View source for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

{{Short description|Musical revue}}
{{for|the film adaptation|Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox musical
| name              = Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
| subtitle          =
| image             = Jacques Brel Is Alive Cast Recording.jpg
| image_size        = 220px
| caption           = Original Cast Recording
| music             = [[Jacques Brel]]
| lyrics            = Jacques Brel <small> (French version) </small> <br /> [[Eric Blau]] <small> (English version) </small> <br /> [[Mort Shuman]] <small> (English version) </small>
| book              = Eric Blau <small> (English version) </small> <br /> Mort Shuman <small> (English version) </small>
| basis             = The original French lyrics and French commentary by Jacques Brel
| productions       = 1968 [[Off-Broadway]]<br />
Regional productions<br />
1995 [[West End theatre|West End]]<br />
2006 Off-Broadway revival<br />
2014 [[Off-West End]]
}}
'''''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] [[revue]] of the songs of [[Jacques Brel]]. Brel's songs were translated into English by [[Eric Blau]] and [[Mort Shuman]], who also provided the story. The original 1968 [[Off-Broadway]] production ran for four years and spawned international and regional productions, as well as a [[West End theatre|West End]] production and Off-Broadway revival, among others. A [[Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (film)|film]] adaptation was released in 1975.
In 2003, [[David Bowie]] included the cast recording in a list of 25 of his favourite albums, "Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/04/david-bowie-favorite-albums|title = David Bowie's Favorite Albums|magazine = Vanity Fair|date = 20 November 2003|issue = November|last1 = Bowie|first1 = David}}</ref>
==Early productions==
The revue debuted [[Off-Broadway]] on January 22, 1968<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/brel_jacques/bio.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021115134602/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/brel_jacques/bio.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 November 2002|title=VH1}}</ref> at [[The Village Gate]] Theater in [[Greenwich Village]] and ran for more than four years. Its original performers were [[Elly Stone]], [[Mort Shuman]], [[Shawn Elliott (actor)|Shawn Elliott]], and Alice Whitfield. The production was directed by Moni Yakim. The revue, consisting of around 25 songs, is performed by four vocalists, two male and two female. Brel contributed most of the music and French lyrics; English translations were provided by [[Eric Blau]], Stone's husband, and [[Mort Shuman]], a [[Brill Building]] songwriter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1968 |title=Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris by Herbert Kupferberg |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1968/07/jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-and-living-in-paris/659278/ |website=theatlantic.com |language=}}</ref>
On September 12, 1968, the show opened at the Happy Medium Theater on Rush Street in Chicago.  It would run until February 15, 1970 and was perhaps the cabaret theater's most successful production.  [[Robert Guillaume]], George Ball, Joe Masiell, Denise Le Brun, Alice Whitfield, and Aileen Fitzpatrick made up the original Chicago cast.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 May 2024 |title=Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris Musical Lyrics |url=https://www.allmusicals.com/j/jacquesbrelisaliveandwellandlivinginparis.htm |website=allmusicals.comginparis.htm |language=}}</ref>
The show enjoyed considerable international success. In 1968 Yakim directed a Canadian production in Toronto featuring Robert Jeffrey, Judy Lander, Arlene Meadows, and Stan Porter.  In 1972, a production by [[Taubie Kushlick]] in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa became the longest-running musical production in that country's theatrical history. A cast recording was released and is regarded as containing the definitive English-language versions of some of the songs. During that decade the show also enjoyed successful runs in Sydney, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.
In 1973, Ray Shepardson produced ''Jacques Brel'' in the lobby of the [[State Theatre (Cleveland, Ohio)|State Theatre]] in [[Cleveland]], Ohio. It was intended to play for two weeks, but continued through 1975, with a 522-performance run that became the longest theatrical run in the city's history to that point. The production is credited as a major factor in the rescue and restoration of the theater and its adjacent venues, which are now [[Playhouse Square Center]]. In 1974, the revue was revived at the [[Astor Place Theatre]] for a limited run. In 1975, a [[Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (film)|film adaptation]] of the original production was released as part of the [[American Film Theatre]] series. The film included a few new songs.
Despite Brel's death in 1978, and his last years having been spent sailing around the world and living in [[Polynesia]], the name of the show has remained unchanged.
==1980s and later revivals==
A production was presented at the original company of [[Equity Library Theater]] in New York City in 1985.  It starred  Louise Edeiken, Richard Hilton, [[Jan Horvath]], and J.C. Sheets <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/128158-jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-and-living-in-paris-at-master-theatre-1985|title=Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at Master Theatre 1985|website=www.abouttheartists.com}}</ref>
A 1988 revival served as the 20th anniversary production of the show at [[The Town Hall (New York City)|The Town Hall]] in Manhattan (and one night at [[The Kennedy Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]). It was produced by Blau and Reuben Hoppenstein and was directed by Stone, starring [[Karen Akers]], [[Shelley Ackerman]], Elmore James and Kenny Morris.
In 1994 the show was performed in Dublin's Andrew's Lane Theatre and featured Irish actress and singer [[Camille O'Sullivan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article646497.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517110237/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article646497.ece|archive-date=2011-05-17|title=TLS - Times Literary Supplement}}</ref>
In 1995 the show was revived in the [[West End theatre|West End]], starring Michael Cahill, Alison Egan, Liz Greenaway, and [[Stuart Pendred]]. A cast recording of this production was released on August 12, 1997 with Jay Records.
