There are a limited number of tickets remaining for the final five performances of In Paris which opened tonight at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, and Haglund recommends you try to snatch up one of those tickets to see this highly creative theatrical production starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and a team of actors/singers/musicians who are outstanding in every way.
Based on a short story by the Russian writer Ivan Bunin (1870-1953), the play is performed in Russian and French with English subtitles. The Playbill includes an insert that is an English translation which can be read in five minutes - a good reason to get to your seat early. Oddly, the weakest parts of the production were an instance or two of over-reaching for humor and the more formal aspects of the choreography - the latter attributed to Alexei Ratmansky.
Baryshnikov is pretty darned captivating as a socially awkward retired Russian general who falls for a younger waitress in a restaurant. Very, very creative work by this team. Bottle instruments, huge postcards that evolve into other things, a revolving stage, beautiful voices, subtitles that no one can complain about, mice, a dog, a little aerial work, and a well-told story all made this a very enjoyable evening of theater.
Boy, the Lincoln Center Festival folks are doing a bang-up job this summer!
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