Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Gigi Also see Susan's reviews of The Widow Lincoln and Bessie's Blues
Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) originally adapted Colette's novella as a movie musical that won the Best Picture Oscar in 1958; a subsequent Broadway adaptation in 1973, including additional songs, was not very successful. Now, with a freshly adapted book by Heidi Thomas, Gigi is heading back to Broadway. Director Eric Schaeffer keeps things shining on Derek McLane's set, all wrought-iron platforms and an Art Nouveau staircase, but it's Catherine Zuber's resplendent costumes that light up the stage. Joshua Bergasse's impressive choreography ranges from gentle pas de deux to rowdy can-cans. The story, set in 1900 Paris, follows young Gigi (Vanessa Hudgens) as her grandmother Mamita (Victoria Clark) and Aunt Alicia (Dee Hoty), retired courtesans, educate her in the ways of pleasing a wealthy protector. Gigi has grown up around Gaston Lachaille (Corey Cott), a famous man about town and heir to a sugar fortune, but he sees Gigi as a younger sister rather than a prospective mistressuntil the day he doesn't. Meanwhile, we see that Gaston's uncle Honoré (Howard McGillin) had a relationship with Mamita in past years. Thomas increases the age of Gigi from 16, as in Colette's original, to 18 and lowers the age of Gaston from thirties to twenties so their relationship seems less unequal. Gigi is a strong character who knows what's expected of her at a time when women had few advantages, but also what she's willing to accept. While Hudgens is both sweet and spirited, singing and dancing well, Broadway veterans Clark, McGillin, and Hoty deliver the stronger stage presences, especially the duets "I Remember It Well" and "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" for Mamita and Honoré. Cott, because of his relative youth, comes across as callow; the problem with a younger Gaston is that the character is written as jaded (his first song is "It's a Bore") and Cott seems too fresh-faced for that. Kennedy Center
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