In 2008, a production starring Leigh McDonald, Tony McGill, Emma Yong and George Chan, ran at the DBS Theatre in Singapore. In 2010, a production ran at the [[Stratford Festival]] in Canada. It starred Jewelle Blackman, [[Brent Carver]], Mike Nadajewski, and Nathalie Nadon. In 2014, the show opened for a limited run in London at Off-West End Charing Cross Theatre with [[Gina Beck]], [[Daniel Boys]], [[David Burt (actor)|David Burt]] and [[Eve Polycarpou]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 June 2016 |title=Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris Review 2014 |url=https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-and-living-in-paris-review |website=londontheatre.co.uk |language=}}</ref> This production had a song list similar to the 2006 New York revival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 April 2010 |title=Theater review: ‘Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris’ at the Colony |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/culture-monster-blog/story/2010-04-14/theater-review-jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-and-living-in-paris-at-the-colony |website=/www.latimes.com |language=}}</ref>
In 2017, a new production opened at the Gate Theatre in Dublin directed by Alan Stanford and featuring music direction by Cathal Synnott, with a cast featuring Karen McCartney, Risteard Cooper, Stephanie McKeown and Rory Nolan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 February 2017 |title=Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris review: spinning in nostalgia |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-and-living-in-paris-review-spinning-in-nostalgia-1.2961075 |website=irishtimes.com |language=}}</ref>
==Musical numbers==
===Original Off-Broadway production===
#Overture
#Marathon (Les Flamandes)
#Alone (Seul)
#Madeleine
#I Loved (J'aimais)
#[[Mathilde (song)|Mathilde]]
#Bachelor's Dance (La Bourrée du Célibataire)
#Timid Frieda (Les Timides) tune also used in an Ovaltine television advert GB
#[[My Death]] (La Mort)
#The Girls And The Dogs (Les Filles et Les Chiens)
#[[Jacky (Jacques Brel song)|Jackie]] (La Chanson de Jacky)
#The Statue
#Desperate Ones (Les Désespérés)
#Sons of... (Fils de...)
#[[Amsterdam (Jacques Brel song)|Amsterdam]]
#The Bulls (Les Taureaux)
#Old Folks ([[Les Vieux]])
#[[Marieke (song)|Marieke]]
#Brussels (Bruxelles)
#Fanette (La Fanette)
#Funeral Tango (Le Tango Funèbre)
#The Middle Class (Les Bourgeois)
#You're Not Alone (Jef)
#Next (Au Suivant)
#Carousel (La Valse à Mille Temps)
#If We Only Have Love (Quand on n'a Que L'amour)
'''Songs added for the 1975 film version:'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121411/|title=Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris|date=January 27, 1975|via=IMDb}}</ref>
#The Taxi Cab  (Le Gaz)
#My Childhood (Mon Enfance)
#The Last Supper (Le Dernier Repas)
#Song For Old Lovers (La Chanson Des Vieux Amants)
#[[Ne Me Quitte Pas]], sung by Jacques Brel
===2006 Off-Broadway revival===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Act One
#Le Diable (Ça Va)
#If We Only Have Love (Intro)
#Alone
#I Loved
#[[Jacky (Jacques Brel song)|Jackie]]
#My Childhood
#Madeleine
#Bachelor's Dance
#Fanette
#[[Le Moribond]]/My Last Supper
#The Desperate Ones
#Timid Frieda
#The Girls And The Dogs
#Statue
#Sons Of
#[[Amsterdam (Jacques Brel song)|Amsterdam]]
{{col-break}}
;Act Two
#The Bulls
#Brussels
#[[Ne Me Quitte Pas]]
#Middle Class
#Old Folks
#Funeral Tango
#[[My Death]]
#[[Marieke (song)|Marieke]]
#Song For Old Lovers
#Next
#No Love You're Not Alone
#Carousel
#If We Only Have Love
{{col-end}}
== Recording(s) ==
- An original cast album was released in 1968 by Columbia in the US and CBS in the UK. It featured: Stacey Boyle, Shawn Elliott, Mort Shuman, Elly Stone, and Alice Whitfield.
- A cast recording of the successful South African production was released in 1972 and is regarded as containing the definitive English-language versions of some of the songs.  It featured: Jean Dell, Ann Hamblin, Ferdie Uphof, and Alain D. Woolf.
- In 1973 Playhouse Square released a double album featuring the Cleveland cast: Cliff Bemis, David O. Frazier, Providence Hollander, and Theresa Piteo.
- Atlantic Records release a double album of the film soundtrack in 1975, featuring:  Shawn Elliott, Judy Lander, Joe Masiell, Joseph Neal, Annette Perrone, Mort Shuman, and Elly Stone.
- Ghostlight Records released a cast recording of the Zipper Theater Off-Broadway production in 2006.  Included in the cast were: Jacques Brel, Robert Cuccioli, Natascia Diaz, Rodney Hicks, Gay Marshall, Michael Sommers, and Eric Svejcar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://castalbums.org/search/?search=Jacques+Brel+Is+Alive+and+Well+and+Living+in+Paris|title=Search Database: Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris : CastAlbums.org|website=castalbums.org}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* ''The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology'' by Stanley Green and Richard Walters
{{Jacques Brel}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jacques Brel]]
[[Category:1968 musicals|Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris]]
[[Category:Revues]]
[[Category:Sung-through musicals]]
[[Category:Mort Shuman albums]]