Paris is decked out in lights as the festive season approaches. Streets sparkle, major department stores come alive and the magic of Christmas weaves its spell!  We will visit the best and most popular Christmas market in the iconic Tuileries Gardens and experience the dazzling lights and dozens of food and gift chalets. We will also see the holiday lights, decorations, and shop windows on the rue de Rivoli, rue Saint Honore, and the festive holiday displays on the Place Vendome.

CLICK HERE for more information and to reserve your spot. I look forward to seeing you! 

Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris. 

I am excited to launch a new series of Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris. 

The limited-edition series of Eye Prefer Paris Door Collection Postcards are available three different ways.

18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65- Free shipping 

9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

Each postcard is printed on thick matte coated card stock, similar to traditional vintage postcard stock, that enhances the vibrancy of each image. Eye Prefer Paris Postcards come in classic postcard size (6”x 4.25”), perfect for collecting, framing, or sending to that special someone. 

Each order is specially hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. Postcards take about 4- 7 days to arrive in the U.S. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection make a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family, and I can write a handwritten note for you and include it in the envelope. 

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65- Free shipping 

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping 

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors