*I received complimentary tickets in order to facilitate this review. Photos seen here all belong to the show. Opinions, as always, belong to me. Thank you!
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend an evening performance of Amélie. The play, based off of the film of the same name stars Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo as the title character. Amélie is about a young Parisian waitress who undergoes her own personal transformation after she decides to become a do-gooder. Amélie’s attempts to anonymously change peoples lives are as cute and quirky as she is, of course things go awry when her bout with altruism leads her into the path of equally as charming Nino, played by Adam Chanler-Berat. Amélie must wrestle with what has kept her away from making connections with others and decide whether or not she’s ready to take the ultimate risk, and truly live.
I absolutely loved this show. It is everything that I hoped it would be. Amélie is whimsical and, to my relief, not at all presumptuous. While the play is meant to take place in Paris, it doesn’t feel Parisian in the sense that you are an outsider looking in. In fact, you could easily imagine Amélie taking place in the village. The set design was lovely, and the theater – the Walter Kerr Theater – was small enough to feel intimate. It was as if the cast were speaking and singing right to you. Which is lovely considering that Amélie has a wonderful cast, Phillipa Soo brings Amélie alive in the most perfect way.
My favorite scenes involve both the younger and the older Amélie, and Savvy Crawford does an outstanding job as young Amélie. I don’t consider myself a theater snob at all, but if I were one I’d definitely say (in the most posh tone I could muster) that we can expect great things of Savvy Crawford. Honestly, I wish I had as much talent in my right pinky at her age as she does now.
There is so much to be said for Amélie, but at the risk of including any spoilers I will leave off with letting you know I’d give this a 5/5 and all the gold stars. Amélie only has a limited number of shows left, so snatch up a ticket if you get the chance. Additionally, they’ve revealed on the shows twitter page that they will be releasing the cast recording on iTunes and if you pre-order it now you get an immediate download of my favorite song from the show – “Stay”.
More information, and details on how to get tickets here.